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RockJock vs hi9

C

coldforge

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Fort Lewis,WA
ok guys i'm so lost and confused. i have a XJ with 8 inch lift with 35's and 4'56 gears. It's my DD and weekend mudder no big rock climbing. Im thinking either a RockJock or a FF 9 inch with true hi9, remember its just going to see long trails,camping and maybe make a trailer later down the road. It will see alot of long mile trails im hoping. Also thought of a dana 70 lol. I dont want to do a 8.8. Come on guys what do you think im still open on an axle.



PS also will see a S/C or a stroker in a year.
 
coldforge said:
ok guys i'm so lost and confused. i have a XJ with 8 inch lift with 35's and 4'56 gears. It's my DD and weekend mudder no big rock climbing. Im thinking either a RockJock or a FF 9 inch with true hi9, remember its just going to see long trails,camping and maybe make a trailer later down the road. It will see alot of long mile trails im hoping. Also thought of a dana 70 lol. I dont want to do a 8.8. Come on guys what do you think im still open on an axle.



PS also will see a S/C or a stroker in a year.
Click to expand...


lower it 2" and build a super 8.8 lots cheaper and will hold up to 35's or do a JY D60 or 70. Theres is no need for that much cash in an axle for 35's and mudding.
 
WaXJ_Skier said:
lower it 2" and build a super 8.8 lots cheaper and will hold up to 35's or do a JY D60 or 70. Theres is no need for that much cash in an axle for 35's and mudding.
Click to expand...


i want to lower it 2 inchs but i dont know if my long arm kit will work on a 6 inch lift. Is there less stress in mudding then rock climbing? Would the 8.8 hold up to a stroker or S/C with some street fun? you know burning my money away on the road lol:D
 
coldforge said:
i want to lower it 2 inchs but i dont know if my long arm kit will work on a 6 inch lift. Is there less stress in mudding then rock climbing? Would the 8.8 hold up to a stroker or S/C with some street fun? you know burning my money away on the road lol:D
Click to expand...

I don't see an issue with long arms being lower, Ive run mine with 4", and most kits are the market will work with 4.5". 8.8s hold up to low gearing and large tires, should be similar torque loads of v8 or stroker. You could also do a JY 60 and shave it.
 
if your initial impulse is to spend some cash, and youve got it, by all means! do it and post pics! this forum tends to have a budget approach, admireable, but sometimes a pain.

the way you explain it, either will be fine! but currie can definately answer your questions better than us regular forum members.

mudding can be hard on stuff, but in a differant way then rock crawling. you probably dont have to build it as good as a comparable rig that see's rocks every weekend, but if its gonna see a power adder, why not?
 
xcm said:
if your initial impulse is to spend some cash, and youve got it, by all means! do it and post pics! this forum tends to have a budget approach, admireable, but sometimes a pain.

the way you explain it, either will be fine! but currie can definately answer your questions better than us regular forum members.

mudding can be hard on stuff, but in a differant way then rock crawling. you probably dont have to build it as good as a comparable rig that see's rocks every weekend, but if its gonna see a power adder, why not?
Click to expand...
I saw that ZJ with the dana 70 under it and the diff wasnt to low and from what i got from website it didnt cost him much either
 
With either a RockJock or a Hi9, you're going to be spending about $4k by the time the rear axle is finished...

Dean at Bent Metal Customs in Puyallup can get you what you need - and he has some good dyscounts at Currie...

Give him a call, and maybe swing out to his house and talk with him a bit about what your plans for the rig are, and what you really need...

http://www.bentmtlcustoms.com/
 
coldforge said:
I saw that ZJ with the dana 70 under it and the diff wasnt to low and from what i got from website it didnt cost him much either
Click to expand...

If you really want to go cheap you can shave a 14bolt a lot of those come with 4.56 gearing stock so you wouldn't have to regear
 
coldforge said:
ok guys i'm so lost and confused. i have a XJ with 8 inch lift with 35's and 4'56 gears. It's my DD and weekend mudder no big rock climbing. Im thinking either a RockJock or a FF 9 inch with true hi9, remember its just going to see long trails,camping and maybe make a trailer later down the road. It will see alot of long mile trails im hoping. Also thought of a dana 70 lol. I dont want to do a 8.8. Come on guys what do you think im still open on an axle.



PS also will see a S/C or a stroker in a year.
Click to expand...

Leave it like it is then................ A rockjock or hi9 is serious overkill for long trails and camping!! Why 8 inches of lift if you are just going to long trail / camp???? :huh:
 
Yeah, some folks around here think it's horrible to pay money for good parts that you don't build yourself. Obviously, if everyone thought that way then Currie, Dynatrac, Spidertrax, and others wouldn't be in business selling axles and developing cool new products.

Sure, you can build an axle yourself, if you have the time, tools and willingness. You're trading cash for your own labor. If you have money available, and don't have the time or tools, thankfully you can buy a complete custom axle. BTW, junkyard D60's are full float and 30 splines. I build my stuff, and have built a front axle, but I bought a rear HP60 because that's what I wanted.

Between the D60 and the 9", for what you're doing, I'd get the 60. For long term use and highway use the 60 has better oiling to the pinion than the Hi9 does, so it can be more durable over a long time. It also should be a little cheaper, the Hi9 center section isn't cheap. You just can't go wrong with a 35 spline semi-float D60 in the rear, you'll put it in and forget about it for a very, very long time.
 
ColoradoRaptor said:
Leave it like it is then................ A rockjock or hi9 is serious overkill for long trails and camping!! Why 8 inches of lift if you are just going to long trail / camp???? :huh:
Click to expand...

My wife bought it for me for 4000 and it came with the lift. Thats why i was asking about the long arm kit being able to work on a 6.5 lift. I dont want to have to spend 700 buck on a new one but for just mud i shouldnt need the long arm kit right?

I might try that guy in here in washignton see what he can get me. The 14 bolt rear end with 4'56 gears in it would be perfect if i could find one here in washington. Does it take alot extra tourqe to get that big of axle moving? The 8.8 i dont trust spacers and in the back of my head im going to be scared about the u joints binding bc its offset.
 
Goatman said:
Yeah, some folks around here think it's horrible to pay money for good parts that you don't build yourself. Obviously, if everyone thought that way then Currie, Dynatrac, Spidertrax, and others wouldn't be in business selling axles and developing cool new products.

Sure, you can build an axle yourself, if you have the time, tools and willingness. You're trading cash for your own labor. If you have money available, and don't have the time or tools, thankfully you can buy a complete custom axle. BTW, junkyard D60's are full float and 30 splines. I build my stuff, and have built a front axle, but I bought a rear HP60 because that's what I wanted.

Between the D60 and the 9", for what you're doing, I'd get the 60. For long term use and highway use the 60 has better oiling to the pinion than the Hi9 does, so it can be more durable over a long time. It also should be a little cheaper, the Hi9 center section isn't cheap. You just can't go wrong with a 35 spline semi-float D60 in the rear, you'll put it in and forget about it for a very, very long time.
Click to expand...

Thats what i want to do is forget and not worry about the rear end and also if i decided to go rock climbing after i beat it up i have that axle already. what do you think about aluminum casting diff that currie has?
 
I'd say an 8.8 swap would be a cheap easy deal and with good stuff in it, plenty adequate for 35's. If you are going with a new custom axle, we offer complete bolt-in Rockcrusher hipinion Dana 60 fairly reasonably. In fact or ZJ 5.9 LTD project just got one in the rear.


coldforge said:
ok guys i'm so lost and confused. i have a XJ with 8 inch lift with 35's and 4'56 gears. It's my DD and weekend mudder no big rock climbing. Im thinking either a RockJock or a FF 9 inch with true hi9, remember its just going to see long trails,camping and maybe make a trailer later down the road. It will see alot of long mile trails im hoping. Also thought of a dana 70 lol. I dont want to do a 8.8. Come on guys what do you think im still open on an axle.



PS also will see a S/C or a stroker in a year.
Click to expand...
 
Just Differentials said:
I'd say an 8.8 swap would be a cheap easy deal and with good stuff in it, plenty adequate for 35's. If you are going with a new custom axle, we offer complete bolt-in Rockcrusher hipinion Dana 60 fairly reasonably. In fact or ZJ 5.9 LTD project just got one in the rear.
Click to expand...


wow $2000 for a dana 44. How much for the HP dana 60? just a ball park price. I wanted a ECTED for DD but the dana 60 don't have it. but a Air locker will do. I want a rear end that i can forget about in any kind of driving
 
Why not just run a standard 9" in the rear and grab a matching 44 front out of a fullsize ford and put alloys in them run the rear with 35 splines and call it good.. The pinion on the 9 is the lowest around but with little to no rocks its no big deal and both can handle the additional power quite well(Drag racers use the 9"er with 600 horses plus all the time) especially if your not in hard core rocks.. You can get them both in and built for the cost of just one hi-9 as the center for that one will cost the full price of the built rear alone...

If you don't want the wheels to stick out just get wheels with deeper backspacing like 5+ inches of backspacing that will put you within 2 inches of stock width... With the 9 and the 44 you can get nice deep gearing if you want and the braking is much improved plus putting discs on the rear is a piece of cake with the 9 and you finally get to have real steering:spin1:... This one has been done a bunch so doing finding info on it would be simple as many have put them under their xj's for much harder applications there has to be at least 50+ on this forum alone...

In the end its your money though and what you want to spend it on... Goatman is right cash for time is what it's all about in doing it yourself..
 
I think it's a potential problem to spend money on good parts thinking only of certain uses. It never ends up that way over time. The guy who says he'll never run larger than 35's ends up having wheeling buddies who eventually go bigger and so he does too. You only do certain types of wheeling, until you meet people who do other types and you do it and then like it. If you're going to spend the money, spend it to have an all around well built rig that is ready to do all types of wheeling. It has been proven over and over again, with many of us, that good money spent once is cheaper in the long run than doing things over.

Build parts for custom axles are readily available at reasonable prices. Check with the local shops that do it. 9" housings built beefier than stock and custom widths are not expensive, if you want to go that route. Once you consider the cost of custom 35 spline axle shafts, gears, lockers, and brakes, an aftermarket HP60 isn't that expensive either, and the higher driveline clearance and smooth high clearance bottom are nice to have.
 
themud said:
Why not just run a standard 9" in the rear and grab a matching 44 front out of a fullsize ford and put alloys in them run the rear with 35 splines and call it good.. The pinion on the 9 is the lowest around but with little to no rocks its no big deal and both can handle the additional power quite well(Drag racers use the 9"er with 600 horses plus all the time) especially if your not in hard core rocks.. You can get them both in and built for the cost of just one hi-9 as the center for that one will cost the full price of the built rear alone...

If you don't want the wheels to stick out just get wheels with deeper backspacing like 5+ inches of backspacing that will put you within 2 inches of stock width... With the 9 and the 44 you can get nice deep gearing if you want and the braking is much improved plus putting discs on the rear is a piece of cake with the 9 and you finally get to have real steering:spin1:... This one has been done a bunch so doing finding info on it would be simple as many have put them under their xj's for much harder applications there has to be at least 50+ on this forum alone...

In the end its your money though and what you want to spend it on... Goatman is right cash for time is what it's all about in doing it yourself..
Click to expand...


Good point i was thinking of doing a LP 9 and if i dont like it i can just change the member and sale the old one VERY GOOD POINT!!! or keep the old one to go changing out
 
coldforge said:
My wife bought it for me for 4000 and it came with the lift. Thats why i was asking about the long arm kit being able to work on a 6.5 lift. I dont want to have to spend 700 buck on a new one but for just mud i shouldnt need the long arm kit right?

I might try that guy in here in washignton see what he can get me. The 14 bolt rear end with 4'56 gears in it would be perfect if i could find one here in washington. Does it take alot extra tourqe to get that big of axle moving? The 8.8 i dont trust spacers and in the back of my head im going to be scared about the u joints binding bc its offset.
Click to expand...

Your long arm should work fine on a 6.5" lift. Just change the springs and or take out space blocks. If you are properly bump stopped now, you can keep the shocks for the time being.

Here is something about trail running that is not usually brought up. 14 bolt, D60 and 70 are all very heavy differentials designed for hauling loads. That means the housings are heavy, and they hang down a lot. A stock D60 on 44s has only 11" clearance under the pumpkin. If you are running in mud, you will encounter ruts. The lowest guy under the pumpkin will be constantly high centered and keep them scraped off. You don't want to be that guy. Get the Hi 9 and shave it. Use a good D44 up front or Use the Rock Jock or equivalent if you think you need a D60 since they use a smaller pumpkin and a lighter housing. The reason for the lighter housing is that the axle needs to move downward after absorbing a bump. A heavy housing will have air time when there is no contact with the ground and make the ride harsher because as the housing is accelerated downward, the body will still be accelerated upward. Stay as light as you can, but be strong too.
 
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