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If you had to choose....60 vs 44

Georgia Mike

Georgia Mike

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Flowery Branch,GA
HP Ford 44 (from a 3/4 ton leaf spring truck) or LP 60, both ball joint axles, both with matching 60 rears. If you could only afford one of the two sets, which would you choose?
 
I 2nd the tire size question.

I'd say if you plan to stay on 37's or smaller stick with the 44/60...if you think you'll go bigger...go ahead and go 60/60.
 
My goal is 36's, but possibly 38.5's since there seems to be plenty of those out on the used market. I'm not a throttle jocky or the rock bouncer type, and the XJ will most likely be reserved for trail use, or limited road use to a close by trail.
 
36s and a dana 60 front of any type brings the suck when you get on rocks. Mine felt like a rock seaking kidney killing anchor for the 2-3 trips I went on 36s. Switched to 40s and never had to relive that again.
 
Watch out I'd you get 38" swampers they measure 35ish and bring the suck
 
you need to settle in on a tire size goal before making a decision. personally on a cherokee 37" tires and under will get you everywhere a full body cherokee can go without major destruction. A well built 44 is very capable IF YOU PUT THE RIGHT PARTS IN IT. a 60 is pretty heavy and ungainly at anything 38" and under, im not a huge fan of 1 ton axles in general. a well built and narrowed 44 under a cherokee will do just fine
 
shortxjdoug said:
you need to settle in on a tire size goal before making a decision. personally on a cherokee 37" tires and under will get you everywhere a full body cherokee can go without major destruction. A well built 44 is very capable IF YOU PUT THE RIGHT PARTS IN IT. a 60 is pretty heavy and ungainly at anything 38" and under, im not a huge fan of 1 ton axles in general. a well built and narrowed 44 under a cherokee will do just fine
Click to expand...

Agreed to a point. I'm a one ton fan though. Mike you need to look at tire rim size too. The one ton does not like 15" rims either. You've known me a long time and seen both my rigs I've had over the years in action. If I were to start over I'd very seriously consider a HP D44 waggy width front with alloy or RCV shafts with 37 treps.
 
Ghost said:
Agreed to a point. I'm a one ton fan though. Mike you need to look at tire rim size too. The one ton does not like 15" rims either. You've known me a long time and seen both my rigs I've had over the years in action. If I were to start over I'd very seriously consider a HP D44 waggy width front with alloy or RCV shafts with 37 treps.
Click to expand...

You beat me to the whole RCV thing. I am a 1 ton fan myself.

If I ever build another 44 it would be with RCV shafts. Don't bother with regular chromoly shafts unless you like changing joints. I had grande chromoly setup on my last 44 and it would kill the 297 joints with 36s. With RCVs I guess your moving the weak link to the ring and pinion?
 
All points will be taken into consideration. My goal is two-fold:

1: Increase strength
2: Do it as economically as possible.

I don't have a whole lot of money to throw into this thing, but I do have a little bit set aside to get me started. So unfortunately, brand new tires and high-dollar axle shafts just aren't in my budget. I'm used to having the baby Jeep of the bunch, but if money will allow it I want to step it up without throwing any more money into my Dana 30/8.25" setup. I'd prefer to be able to sell them off and recoup some money while they're still worth selling.

What I'd love to find is someone that is going big and selling their 1/2 or 3/4 tons they've already got set up for an XJ, but I don't think I could come up with enough $$ for that yet.
 
lt99ls1 said:
You beat me to the whole RCV thing. I am a 1 ton fan myself.

If I ever build another 44 it would be with RCV shafts. Don't bother with regular chromoly shafts unless you like changing joints. I had grande chromoly setup on my last 44 and it would kill the 297 joints with 36s. With RCVs I guess your moving the weak link to the ring and pinion?
Click to expand...

I have alloy usa shafts on seriously under maintained CTM joints on my 44 with 37's and don't really have an issue.

Not only do you have to decide what size tires you want to run, you need to decide if you want to be a rock bouncer or a trail rider. The intended use of your rig makes a big difference too.

I haven't been kind to my front 44 on the trail, but I haven't been stupid either.
 
Not a rock bouncer, nor am I just a trail rider. I won't shy away from most obstacles, but I'm not the "bounce off of everything including the rev limiter/drive by braille" type of driver, either. I'd say I rest firmly in between all of that. I'm usually pretty easy on the pedal because I've come to realize that I go much further with finesse rather than just a judicious use of the skinny pedal, but if the situation calls for it I'll give it hell. Glenn and Andy have seen my driving style, so maybe they can chime in. They may see my style differently lol
 
I am definitely not a rock bouncer and I don't like to go leaf looking. I do enjoy testing my driving skills and the limits of my rig. I never want to leave a place thinking "I wished I had tried that trail."
 
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