Axle Width Differences (Front and Rear)

4LowandGo · Jul 8, 2008

Hello all,

I have a 92 XJ with a 83 J-10 Dana 44 front and a 98 Explorer 8.8 rear and I have a question. Is it a big deal to have the front wider than the back? My front is approximately 2-3" wider than the rear even though I have wheelspacers on the rear. The spacers bring the rear back to about stock Dana 35 width. It is noticable if you look at it from front to back, so is this an issue or is it no big deal? The axles have 4.56 gears and detroits, so I don't really want to change them out for anything else right now. The wheels are 15x10s and the tires are 33x12.50s.

Thanks!

fubar XJ · Jul 8, 2008

The front axle is supposed to be wider than the back, every factory 4x4 engineers this into the build. It helps it track straight around corners. A front axle narrower than the rear pushes something fierce around the corners.

derrickdrew17 · Jul 8, 2008

yea but not 2-3" wider.. its because the front J10 44 is gonna be a lot wider than the 8.8.. there is nothing wong with it. just looks!!!! If you want your rear to match the front I think you can can get a Ford 9" and it suppost to be full width's. I might be wrong.

yossarian19 · Jul 8, 2008

Ford 9" should be full width.
Something I've seen in truck pull comps is that an offset in axle width / tire position will give each set of tires more "fresh" dirt to get traction in. Possible upshot.
Other than that - you could designate "rear" tires / wheels and "front" tires / wheels with different backspace to get the effective track width where you want it, no?
I'd leave it alone if it was my rig, or see about narrowing the front 44

XJ_ranger · Jul 8, 2008

Its a non issue, and I wouldnt worry about it...

derrickdrew17 · Jul 8, 2008

why narrow a good d44.. you have to get custom made axle shafts after that. just get a 9'' and be done with it.. go all full width's. or leave it as is. Looks good to me.

HaleYes · Jul 8, 2008

XJ_ranger said:
Its a non issue, and I wouldnt worry about it...

Ditto.

Phil · Jul 8, 2008

derrickdrew17 said:
why narrow a good d44..

To make a great d44.

fubar XJ · Jul 8, 2008

Eh, if you can center it up under the rig full width and it still fits between all of the trees on the trails you run, go with it. Cheaper, more available spare shafts.

Fot the most glaring example of the wider front axled factory 4x4, go look at a 90's Chev pickup. The fronts are 2-3" wider per side.

4LowandGo · Jul 9, 2008

Great info guys. Thanks! I know it is a little off, but not enough in my opinion. If I were to do things differently I'd have a 60 or a 14 bolt in the rear, but I went with the 8.8 a year and a half before building my Dana 44. It pulls like a locomotive in the mud and is very stable on the rocks, so I'll keep what I've got for now.

Axle Width Differences (Front and Rear)

4LowandGo

NAXJA Forum User

fubar XJ

NAXJA Forum User

derrickdrew17

NAXJA Forum User

yossarian19

NAXJA Forum User

XJ_ranger

NAXJA Member

derrickdrew17

NAXJA Forum User

HaleYes

NAXJA Forum User

Phil

NAXJA Member

fubar XJ

NAXJA Forum User

4LowandGo

NAXJA Forum User

Similar threads