which axle's

[hydewildman]

hello all, i currently have a 97 tj with a 4" short arm suspension and 33's with stock axles. i am wanting to upgrade this to run 36-38" tires and also putting in a long arm, probably claytons since i dont have the time to build one, i was considering 9" ford's or d44's but im open for anything which of those would hold up better? or maybe i should consider a different axle? thanks for any suggestions:smokin:

[ACHASE6002]

Easiest Would Be A Hp 30 And An 8.8

[bnine]

Going to a 38 you would definately benefit from some increase in width.

Late 70's Bronco 9" and hp 44 front are good diff set. Adds about 7 inches of width, allows deeper backsapced wheels, has a common bolt pattern (CJ, Ford, Sammi), fairly easy to find (getting harder), ratios available to 5.38, and plenty strong under a jeep.

Hard part is mount fabbing, rear pinion angle, and actually finding a set if they arent common in your area.

[hydewildman]

no, its rear to find anything around here

[Ferrell's YJ]

I would do a 9 inch in the rear. 8.8s are great (stronger than d44) but it is a highly debaed topic about wht size tire to run on them. Most people I have talked to try and stay with 35s with an 8.8 though I do know one person on 37 tsl and he beats the shit out of the thing. they just seem to think that over 35s is to much for the 8.8. Just my 2 cents.

[voiceshadow]

What you really need to ask yourself at this point is how hard you wheel your rig. To run 36s you could throw an 8.8 in rear and call it quits, but anything more than that and you might as well just throw 60s front and rear or 44 front 60 rear. You are always going to want to go bigger. My philosophy is do it right the first time so your possibilities are greater and besides you save $$ that way.

[hydewildman]

good point, how much could a 44 hold up too in the front im no where close to easy on my stuff

[hydewildman]

good point, how much could a 44 hold up too in the front im no where close to easy on my stuff width is really not that important

[botiejeep]

I ran 36 inch tsls on scout dana 44s with yukon 4340 moly shafts and didnt have any trouble. I blew stock shafts out of the front end about every other trip out. I did have about a 300 hp small block chevy. I would personally never put a junk dana 60 in the rear over a 14 bolt rear axle.

[Wrangler14]

I currently have 33's on my 95 Yj with the stock D35 and i was jsut wondering if i put 35's on it would leaving the stock axle give me trouble or should i upgrade to the Ford 8.8?

[fratis]

like all builds it really depends upon what you are going to do with it. if you wheel within 20 miles of home, go with a couple others, have other means of transpo then heck put 38s on your stockers and beat on it for fun and see. if running some major trails with large groups, outside 50 miles from home, with your kids, etc. etc. then i wouldnt even mess with the 44 or the 8.8 and forget about the dana30. nothings worse than holding up a big group of serious wheelers with your kids on a dificult trail because you were stupid. it boils down to consequenses really. lots of people do double 60s and for good reason. personally would do a truehi9 rear and a currie hipinion 9 front. seems like a fun sturdy combination that not everyone has.

[76cjeep]

like all builds it really depends upon what you are going to do with it. if you wheel within 20 miles of home, go with a couple others, have other means of transpo then heck put 38s on your stockers and beat on it for fun and see. if running some major trails with large groups, outside 50 miles from home, with your kids, etc. etc. then i wouldnt even mess with the 44 or the 8.8 and forget about the dana30. nothings worse than holding up a big group of serious wheelers with your kids on a dificult trail because you were stupid. it boils down to consequenses really. lots of people do double 60s and for good reason. personally would do a truehi9 rear and a currie hipinion 9 front. seems like a fun sturdy combination that not everyone has.


I second the high 9 rear idea. My next upgrade will be exactly that. It's definately pricey but then so are most. Look at the comparisons.

http://www.truehi9.com

Good luck.

[Wrangler14]

So if i am not going to do any real serious wheeling, not yet at least, will i be fine running the 35's on the stock D35 for now?

[fratis]

almost everyones done it. i did for quite some time and it was still hanging in there when i upgraded. im not a paranoid web wheeler who thinks anything under dana60s is a timebimb. there are vastly different ideas on what "wheeling" is. i just got done with a nice trail in the desert and a stock jeep would have made it through. anything more than stock axles would be a total waiste of money. but to some if youre not hammering on it and bouncing up large obsacles its just not wheeling. depends on where you fit in. i locked both stockers with cheap lunchboxers and this allowed me to crawl slowly up most moderate obsacles without bouncing around too much. if you take it easy then fine, but the biggest response to that is, who wants to take it easy? it also depends on who you wheel with, because where they go you will go (or attempt to go) garanteed. so its a matter of how you define "wheeling" and the consequences of your build plan. see previous. i upgraded, myself, for piece-of-mind.

[ACHASE6002]

Ull Be Fien As Long As U Dont Do Any Wheeling That Envlolves Getting On The Gas

[BCYJ]

almost everyones done it. i did for quite some time and it was still hanging in there when i upgraded. im not a paranoid web wheeler who thinks anything under dana60s is a timebimb. there are vastly different ideas on what "wheeling" is. i just got done with a nice trail in the desert and a stock jeep would have made it through. anything more than stock axles would be a total waiste of money. but to some if youre not hammering on it and bouncing up large obsacles its just not wheeling. depends on where you fit in. i locked both stockers with cheap lunchboxers and this allowed me to crawl slowly up most moderate obsacles without bouncing around too much. if you take it easy then fine, but the biggest response to that is, who wants to take it easy? it also depends on who you wheel with, because where they go you will go (or attempt to go) garanteed. so its a matter of how you define "wheeling" and the consequences of your build plan. see previous. i upgraded, myself, for piece-of-mind.

I agreewith the whole statement. Crawling and finess in my opinion is much nicer way to go about obstacles than pure right foot. But there is a time and place for a heavy right foot on just about every trail.

I think its just knowing when to call out the winch b!tch. :)

[currupt4130]

Ull Be Fien As Long As U Dont Do Any Wheeling That Envlolves Getting On The Gas


In english? :flipoff2:

[WA-HCRC]

Ull Be Fien As Long As U Dont Do Any Wheeling That Envlolves Getting On The Gas


seriously :laughing: :laughing: o wow, ETL (english as a third language?)

[xtusseryx]

I would personally never put a junk dana 60 in the rear over a 14 bolt rear axle.
At least a Dana 60 has a decent amount of gears and aftermarket parts and has a good amount of clearence.

[Brokagain]

Check these guys out http://www.billhughes.com/dana35c/

:D :D :D

[ACHASE6002]

Soory I Was In A Hurry, At Work

[butch6924]

So if i am not going to do any real serious wheeling, not yet at least, will i be fine running the 35's on the stock D35 for now?
YOU! Get your own thread, it's rude to hijack someone else's thread. :D

Since it was rude of me to call you rude, I'll answer your question. 35's on a D35 are ok. Not OK, just ok. Those shafts are small and brittle. If you wheel, you run the very real chance of breaking one. Sometimes wheel speed is just plain necessary, even if you have lockers. BTW, lockers in a D35 are a bad idea. Lockers in a D35 with 35's on the ends of it, are a REALLY bad idea. There's always going to be people that say they run that set up with out problems but ask them how long they've been doing it? Also, there are more problems with the D35 than just the small shafts. I know people who have broken the ring gears, shot the spiders, warped the housings etc, on them with 33" and smaller tires. BTW, I did say I know people, I have seen the axles, this is not web wheeling.

[currupt4130]

Soory I Was In A Hurry, At Work

Please turn off the caps lock

[butch6924]

hello all, i currently have a 97 tj with a 4" short arm suspension and 33's with stock axles. i am wanting to upgrade this to run 36-38" tires and also putting in a long arm, probably claytons since i dont have the time to build one, i was considering 9" ford's or d44's but im open for anything which of those would hold up better? or maybe i should consider a different axle? thanks for any suggestions:smokin:

The problem I see is that you're kind of in two different classes as far as the tire sizes you're looking at, at least in my mind. For me, the break point is a 37" tire. If you're on anything smaller, I don't have a real problem with stock width. In that case, I'd be comfortable with a polished turdy and an 8.8. At the point of 37's, I personally think, it's time to start looking wider and longer with your wheel base. That gets you into the ball park of full width axles, suspension changes, possible body modifications, steering issues, gas tank clearance issues, buying wheels as well as the tires, the list goes on and on. If you're looking to keep the budget down, I like the idea of sticking with a slightly smaller tire. There is just sooooooo much work that goes into full width axles besides just welding the brackets on. If you do go that route, I wouldn't hesitate to put 38's on a 60/44 combo but I think a 14 blt 60 combo will be easier to build on if you decided you want to step up to 39.5's in the future.

FWIW, this all just my opinion. There's no rule book anywhere that says you have to have stretched wheel base and full width's to clear 38's and not 36's or that you can't run 36's full width.

[Wrangler14]

Sorry for hijacking the thread i just had a similar question as that one and i didnt know it was rude to do that. Sorry everybody.

[ACHASE6002]

Please turn off the caps lock

SORRY AT WORK