dana 44 gusseting

[mcgee149]

so have any of you done the gusset to your front dana 44 or 30? im thinking this will be my first real up grade.

[chuckanut105]

From what everyone has told me go dana 60. Brad has cused himself everyday since he guseted his the cost is about the same. Now Dynatrac just came out with there pro rock 44 for the JK (thing is beefy) its about $21-2200 (cheap compared to a d60) You do have to put gears and axels in it. This is the route Im going in due to the cost and the fact that I dont wheel like Shannon Campbell or his close rivial MFDD. Just my .02 Check out JKO they have a large form on this.

[mcgee149]

21 or 2200 im not trying to spend even a 1000 on it

[munepit]

What do you want to gusset? I had my tubes welded to the center section, That helped a lot. Before doing that, I would snap tubes all the time, After welding the tubes, I never snapped the tubes again, Just other parts.

[chuckanut105]

[quote="mcgee149"]21 or 2200 im not trying to spend even a 1000 on it[/quote]

$1000 wont even get you the parts. I say just run it untill it breaks then upgrade.

[igofshn]

[quote="chuckanut105"][quote="mcgee149"]21 or 2200 im not trying to spend even a 1000 on it[/quote]

$1000 wont even get you the parts. I say just run it untill it breaks then upgrade.[/quote]
What are you talking about. Gusset the "c's" and sleave the tubes is not that expensive. If you pay to have it done, then it will be. parts alone is a couple hundered. Welding the housing is easy.

[igofshn]

[quote="munepit"]What do you want to gusset? I had my tubes welded to the center section, That helped a lot. Before doing that, I would snap tubes all the time, After welding the tubes, I never snapped the tubes again, Just other parts.[/quote]

What do you do, jump your rig???

[Desert Dog]

The simple answer:

You did not specify if you have a D30 or a D44. If it is a D30 - don't throw another dime into it as no matter how strong you make the tubes and stuff, the gears are just too tiny for these big heavy beasts on large tires. If its a D44, read on.

As you probably have figured out, Rubicon 44s are not really D44s (this goes for TJs and JKs). The center section and gears are true D44, but the axle tubes, Cs, ball joints, and outers are Dana 30 parts. Also, stock JK front axle shafts suck bad and are the weak link in the system due to the stupid half-clip design used for the caps/ears.

It you plan to get loco and wheel with BIG meats, don't waste a penny on your 44. B-rad did everything you could possibly do to his; gussets, sleeves, beefier mounts, RCV shafts, etc. The best that money could buy to have something that still isn't a D60. I leaned from his mistake.

Now, if you plan to wheel like a normal human being (don't go apeshit) and keep the tires 37" or smaller, you can build a pretty decent JK 44 with commercially available parts on the cheap;

Poly Sleeves = $100
http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Syn ... 20274.html

Poly Gussets = $65
http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Syn ... 21273.html

Poly ball Joints = $125
http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Syn ... 26182.html

Nitro Chrome Moly axle shafts with 1350 U-joints = $700
http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?p=398980

So you can build a pretty awesome JK D44 for under $1000 in parts.

[mcgee149]

i have a d44 im goin to do the evo mfg sleeves and c's

[mcgee149]

and dd i think i will do more wheeling than the average person but dont think i will go over 37" tires

[mcgee149]

and the reasoning for the evo stuff instead of poly is that there is seals in there sleaves

[Goatman]

We just did Poly Performance truss kits on two JK Rubicon D44's. It's a pretty beefy upgrade. The work to do it is more than you'd think it was. We removed the housings from the Jeep and pulled out the upper ball joints, quite a bit of disassembly to do it that way. The heat can ruin the upper ball joints, and you need to weld the gussets onto the C's with a lot of heat. Drilling all the holes in the tubes with the vehicle in the rig and on the ground would not be a fun project, but if you were patient and took your time it could be done.

We like the upgrade, makes that D44 housing pretty stout. If you're going to run larger than 37's, save up and buy a D60. I wouldn't spend money on an aftermarket D44, you're not getting anything you don't already have or can upgrade. While a TJ D44 has 27 spline (D30) stub shafts, the JK D44 has 32 spline stub shafts, which are stronger than standard (older) D44 stubs which are 19 spline. The JK D44 also has larger axle u-joints than the previous D44's, so if you beef up the housing and get a set of chromo axle shafts it's a pretty decent axle. We can do chromo axles and new u-joints for under $600.

[mcgee149]

right now my rig is a bone stock 2012 boobicon so im just trying to prevent things before i just start upgrading and braking a bunch of things that i thing should be addressed first such as evap skid or relocation the front axle skid plates and so on