Here's some info about axle shafts copied from the Darkside,
www.yukongear.com
Yukon alloy shafts are cheap. They are made in India. I don't hear great reviews on how they are holding up to the test of time. They seem to be breaking stub shafts left and right. They do carry a 5 year warranty. The price is right but the quality may be in question. Does Yukon have a bad rap?
www.warn.com
Warn alloy shafts are decent. I've read a number of stories about broken shafts from them and heard of people having trouble with their warranty. They are very specific about what is and isn't covered. The price isn't as low as Yukon but they aren't as high as other manufacturers. They are super hardened which makes them really hard on U joints. For that reason a person should probably only run a bushing U joint.
www.alloyusa.com/
Alloy USA is new to the scene. They have pretty good prices and they carry a 10 year warranty! They have a no questions asked warranty. The splines are cut and not rolled, more specifically they are hobbed. The stock is made in India. Edit: I just spoke with Ron from Alloy USA for 45 minutes. He was very informative about manufacturing techiniques and materials. One particular part of engineering the axle that struck me as attractive is shared between Superior and Alloy USA (perhaps others). The axles are a smaller diameter on the short side and the outer shafts to allow them to twist like the long side. This is an old Nascar technology that Superior learned from an early customer. My explanation may not be perfect but you get the picture. He said that he has warranteed 4 or 5 shafts out of about 12,000 that he currently has in the field. I like that record. Unfortunately they are low on D44 inner stock too. I definitely feel that this company deserves a serious look for anyone preparing to buy chromoly shafts. EDIT: I got my shafts and learned that they come with 760 U joints AND Alloy USA applies the same 10 year warranty to the U joints that they do to the shafts. That means when you buy them you ge a COMPLETE solution that is warranteed for 10 ten years. I've since broken one but it appears to have been due to the U joint failure. Since I've been running both Longfield joints I haven't had a problem running 40" tires and driving hard.
www.superioraxle.com
Superior. I couldn't find a single bit of negative information about superior shafts except ship time and possibly warranty replacement time. They have a lifetime warranty. The warranty seems to be easy to deal with. They are made in the USA. According to them, the splines are rolled and not cut which is supposed to be superior manufacturing. You can get a full set of Waggy shafts for $630 to my door from Summit racing . . . This is the manufacturer that I have decided to go with except that they are hard to get right now. They are back ordered on their D44 inner stock as of this post.
www.dutchmanms.com
Dutchman sells an India made shaft that is dirt cheap and has a 1 year warranty. They are relatively local to me, Portland Or. I can get a full set for $445. I have heard NOTHING about the quality or ease of warranty. They also sell Yukon shafts and shafts made with Superior stock but they don’t carry the full superior warranty for under $700. I don’t know if they qualify as a manufacturer here but I had to add them as they sell the axles under their name. The guy I talked to on the phone says he doesn’t get much feedback and doesn’t have axles come back. I wonder why I don’t read more about Dutchman axles on web boards. Aren’t they good stuff? I’m considering some of the Indian shafts from Dutchman as an alternative if Superior stock doesn’t become available before the Jambo. Edit: I've heard that their stock is Yukon stock. They resell both the Yukons and Superior stock. The Superior stock that they sell is NOT double hardened because Dutchman has to cut them splines after hardening.
www.moserengineering.com
Moser Engineering axles. They specialize in rear axles and those carry a 10 year warranty. Unforunately they offer no warranty on their front axle shafts. They sell D44 sets for around $600. Thats a good price! They are made in the USA and they are manufactured with some significant differences from most of the other manufacturers. They are oil quenched. They "twist" more without losing shape allowing them to take more shock according to the fellow on the phone. In so many words he said the warranty doesn't help you when you are broken on the trail. I have heard great things about these axles from reading here on Pirate. I'm concerned about the utter lack of warranty though and they have no current ETA on receiving stock to make the axles. Totally backorderd as of this post. See this thread for some info on Moser . . . Edit: Since posting this I've heard all kinds of mixed reviews on these. Mostly about breakage.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=422474
www.ctmracing.com
CTM also makes custom axle shafts. They are no questions asked warranty but they run around $2200 for shafts and CTM U joints. I didn't really consider them in my choices. Jack even said that he would probably go with something like Warn or Yukon unless you were competing and had lots of money to spend . . .
Who am I missing that makes D44 axles shafts?
U Joints. I only see four full circle clip choices:
Yukon Super Joints. I have searched and searched for recent info on these and can't find a single bad review anymore. They appear to be holding up just fine. They are the cheapest bushing U joint that I could find. Around $250 a set.
Longfield 300M U Joints. No reports of breakage. The price is right, the warranty is right and they seem to be holding up. This will probably be my choice. $270 a set shipped.
Ox U joints. I have heard mixed reviews on this one. The price is good and they look beefy!
CTM U Joints. The first, the best and the most expensive. You get what you pay for! Around $400 a set.
It does a good job of explaining the differences.
