Upgrade to Aftermarket Axle (VERY large Budget)

[REVROK]

...a Currie HP which is limited to 4.88 gears and is not recommended for tires over 35's (and I've seen them break on 37's), or a TrueHi9 which is a very good choice but it's expensive. I'd do the 35 spline D44...

Thanks Richard, I should have not said 38's and 40's in the same breath as the Currie earlier. True Hi9 is an awesome setup though, as is any of the newish rotated HP60 centersections. I think there are still a few HP44 Fords out there though. I have noticed that they are getting scarcer. Although I love our sport, it is sad when one of the greatest pickups ever made (Late 70's Ford 4x4) get constantly scrapped for their axles. Late Ford F350's are totally going to be worse though, just part 'em out.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2738301526.html

Here's a good source for some axles. HP44 front and a Dana 60 rear... would need to be drilled for 35 spline. $650

 

[KJurasek]

Large budget? Go Dana 60 or Ford 9" from Currie.

 

[Goatman]

this guy isn't racing KOH:laugh:

I've not heard of the alum housing rockjocks cracking... but I suppose if people can blowup a 14bolt...


the ironjock does look like a very cool rearend...but extremely overkill for any full- bodied jeep. buggy, not so much.

The thing is that a lot of full bodied Jeeps are MUCH heavier than buggies, and yet run the same size tires and wheel on the same type of trails. I don't see much difference in requirements for a well built full body or a buggy....even if they don't race KOH.


I still wonder why folks are recommending full width junkyard axles for a street driven XJ on 35's. They must be narrowed, which adds to the cost and labor, if you have the ability to do it. A bare aftermarket housing with a high clearance center section and the correct width isn't that expensive.

If you can find a Ford HP44 it's a good way to go, a ton of us around here have built them, narrowed them ourselves, etc, they're just hard to find. Also, with tire creep happening over time, many of us who opted to build 44's later wished we'd have spent the money of some form of 35 spline front axle, D60, 609, or 44/60.

 

[MoparManiac]

The thing is that a lot of full bodied Jeeps are MUCH heavier than buggies, and yet run the same size tires and wheel on the same type of trails. I don't see much difference in requirements for a well built full body or a buggy....even if they don't race KOH.


I still wonder why folks are recommending full width junkyard axles for a street driven XJ on 35's. They must be narrowed, which adds to the cost and labor, if you have the ability to do it. A bare aftermarket housing with a high clearance center section and the correct width isn't that expensive.

If you can find a Ford HP44 it's a good way to go, a ton of us around here have built them, narrowed them ourselves, etc, they're just hard to find. Also, with tire creep happening over time, many of us who opted to build 44's later wished we'd have spent the money of some form of 35 spline front axle, D60, 609, or 44/60.

Because instead of narrowing, they can just run wheels with more backspacing, like H2s or H1s for example. I don't see how there's any added cost (besides consumables), but that's just me. Also, I don't see why they MUST be narrowed.

I'm not saying aftermarket axles don't have their place, but they are a pretty penny. For the average guy, losing 1" of ground clearance isn't going to kill him if it saves him a decent amount of money.

You could very cheaply/easily build stock type junkyard axles that will handle 35s without a problem. A number of us have found very cheap HP60s (~$200 ea) out here on the east coast. Probably not the norm on the west coast from what I've seen.

 

[Goatman]

An inch of ground clearance is HUGE!!!

If you have to cover the tires on the street to meet laws, then full width axles are a major pain. In many cases on the trail properly narrowed axles perform better than full width axles because they fit better through tight obstacles and the vehicle doesn't get so tippy and off camber. Nothing wrong with full width axles if you just don't have the money and are willing to put up with the downsides, but they are FAR from ideal. Large backspacing wheels are fine, until you smack a hub on a rock and break the crap out of it.

Nothing wrong with running junkyard full width axles if you have a small budget and are willing to live with it. Also nothing wrong with spending the money, if you have it, on a much superior proper width custom axle.

 

[MoparManiac]

An inch of ground clearance is HUGE!!!

If you have to cover the tires on the street to meet laws, then full width axles are a major pain. In many cases on the trail properly narrowed axles perform better than full width axles because they fit better through tight obstacles and the vehicle doesn't get so tippy and off camber. Nothing wrong with full width axles if you just don't have the money and are willing to put up with the downsides, but they are FAR from ideal. Large backspacing wheels are fine, until you smack a hub on a rock and break the crap out of it.

I agree it is huge, but it comes at a cost.

I'd argue that there are just as many cases where full width axles allow the tires to be placed further apart avoiding falling into holes. We have plenty of trees over here that make our trails extremely narrow as well, sometimes not even allowing multiple lines over rocks.

Nothing wrong with running junkyard full width axles if you have a small budget and are willing to live with it. Also nothing wrong with spending the money, if you have it, on a much superior proper width custom axle.

Agreed except everyone's definition of "proper width" is different :thumbup:

 

[Darky]

Because instead of narrowing, they can just run wheels with more backspacing, like H2s or H1s for example. I don't see how there's any added cost (besides consumables), but that's just me. Also, I don't see why they MUST be narrowed.

I'm not saying aftermarket axles don't have their place, but they are a pretty penny. For the average guy, losing 1" of ground clearance isn't going to kill him if it saves him a decent amount of money.

You could very cheaply/easily build stock type junkyard axles that will handle 35s without a problem. A number of us have found very cheap HP60s (~$200 ea) out here on the east coast. Probably not the norm on the west coast from what I've seen.

The thing is, the OP has a large budget set aside for this. If he has the means and the desire for a well built, custom designed aftermarket axle that meets all of his needs, why counsel him to compromise? If I had the cash, I'd buy some fancy axles...

Thanks Richard, I should have not said 38's and 40's in the same breath as the Currie earlier. True Hi9 is an awesome setup though, as is any of the newish rotated HP60 centersections. I think there are still a few HP44 Fords out there though. I have noticed that they are getting scarcer. Although I love our sport, it is sad when one of the greatest pickups ever made (Late 70's Ford 4x4) get constantly scrapped for their axles. Late Ford F350's are totally going to be worse though, just part 'em out.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2738301526.html

Here's a good source for some axles. HP44 front and a Dana 60 rear... would need to be drilled for 35 spline. $650

If he wasn't so far, I'd be very tempted to go buy it and swap the 4wd gear into my 73 Ford F250...

 

[rockclimber]

The thing is that a lot of full bodied Jeeps are MUCH heavier than buggies, and yet run the same size tires and wheel on the same type of trails. I don't see much difference in requirements for a well built full body or a buggy....even if they don't race KOH.

true enough, but I doubt most full-bodied XJ's can get into the same predicaments...I mean trails that you can get your buggy into...


just sayin...:spin1:

and a stock XJ weighs in at just over 3000lb? add 1000lb for armor/gear thats not too much for an alum rockjock is it? I ask, because whenever I can afford to go with tons (long time from now), that was one of the options I was considering.

 

[cdawall]

The thing is that a lot of full bodied Jeeps are MUCH heavier than buggies, and yet run the same size tires and wheel on the same type of trails. I don't see much difference in requirements for a well built full body or a buggy....even if they don't race KOH.


I still wonder why folks are recommending full width junkyard axles for a street driven XJ on 35's. They must be narrowed, which adds to the cost and labor, if you have the ability to do it. A bare aftermarket housing with a high clearance center section and the correct width isn't that expensive.

If you can find a Ford HP44 it's a good way to go, a ton of us around here have built them, narrowed them ourselves, etc, they're just hard to find. Also, with tire creep happening over time, many of us who opted to build 44's later wished we'd have spent the money of some form of 35 spline front axle, D60, 609, or 44/60.

Because a set of H1's will bring you close to correct width. A set of fender flares and you would be close. I prefer full width because if you ever decide to go bigger all you have to do is swap rims and tires and you are there. Building a waggy D44 or narrowing a D60 isn't that far out in cost. The stock inners and outers on the D60 are plenty strong. Depending on the year the 35 spline inners can be re-splined to proper width and you only have to trim the long side for it to work. You jump to a bigger/stronger ring/pinion with more gear options, a stronger housing, stronger axles, etc. Not to mention you dump the weak 297x ujoints without paying for better axle shafts. For the rear there are plenty of F100's with a close to correct width rear D60 or you can get the long side of a 10.25" narrowed and run a pair of short side shafts for the correct width. The ground clearance lost IMO is worth it vs strength. The 10.25 is also better for clearance than a shaved 14 bolt stock. The D60 is a D60 run a good cover and pay attention you wont drag it on 35s. There are plenty of guys I wheel with that run 35's and a D60/sterling combo without destroying axles because the clearance is "terrible" It's not that far off of a D44/8.8" combo with 33"s and people wheel the shit out of those.

true enough, but I doubt most full-bodied XJ's can get into the same predicaments...I mean trails that you can get your buggy into...


just sayin...:spin1:

and a stock XJ weighs in at just over 3000lb? add 1000lb for armor/gear thats not too much for an alum rockjock is it? I ask, because whenever I can afford to go with tons (long time from now), that was one of the options I was considering.

Mine weighs in at 34XX lbs. That's not to much for aluminum rockjocks, but people delete the rear aluminum D44 why would you add aluminum in there is a reason it isn't really used heavily stock other than cost.

 

[Forceful Llama]

whoops, wrong thread.
http://modesto.craigslist.org/ctd/2731067950.html

 

[rockclimber]

Mine weighs in at 34XX lbs. That's not to much for aluminum rockjocks, but people delete the rear aluminum D44 why would you add aluminum in there is a reason it isn't really used heavily stock other than cost.

people delete the alum D44 because the housings are weak and flex.

that is not the case with the rockjock.

I would rather save the weight with the alum rockjock... all JY axles are pigs, why would I want to add another 500 - 900 lbs to my rig when I could get away with ~200

and yes, I'm sure its possible to break them, but people break 14bolts too...I dunno...

 

[kastein]

500-900?!

BS. Even a 14bolt weighs in on the low end of that scale and that isn't taking into account the 150-200 you lose taking the old axle out. Unless you are running a Rockwell axle you'll never get even close to adding 900lbs installing an axle.

 

[rockclimber]

500-900?!

BS. Even a 14bolt weighs in on the low end of that scale and that isn't taking into account the 150-200 you lose taking the old axle out. Unless you are running a Rockwell axle you'll never get even close to adding 900lbs installing an axle.

a front dana 60 weighs in at around 450lbs... 14bolt is easily another hundred....


and that number was for 2 axles :laugh:

 

[dukie564]

I agree with the majority of these posts. Especially with that kind of a shop at your disposal you can build some waaay better axles for a lot cheaper, then spend the remaining money on other upgrades.