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rubicon 44

Y

YETI

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Nederland, CO
Anyone done this as a front swap? Pro's? Con's? Lets hear it.

I think that DTD uses the Rubi front housing to build 44's. Doesn't seem that bad an idea.
 
Run away, its a 44 housing with d30 outers. If you are considering a 44, this is a piece of crap. And the cost of one is just a joke. Now if your getting one for dirt cheap and I mean dirt cheap, then why not. Thats of course if you aren't looking to upgrade for strength purposes.......... :lecture:

It's more of a Bling upgrade................:rolleyes:
 
So, are you wanting to swap out both axles? Like, using the Rubi d44 front and rubi d44 rear? If so, you could probably go a better route. The front, I really don't have much of an opinion on. But for the rear, you've got three options. You could either get a rubi d44, which is pretty much a d35 with a d44 housing. Or, you could go with a TJ sport rear d44, which is actually stronger by comparison. And lastly, the most common XJ d44 conversion.
 
91 Jeep Project said:
Run away, its a 44 housing with d30 outers. If you are considering a 44, this is a piece of crap. And the cost of one is just a joke. Now if your getting one for dirt cheap and I mean dirt cheap, then why not. Thats of course if you aren't looking to upgrade for strength purposes.......... :lecture:
Click to expand...

What 91' JP said, you are getting basicly a Super 30 (30 spline dana 30) product here. It does have a dana 44 center section, 44 gears, 30 spline 44 shafts, but doesn't have manual hubs, and has 30 outers. Unless you get 1 for cheap, than get a hp44 or reg 44 and you will get the goodies the 44 is good for, not some 44/30 hybred.
 
YETI said:
Anyone done this as a front swap? Pro's? Con's? Lets hear it.

I think that DTD uses the Rubi front housing to build 44's. Doesn't seem that bad an idea.
Click to expand...
Disadvantages to a Rubie "44"...
Low pinion! ;'nuff said
same axle tubes and ball joints as a Dana 30; no strength increase
same inner knuckles as a D30; no high-steer options, no brake improvement, still uses unit bearings.
So... for the sake of getting a 44 r&p/carrier, you give up the better driveshaft angle of a HP Dana 30 and get no real strength gains elsewhere. Not worth the cost, IMO.
If you have a '00-'01 with a LP Dana 30, it'd be a decent upgrade. But for '99 or earlier, I'd rather have the HP driveshaft angle on the 30.
 
What are some good junk yard alternatives? Preferably somthing that does not have to be cut down. Waggy? What year? WHat to look for?
 
YETI said:
What are some good junk yard alternatives? Preferably somthing that does not have to be cut down. Waggy? What year? WHat to look for?
Click to expand...

waggy's are low pinion, but the 1980 and up are drivers side drop - BrettM and fatwreck (projectxj) runs one IIRC as well as a few other people...

Cutting down is only one step after you have cut your knuckles off to turn them for correct pinion / castor anyway... though i would worry about the measurement (because im anal like that)

thats all i really know about normal track width d44's... I know that chevy had a d44 in thier full size trucks at one point...

the Toy8" front end is fairly stout (minus the birfuelds - thoes can be upgraded) and i considered one as a swap, but finding a junkyard toy8 solid front is a little easier said than done - aparently toyota went IFS in 1986 leaving few donors left after all the SAS people take them - and i wanted to go full width at the same time...

the J-10 and J-20 had d44 front ends and flat top knuckles (some years) but thoes would be a bit wide for not cutting and not going full width...

well - hope this helps
-Ranger
 
91 Jeep Project said:
Run away, its a 44 housing with d30 outers. If you are considering a 44, this is a piece of crap. And the cost of one is just a joke. Now if your getting one for dirt cheap and I mean dirt cheap, then why not. Thats of course if you aren't looking to upgrade for strength purposes.......... :lecture:

It's more of a Bling upgrade................:rolleyes:
Click to expand...


ill agree, I have 400$ worth of useless 44 rubi parts in my garage. when stood side by side with a 30, theres all of a spline difference and .030 diameter difference.
 
one more thing to point out on the Rubi axales... the ring gears are thicker than a regular D44 4.10 ring.. for some reason the locker/carrier was designed to the specs of the higher ratio gear carrier.. you could swap in 3.55s on the same carrier . not 4.56s or lower as one might assume under normal circumstances..
if it is cheap and you have no intention of going bigger than 35s in the future i say go for it.. just understand that its not what the marketing makes it out to be..
 
Any 44 has the same shaft dimensions and spline count, Rubicon or not. Yes the hsg. is a little weaker. Are all the people who think these Rubi axles are not "true" 44's really bending that many axle hsgs. or tearing up strg components. I'm swapping a rr. TJ 44 in right now, and will possibly be doing the frt. factory hsg. after. My biggest reason for the swap is to get the lower gearing that is available. I've never bent the factory 30, or 35 hsg. but have burned up alot of other parts in the 35. The thick gear is only an issue w/ the factory diff. If your using something else, its standard 44 parts.
 
The 4.10's and locker would be nice for a rig with up to 32's, but the d30 outers are not great. An hp diff shortened to use waggy shafts is a good option that doesn't require custom parts, just some cutting and welding.
 
i know alot of guys with some really built-up Rubis... once you make the jump to 37s and start wheeeling it like you don't care is when you break the locker... havent heard of any broken housings...
 
Can somone help me with a link to a good waggy 44 build-up. I think I'm gonna bite off more than I can chew and start looking for a junker to build.
 
It's really too bad the Rubi 44 wasn't high pinion.

It would be a nice little axle in that case. WTF were they thinking?

r@m
 
To clear up some things... the Rubi D44 rear is the same housing that comes in the TJ Sports. The LJ (Unlimited) D44 has a slightly different and beefier housing. The regular TJ D44 housing is also really no different than the factory XJ D44 housing other than the bolt pattern of the housing ends.

Also, regarding gears for the Rubi D44's, yes they do you "special" D44 gears due to the carrier design, but you can certainly get 4.56's and I'm pretty sure 4.88's as well for the Rubi D44's now, so regearing with the factory air lockers isn't a big deal, you just have to be sure to get Rubicon-specific gears, not just any ol' D44 gears.

The front is LP for clearance issues, same reason the D30 in TJ's is LP. Going with an LP D44 front probably also helps cut costs since the front and rear gearsets are the same, but I don't think DCX is quite smart enough to do things like that on purpose -- it's really for clearance issues.
 
Jeepin Jason said:
The front is LP for clearance issues, same reason the D30 in TJ's is LP. Going with an LP D44 front probably also helps cut costs since the front and rear gearsets are the same, but I don't think DCX is quite smart enough to do things like that on purpose -- it's really for clearance issues.
Click to expand...
I've heard that before Jason, but I'm not sure what they're trying to "clear". My 2001 came with a LP30, but a HP30 bolted right in and flexed great. Is that because it's lifted? What doesn't clear? Exhaust?
 
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