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Dana 44 Pinion Size

XJsportG

SouthEast #4328 (RVA)
NAXJA Member
Location
Richmond, VA
I can't seem to find the information i'm looking for, regarding the Dana 44 Pinion size of the deeper gears. A lot of people always say to not go with 4.88/5.13s in a Dana 30 due to the size of the pinion being small, like golf ball small.

My question is about the Dana 44 from a '79 HP F250 and the XJ Dana 44 running 5.13s. It seems this ratio is towards the end of what these axles support, and didn't know if it's recommended to not run 5.13s, and stick with 4.88s. I understand that the lower gear you go, the less teeth you have in contact, and then of course "why not go with a 60?".

Just looking for information about this, or to see if i'm worrying to much about it.

Running 37s, both axles would be locked with chromo shafts, and the front has yukon u-joints.
 
Just run it. There is no evidence I have seen or heard of to legitimately show that the deeper gears are small enough to warrant cause for concern. Lots are running 4.88's with 35's on a Dana 30. I don't hear of them breaking gears more than people running 4.56 or 4.10. You'll be fine with 5.13's
 
The Dana 44 is considerably more beefy than the Dana 30 or Dana 35. You should not have any problems if you don't get stupid.
 
As said, 5.13's and 5.38's on a dana 44 is a complete non issue, and evidence shows that 4.88 on a dana 30 is no worse than any other ratio. The company making 5.13's for the dana 30 claims to have changed the tooth count to make the gears even stronger than 4.88's, time will tell how accurate that turns out to be.
 
Just run it. There is no evidence I have seen or heard of to legitimately show that the deeper gears are small enough to warrant cause for concern. Lots are running 4.88's with 35's on a Dana 30. I don't hear of them breaking gears more than people running 4.56 or 4.10. You'll be fine with 5.13's

The Dana 44 is considerably more beefy than the Dana 30 or Dana 35. You should not have any problems if you don't get stupid.

As said, 5.13's and 5.38's on a dana 44 is a complete non issue, and evidence shows that 4.88 on a dana 30 is no worse than any other ratio. The company making 5.13's for the dana 30 claims to have changed the tooth count to make the gears even stronger than 4.88's, time will tell how accurate that turns out to be.


Just the info I was looking for! Thank you.
 
FWIW, I'll run 5.13's on my D44 for the XJ with 35's. A 60 would be great but overkill for what I need.
 
i ran a 44 w/ a arb ,4.56, 4.1 in tc, 37's in a cj once , broke quite a few stock shafts & spicer joints. finally went to alloy shafts & ctm joints to stop the breakage . it werent a cheap fix.
 
As an axle builder at a well known company and have personally built thousands of axles, I can confirm what these guys are saying in that there is no evidence you are more likely to strip gears running lower ratios.
 
As an axle builder at a well known company and have personally built thousands of axles, I can confirm what these guys are saying in that there is no evidence you are more likely to strip gears running lower ratios.

id agree. i think the bigger killer of gear sets is deflection of the housing... regardless of the ratio. a full case locker, truss, and stout diff cover go a long way in combating this.



FWII, i run 5.13s in my D44 with 35s. and they lived behind an LS before i bought them. aside from a chromo shaft popping on a sketchy ridge, they have been problem free.
 
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