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Thoughts on axle upgrades?

MischiefMan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Denton, Texas
This weekend my girlfriend broke both the inner and outer shafts on her '91 (running 35's) as well as the u-joint on the passenger side, not once but TWICE. Once again, thank you for everyone waiting for us to get it repaired (twice) and thank you to the guys who did the work on the trail! (It was great, I didn't even have to get dirty. :rof:)

We actually expected her to break the D35 in the rear, but not the alloy shafts in the D30. I will take the blame for the first break though. We lost a cap on the u-joint and I still "allowed" her to wheel. I should have known better. I was just excited that she was actually going to wheel her rig rather than just let it sit in the driveway. :bawl:

Anyway, she wants stronger axles now. After doing a bit of research, I am toying with the idea of rebuilding the D30 and replacing the D35 with a Ford 8.8. I know that if I suggest this and she breaks again, well....

So I'm looking for suggestions (so I can blame you guys if something goes wrong :laugh:). Her rig is a '91 4.0HO, 6.5" lift, running 35's Maxxis Bighorns...and she wants to rock crawl. What do you think would be the best axles?
 
Is she going to stay with 35" or go bigger? A hp30 with the larger joints and alloys or a hp44 would work for 35"
 
The GM 14B is mega cheap and more clearance than a 44 all day when shaved. You can build the exact same as mine for around 300 total, less depending on the core charge at the yard and how much you weld on your own.
Now that I built one I will never look at at 44, why when you can have something so much stronger for so much essand it comes with the gears you probably want anyways in noslip flavors.
Then match it up front with a HP44 or make that 30 super stout, I would try to find a 44 though for the money IMO.
 
The first u-joint was a 297, yes. The second, not sure as we didnt' have a spare with us and bought it from someone on the trail.

For now, I don't see her running anything bigger than 35's.

and..

pfft! Ecksjay!! Be nice, she's learning. :)
 
1986XJIan said:
pfft! Ecksjay!! Be nice, she's learning. :)

Who's teaching her? ;) My wife hasn't broken anything, but she knows not to hammer down on stuff...nor to have the wheel cranked if she 'has' to throttle up. I'd be more inclined to find out what about the alloy shafts failed. You said you lost a cap...which u-joints were you running, just stock ones? Good chance the joint failed first (which sounds like it because you lost both shafts). Alloys with good joints are pretty strong...

Either that or go 35 spline 60s front and rear with alloys and let her hammer on it all she wants. :D
 
jk axles :greensmok not a super hard swap and its uber cheap. biggest pain is getting new rims but its a great upgrade, with gears and lockers
 
Has the tube cracking issue been resolved with the JK axles? They are releasing a D60 rear for the JK.
 
The u-joint, minus the cap, was still in one piece on the first axle. The alloy shaft broke because the dog ear wallowed out due to the missing cap. Her driving really wasn't the issue. It broke when the axle landed at an angle after bouncing off a big rock.

The second axle shaft, well, I don't know anything about it because, as I said, it was someone else's spare. She wasn't even gassing it hard when the 2nd one broke.
 
xalexjx said:
jk axles :greensmok not a super hard swap and its uber cheap. biggest pain is getting new rims but its a great upgrade, with gears and lockers


are the JK "44's" really much stronger than a D30 ? I thought I read that they shared an almost identical weak point. IDK ?

30 will get you 33" tires

44 will get you 35" tires

60's will get you 37" plus....


44's seems like a lot of $$$$ to spend to match only tire size.?
 
The JK44 is far superior to the 30. The TJ44 is the one that shares knuckles n such with the 30.
 
HP 9" F&R












:D
 
Robb_In_AZ said:
are the JK "44's" really much stronger than a D30 ? I thought I read that they shared an almost identical weak point. IDK ?

30 will get you 33" tires

44 will get you 35" tires

60's will get you 37" plus....


44's seems like a lot of $$$$ to spend to match only tire size.?

You can run bigger than 33s on a 30...I ran 35s on mine..(with selectable locker and alloys) Also, you can run more than 35s on a 44!
 
ExTankerGuy said:
You can run bigger than 33s on a 30...I ran 35s on mine..(with selectable locker and alloys) Also, you can run more than 35s on a 44!
Some people run 37s on the Dana 30 with no problems, other people run 35s on a Dana 44 and have tons of problems. All depends on how you drive, and where you are wheeling.
 
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