We have a customer with a Ram 1500 [1998? I think] and he is set on keeping the stock axles [D44/9.75]

I told him anything over 35's would be pushing the limit of them - But I need to prove/disprove this theory.

So post up your setups, pics are welcome too :D Thanks guys!!!

-WILL@Alpha OffRoad

I wheel a 94 dodge ram 1500 and went through front axle shafts like a smoker smoking cigarettes! :shaking: 36'' tsl swampers rear locked and front opened. Rear 9.25 is strong! Never a problem with the 9.25 axle that had 180k on it. Front axle exploded u-joints and always immediately took the ears off the shafts and spider gears gave out once too. Mainly the drivers sidewould go! Went with a 60 from a 99 1 ton and in 2 years only broke drivers side inner once and that was with hard wheeling and 1000lb. lighter truck though. Good luck :laughing:

I have 33's and I have gone through almost every single front end part there is. The rear end seems to be holding up fine though.

one friend runs em with Dunlop mudrovers 35's breaks shafts a lot.. does muddy trails no rocks.
Another friend who mainly stays in the mud runs 39's mickey thompson Baja belted's and hasnt broken anything ?

the 9.25 is actually a very decent axle, minus the c-clip design. the 44 is much weaker and basically a huge piece of shit. it did fine when i had 35s, but once i through a locker in it and 37s, i started eating u joints. now im in the middle of my 1 ton swap:D

Like these guys said, the 9.25 is decent strength wise, c-clips kind of suck. The 44 is as strong as any other 44. Good for 35 ish without upgrades, 37s or so with some decent shafts and joints.

I only run 33"s, open, and have broken quite a few shafts.(u-joints and ears). One drivers side just trying to turn around in my driveway in maybe a foot of snow.

Damn - Even weaker than I expected. Thanks fellas!

i have broken half a dozen joints and bent the knuckes on my 44

I suspect that a lot of you guys who have broken a lot of D44 parts are using a lot of throttle and/or experiencing a lot of wheel spin and wheel hop. I never had troubles with my 1/2t pickups with D44s, but I really never wheeled it anywhere that didn't have good enough traction that you couldn't crawl up something either.

The D44 axles in these pickups are pretty much the same as every other D44 strength wise. You would benefit from larger u-joints if you went with a D60, but the '94+ D60 axles had either 30 or 32 spline shafts depending on the year which aren't much or no better than the D44 ones.

also, some people are just plain lucky i guess. my buddy ran 38s on his 1/2t axles and never broke it, and he wheeled the piss out of them.

i have a 99 on 37.. i have broken front spyder gears up front once, and then i have bent the axle two times.. and i have blow rear spyder gears out two times now.. and note i live in michigan we dont have rocks or anything this was all done in the sand and mud.. o yea im on my like 5 or 6 set of unit bearings only 56k on the truck.. but i must say i do have heavy foot.. if the trucks not bouncing off the rev limmter its not moving my freinds always say..

I wheel mine nice, its a 96 on 33's, open/open. The only axle problems I have had are 2 bad front wheel bearings. Never broken any parts.