Dana 44 vs 8.25

[connor0770]

School me on the pros and cons of upgrading from a 8.25 29 spline to an XJ Dana 44. Im looking to possibly upgrade. Tire size will be 35's but could possibly go bigger later down the road.

 

[the_weirdo]

With 35's, either is fine especially with chromo shafts. If I was going to go bigger than 35's, I would do a D60 rather than the D44 or C8.25.

Edit: If I had a C8.25 I would not upgrade to a D44, the strength increase is marginal if any.

 

[Rockslut]

With 35's, either is fine especially with chromo shafts. If I was going to go bigger than 35's, I would do a D60 rather than the D44 or C8.25.

Edit: If I had a C8.25 I would not upgrade to a D44, the strength increase is marginal if any.

Ditto as long as we are talking 29 spline 8.25

 

[matus2]

Well I have both a 29 spline 8.25 and a D44 from an XJ. So the decision is tough.

From what I heard/read 8.25 has a c-clip which can be a pain and the D44 has much better aftermarket support.

 

[rocknxj]

Disk brakes on the D44 are a definate upgrade. Also, you can go with deeper gears with the D44, where the 8.25 limits you to 4.56. That is helpful when you eventually upgrade to 37's.

 

[Bryan C.]

The answer to this question depends on what type of wheeling you do. A locked 8.25" with stock 29 spline shafts and with 33" tires is pretty tough to break, but not impossible. Once you get to 35's all bets are off. Any axle can be broken if you get a tire bound up bad enough.

I broke a set of D44 Alloy 30 spline shafts in my rig, while running 33's. This was due to getting a tire bound and not backing off the throttle. Simple as that.

The main consideration I see is money. Used D44 parts can be found fairly easy, but used 8.25" parts are harder to come by.

If buying new parts, expect to spend a little over $1000 for a full case locker, gears, and alloy shafts on either axle just for parts.

So ask yourself what type of wheeling you like to do and go from there. Anything can and will break if you aren't careful.

Also, 37's will stress any axle with a spline count of less than 35.

 

[matus2]

Seems like Teraflex makes disk conversions for both - http://www.teraflex.biz/rear-disc-brake-kit-jeep-late-model-bearing-pocket.html#secondhttp://

And would you really want to run larger than 35 inch tire on a locked d44 or 8.25? Plus remember if you do run 35+ tires you'll need to upgrade the D30... Just thinking out loud.

 

[Boatwrench]

Between what Bryan has written and this you should have all the information you need.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

if youre going bigger i say wheel what you have or whats cheaply available until you can afford to build an axle that is capable of handling bigger than 35s.

i wouldnt stress about 35s if youre carrying spare parts and wheel like you know what axles under your jeep.
a zj or explorer disc conversion is cheap for both.

 

[Letterman]

If you plan on running 35's or bigger you need to go to a Dana 44 and 35 spline after market axles. I have broken a few 30 spline 44 axles with only 33 inch tires.

30 next to a 35 Dana 44 axle:

I have broken a few 30 spline 44 axles with only 33 inch tires, and more with the 37 inch tires.

If you run a c-clip axle you can really find yourself jacked when you break. You should never drive on a busted axle because it will do so much more damage, but sometimes you have to do it. With the c-clip the axle, it can and will slide right out, unlike a semi float or the full floating axles.

 

[connor0770]

Thanks a lot guys. To be honest i wont be going bigger then 35's anytime soon! I have a lot more to do to the Jeep before then. But since i plan on running 35's i would like to run 4.88's instead of 4.56's. Therefore I will need a Dana44 correct? I found one here in reno for $250 bucks. I could always re-sell it for more since they are worth at least 400. Plus before i put the lift on and everything, i would clean the axle up and do disc brakes on it so i can put everything on at one time. Yes i know i need to upgrade the 30 if i go any bigger. For now i think the 30 is fine. I will put 4.88's in it and chromo shafts down the road with a possible Truss. Thanks guys, really helps a lot! BTW im very easy on the skinny pedal

 

[RCP Phx]

Disk brakes on the D44 are a definate upgrade. Also, you can go with deeper gears with the D44, where the 8.25 limits you to 4.56. That is helpful when you eventually upgrade to 37's.

You can get 4.88's for the 8.25".Plus the pinion is bigger on the 8.25".

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

Well I have both a 29 spline 8.25 and a D44 from an XJ. So the decision is tough.

if you have both, what is the problem? id say 44, has better aftermarket support and parts are generally cheaper across the board. unless the 8.25 is already at your desired gear ratio... the decision is easy.

 

[connor0770]

The 8.25 is not at my desired gear ratio. I plan on 4:88s with 35"s. My goal is to have an axle that won't leaveme stranded on a trail and can handle some trail abuse

 

[SpenceXJ]

You can definitely get 4.88's with the 8.25...

 

[Kevin3151]

8.25 29 spline 150 bucks tops. d44 350 tops. hmm save your money unless Im missing something. If you ever go bigger the D44 wont be enough. What you have now is adequate. You have a good chance even on 35s of breaking either one if you do any real wheeling at all.

KH

 

[jeeperjohn]

I think for the money you would spend getting a D44 you would be better off to put some alloys in the 8.25 and have a very durable axle. The 8.25 has thicker axle tubes buit is still c-clip. The c-clip thing is not a big deal unless you break an axle shaft, which seems to be not very common on an 8.25. Disk brake upgrades for an 8.25 are readily available as are lockers. The ring gear on a D44 is slightly bigger but rarely is there a R&P failure on an 8.25. IMHO you are better off sticking with the 8.25.

 

[connor0770]

The biggest thing I'm worried about now is the c-clip possibly breaking. Is there anyway to eliminate the cclip??

 

[RCP Phx]

The biggest thing I'm worried about now is the c-clip possibly breaking. Is there anyway to eliminate the cclip??

They make C-clip eliminators for the 8.8,but I dont recall ever seeing one for the 8.25".

 

[EricsXJ]

The biggest thing I'm worried about now is the c-clip possibly breaking. Is there anyway to eliminate the cclip??

Connor, there is no reason why the c-clip should ever fail. Don't buy into any claims that a c-clip axle is weaker than a non-c-clip axle due to the c-clips. The c-clips only become an issue after you break a shaft.