Ditch it, ditch it, ditch it They're noisy with deep gears and I don't like c-clips in general, they're just annoying to work on. After watching my friends pull their 44 shafts by just removing the brake drums and then undoing the 4 retaining bolts, I realized that it was time to upgrade. I ended up skipping over the 44 and going 60 'cause I didn't see the point in swapping in an axle that was only marginally stronger, if at all. When it comes down to it, the guts of an axle all cost about the same. Gears for a 44, 8.25, 8.8, 60 etc all cost right in the same general region of 150-200 depending on quality/brand/ratio. Lockers are the same way. So the way I see it, the only difference money wise is how much the "new" housing is gonna cost and what it'll take to set it up width/bolt pattern wise. HTH
Ary