Life span of D44 with 37's ??

I've read that D44's will live happily locked on a 6 cyl wrangler with 35" tires. I've also read that above that size you will eventually break them. In reality, a lot of guys I know run 37" to 40" with dana 44's on their jeeps and they never seem to bust them.

On an otherwise stock jeep, do you guys think a 44 could safely handle 37's ??

Is it possible to make a D44 bullet proof in this application with Allied axles, CTM's, or ?

There isn't a lot of talk about this on the internet, but I know its being frequently done. What up wit dat ?? Thanks!!

TigTorch said:

I've read that D44's will live happily locked on a 6 cyl wrangler with 35" tires. I've also read that above that size you will eventually break them. In reality, a lot of guys I know run 37" to 40" with dana 44's on their jeeps and they never seem to bust them.

On an otherwise stock jeep, do you guys think a 44 could safely handle 37's ??

Is it possible to make a D44 bullet proof in this application with Allied axles, CTM's, or ?

There isn't a lot of talk about this on the internet, but I know its being frequently done. What up wit dat ?? Thanks!!

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you can sink a lot of money into a 44 , I would say dont run anything over a 33 but I know people who do. you obviously need a 60 if you thinking larger already. been there done the 44 thing, I want my money back

It depends alot on the type of usage your Wrangler will see/ the type of tire (ie. mud terrains/ all terrains/ or boggers!) ; I've got a friend that ran 37's with stock axles on a 94 YJ w/ 44's & ARB's F&R, and he'd pop a ujoint once in a while.Also, depends on your driving style---> seen guys bust a 44 front axle w/ 33's and open diff cause they were being stupid!!!

Do what I'm doing- run 44's for now but don't sink money into it. With 33's and a 4-cyl things are fine. It will soon become 37's and a 6-cyl and I will find out how long things last. Just cruising easy trails will probably not be a problem, it's when you wedge your tire into a 4 ft undercut ledge and gas it that makes things go snap. I will upgrade to 60's before blowing cash on D44 chromos, histeer, drive flanges, etc.

zukkev said:

It depends alot on the type of usage your Wrangler will see/ the type of tire (ie. mud terrains/ all terrains/ or boggers!) ; I've got a friend that ran 37's with stock axles on a 94 YJ w/ 44's & ARB's F&R, and he'd pop a ujoint once in a while.Also, depends on your driving style---> seen guys bust a 44 front axle w/ 33's and open diff cause they were being stupid!!!

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x2 all depends upon the driver

As has been stated above, it's all in the driver. With my old CJ with 44's front and rear on 35" Boggers and then Krawlers, I lost 1 front resplined stock axle in 10 years and that was due to a circlip falling out. I wasn' t afraid to use the winch and I've got a little wheelin' experience. I've seen guys with similar stuff break something everytime out.
Personally, I now overbuild. I don't want to worry about breaking. I have 37's on both my rigs and 60's at both ends. I don't carry spare axles shafts and don't feel there's a need for them. Spare d-shafts are about the only drivetrain spare parts I carry. Breaking sucks. We've all been out with the guy that is underbuilt and doesn't know when to back out or winch. I hate wheelin' with those guys.
If you can't afford something right away, do the minumum with your junk now, carry lots of spares and save your cash for the 'right' part. But also be aware that you don't have the good stuff now and wheel accordingly. No one wants to drag your ass out.

Just my $.02.

I ran 42's and heavy beadlocks on my front 44 w/ a Toy 4 banger in front of dual cases... Just popped u-joint caps, about 1 every trip but if you pay attantion and dont get to drunk :beer: u can save the axles everytime... Oh, and I wheeled the piss outta that thing too!

I would say run it, keep an eye on the u-joint caps and save coin for a 60, I aggree on polishin' the 44 turd, not worth it in the long run...

I run wagoneer D44's (low pinion front) on 36" TSL's and before that 36" Iroks. Stock shafts all the way around, spool in the rear and a Detroit up front. I'm still running the stock spicer joints that came with the front axle when I bought it, have never broke one, even though I carry spares. 4.0L HO. I'm not too throttle happy, but I use it when I need to. I have my steering stops adjusted pretty conservative, which helps a lot in terms of wear and tear and bind on the joints.

I think the wagoneer D44 is a good, cheap upgrade for a YJ or CJ with 35-37" tires, especially if you can find one with gears that will work for you, or can install your own gears on the cheap. I wouldn't sink too much money into the 44 though (IE, high steer, expensive lockers, etc, like I have), because you're just going to kick yourself down the road when you want to step up to a 60.

thats one of the nice things about this sport. When you upgrade you can find someone who wants to upgrade to what you have and will buy your parts. Granted you dont always get your money back but it helps when upgrading in steps.

TigTorch said:

I've read that D44's will live happily locked on a 6 cyl wrangler with 35" tires. I've also read that above that size you will eventually break them. In reality, a lot of guys I know run 37" to 40" with dana 44's on their jeeps and they never seem to bust them.

On an otherwise stock jeep, do you guys think a 44 could safely handle 37's ??

Is it possible to make a D44 bullet proof in this application with Allied axles, CTM's, or ?

There isn't a lot of talk about this on the internet, but I know its being frequently done. What up wit dat ?? Thanks!!

Click to expand...

Here's my pic.

You do the math. This is a Warn Alloy shaft, about 5 years old. It was ran with CTMs, and the CTM held up during the failure, but I did have to buy two caps, as they were damaged.

V8 powered YJ with Atlas 4.3 on 37 Krawlers.

It also took out the ball joints

im running 38's on my waggy 44 with a v8 and as long as i pay attention and only use as much stupid petal as needed and absolutely no hopping they hold up. 1 thing that i did do is have the caps welded that seemed to help but the key factor is to just pay attention :beer:

38s on mine w/v8. I wheel pretty mellow and weld the caps, still like a timebomb in the back of my mind tho..

Thanks for the replys guys; very cool. :awesomework:

Sounds like 37's is flirting with disaster.

The thought of being busted a million miles from home on a Sunday night REALLY dosen't appeal to me.

Tig, You got a lot of good input :;

Now I ran 38.5 SX's on a D44 on my toyota with a single 4.7 case and 5.38's with a ARB now the ARB is key to a long life only use it when you need it and turn it off..

I run 38.5x14.5 TSL SX's on my 44 for 2 1/2 year now and no problems. thats using warns and randys superjoints.

Dana 44

Dana 44's suck, I broke one in a stock 2006 Rubicon- 31" tires, in about 12" of snow(front locker engaged, stub ears broke). I used to have a J-20 on 38" Boggers that broke a front shaft everytime the front ARB was engaged, one time the stub ears broke, and the necked down area by the splines at the same time. Another time the stub split lengthwise down the shaft. I just built and installed a Dana 60 front for a customer, he had a Dana 44 front built 5 years ago but broke it almost everytime he went wheelin. Spending money on quality parts the first time you build a vehicle will save you time and money in the long run.:awesomework:

I have mine under a squirrel powered Tacoma on 36" IROKs. I try not to get on it hard with the front locked but have. I am a little concerned with putting full hydro on it though.

I'm running a D44 up front with 37" Mickey Thompson MTZ's (38's = 37's). Warn chromo shafts and ARB, 4.56 gearing with an LT1 under the hood.

Thus far I've not had any problems but I don't have the pedal to the floor all the time and only use the lockers when needed. On the other hand, this is what came in my Jeep when purchased so I haven't put any (extra) money into it.

Crazy Daze said:

Dana 44's suck, I broke one in a stock 2006 Rubicon- 31" tires, in about 12" of snow(front locker engaged, stub ears broke). I used to have a J-20 on 38" Boggers that broke a front shaft everytime the front ARB was engaged, one time the stub ears broke, and the necked down area by the splines at the same time. Another time the stub split lengthwise down the shaft. I just built and installed a Dana 60 front for a customer, he had a Dana 44 front built 5 years ago but broke it almost everytime he went wheelin. Spending money on quality parts the first time you build a vehicle will save you time and money in the long run.:awesomework:

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A Ruby D44 is a 44 center with D30 outers so it doesn't really count.

I have broken 2 D60 ring gears and my D44 is still working fine. This is with 35X13.50 Toyo M/T's.

NotMatt said:

I run wagoneer D44's (low pinion front) on 36" TSL's and before that 36" Iroks. Stock shafts all the way around, spool in the rear and a Detroit up front. I'm still running the stock spicer joints that came with the front axle when I bought it, have never broke one, even though I carry spares. 4.0L HO. I'm not too throttle happy, but I use it when I need to. I have my steering stops adjusted pretty conservative, which helps a lot in terms of wear and tear and bind on the joints.

I think the wagoneer D44 is a good, cheap upgrade for a YJ or CJ with 35-37" tires, especially if you can find one with gears that will work for you, or can install your own gears on the cheap. I wouldn't sink too much money into the 44 though (IE, high steer, expensive lockers, etc, like I have), because you're just going to kick yourself down the road when you want to step up to a 60.

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true that