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rear D44 housing strength vs. D60 upgrade

Capt. Nemo

Capt. Nemo

NAXJA Member #904
Location
Southwest, US
I'm trying to decide between buying the super 44 kit and sticking with the rear D44, or biting the bullet and going for a D60 rear end. My question really focuses on the strength of the stock XJ D44 housing. I'm running 37's and I'm a very conservative driver, but is it worth it to try to upgrade the D44 shafts if the housing will be questionable? I'm trying to hold off on trying to build a D60 for clearance and weight issues, not to mention the extra expense of gears, lockers, blah, blah, blah...

Has anyone experienced problems related to the failure of a stock D44 housing? Spun tubes, bent tubes, cracked pumpkins? Would extra bracing be beneficial? If bracing is really worth it, where should it be located?
 
Goatman is the only person I know who has done in a 44 R&P.
The super 44 kit might work. But, you will alway's be thinking about it in the back of your mind. I think if your into 37 and wheel out west(like you do)
35 spline with a 9" or 60 is a must. Oh, and go hi9 when you do.
 
Nemo, have you called on the prices for a 44 AND 60 parts? the reason i ask is that i got a D60 housing cut down for the XJ for $500, the difference in Gears, bearings, lockers, and a 35 spl Warn full float kit was less than $300 at the time i built mine, about 5 yrs ago. The ground clearance is difference is 3/4" and you gain about 60 lbs all things equal, (tube size, shaft size, brakes etc) But both those problems can be addressed with aftermarket center sections.

As far as a 9" goes there good axles but if you run a hi pinion unit from most companies you end up running an 8.8" ring gear, too me that kind of defeats the purpose. Then there is the True Hi-9, which actually keeps the benefits of the 9" housing and gears. but the last time i checked you could build a Very nice bulletproof D60 for less.

Just my $.02 worth

Dingo
 
Bryan C. said:
Nemo, did you decide to keep your rig? Hope so.
Click to expand...

For now. I'm trying to balance everything out and still be able to keep it.

Are 37's really that taxing on the housing? I am well aware of how difficult it can be on shafts, thus the Super 44 suggestion. My front 44 housing has 1/2" thick tubes, so I don't worry about that at all - but the rear tubes seem to be significantly thinner. As I'm thinking about it, the added weight of the tires would contribute to the overall weight of the vehicle - all weight that the rear housing has to push around.
 
I would say if you're just worried about the housing, and not gear strength, stick with the 44, and build a nice truss for it. A well thought out one, and not just 100lbs of steel welded on to it...make it ful length, and connect it to the diff to help prevent spun tubes.

I still run 33's on my rear 44, so I do not have real experience to base that off of, but there are many people running rear 44's with 37's seeming to not have major problems.

_nicko_
 
i would say if you are not killing your front 44, shafts, ect. The rear housing with good shafts will be fine.
 
xjj33p3r said:
a 14bolt is like 400-500lbs fully dressed.
Click to expand...

with Drum brakes but if you loose the drums and convert to disc don't you loose almost 75 lbs? i can't remember exactly but i know it's alot. but what is the weight difference between a D44, D60, 9" and then a GM 14B? assuming of course all the same style (Disc brake, 35 spline shafts, semi flaot style)

I guess it really comes down to the style of axle and the vehicle weight to determine the proper axle. By this I mean if the axle is a semi float style then the axle shafts handle the power and the weight, if the vehicle is light wieght then a d44 would probably work but a D60 would be better, If the axle is a full float then the housing take the weight and the shafts handle the power, making a d44 a good choice. BUT if the vehicle is heavy then i would think a Full float D60 w/ 35 pl shafts would be the way to go. I worked fine for me for over 5 yrs, i weight dry empty about 5000, loaded and fueled with passengers probably around 6000.

Just more to think about

Dingo
 
What do you have for a front axle? If you go with a D60 you will have to re-do the hubs to 8 bolt pattern to match the D60 rear. Something else to consider. How wide do you want to be? I'm running a D60 rear from a '86 Dodge 3/4ton and am 65"WMS-WMS. I'm using a wide-trac Waggy D44 front to match.
 
cLAYH said:
What do you have for a front axle? If you go with a D60 you will have to re-do the hubs to 8 bolt pattern to match the D60 rear. Something else to consider. How wide do you want to be? I'm running a D60 rear from a '86 Dodge 3/4ton and am 65"WMS-WMS. I'm using a wide-trac Waggy D44 front to match.
Click to expand...

I'm running a HP44 front from a '77 Ford F-150 cut down to 1980-84 Waggy width - alloy shafts, etc... 5 on 5.5 bp. I want to stay at stock width and with my current bolt pattern since it's compatible with a wide variety of vehicles and most of the guys I wheel with.

As far as a 14 bolt is concerned, I feel I would need to go way tall in order to make that work.
 
Capt. Nemo said:
I'm running a HP44 front from a '77 Ford F-150 cut down to 1980-84 Waggy width - alloy shafts, etc... 5 on 5.5 bp. I want to stay at stock width and with my current bolt pattern since it's compatible with a wide variety of vehicles and most of the guys I wheel with.
QUOTE]

I am running a D60 with a Warn full flaot kit and 6 on 5.5 bp so a 5-lug pattern is doable. you just have to watch the wheels though as they have to have the 1-ton center hole and not the smaller half ton center. I am running Trailready Beadlocks so i know those fit.

Dingo
Click to expand...
 
If you got the Super 44 kit and did a nice truss, the R&P would be the weak link. what ratio are you running? I would be a bit nervous with a 5.38 or maybe 5.13 pinion, but if you've got 4.88s I would go for it.

of just get the Hi9, you know you want it.
 
BrettM said:
If you got the Super 44 kit and did a nice truss, the R&P would be the weak link. what ratio are you running? I would be a bit nervous with a 5.38 or maybe 5.13 pinion, but if you've got 4.88s I would go for it.

of just get the Hi9, you know you want it.
Click to expand...

Running 4.88's. Why the worry of the higher ratios? Smaller pinion gear?

As far as the Hi9 goes, I'm trying to hold off on building a relationship with a loan officer until it involves real estate - not auto parts :laugh3:

So, trussing the D44 looks like a good option. Are there techniques to trussing that I can learn before the fact? Pics? Personal experience? Engineering lingo and force calculation formulas that I can confuse myself with?
 
Sounds like you may have made a decision anyway but I thought I'd throw in my $.02 on this. A while ago, I picked up an MJ D44 for $100 in the junkyard for my MJ project. I knew this was going to be a great upgrade to my D35. The more my build plans grew (and knowing my love of the skinny pedal), I started thinking of ways to make the D44 stronger. This is what I came up with:

35-spline conversion from Tri-County Gear
Drive flanges
Chromoly axles (big $$)
ARB 35-spline D44
Truss for strength and mounting points for the eventual 4-link
Cryo treat the ring and pinion


It's definitely not cheap, but I figured it would definitely serve my needs.

That being said, I just bought a D60 for $100 and I'll just shave the housing, do a disk brake swap, and run it stock until stuff starts breakin'. I'll put the 44 in for a while and then probably swap it into my ZJ. For me, it all came down to the deals I ran into. If I hadn't found the 60, I would have definitely followed the above plan.
 
all you guys are talking about upgrading from 44's....im upgrading to them lol

i say build the 44, i like 44's, a nice truss, well the tubes to the pumpkin too
 
I bent the housing on my XJ 44 with 35's. Thing would eat wheel bearings in a day. The splines on the axle showed that the shaft wasn't spinning true anymore. I consider myself pretty light on the throttle. I'm not saying it's typical, just my experience.

I built a 35 spline semi-float 60. If you take the time to shave it you can get the clearance to be a non-issue. A ton of guys up here have been running with this axle for 5 years + without issues, one guy on 42"s.

There were other issues with the 44 too. I was twisting splines on the stock axles and figured if I was going to pony up for alloy shafts that I might as well go all the way. It also eliminated the need for me to run different wheels/adapters to match the front 44.

One of the guys I've wheeled with was twisting splines and got alloy axles, then he broke the pinion (I'm not sure what ratio) then after fixing that he bent the housing. After hearing his story it was enough to convice me. I needed a new housing anyway.

For a 9" built the way I wanted it would have been a lot more cash.
 
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