Okay, one of my club members is about to chop down an axle for the front of his V8 powered CJ-5. He's currently running 33's, but the jump to 35's and eventually 38's is looming overhead. Eventually he'll end up with a C&C 14 bolt rear, so 5.13 is his gear limit. A Dana 60 is in the long range plan, but for this winter's project, a Dana 30 replacement and SOA needs to be accomplished. He is currently running a Scout II Dana 44 rear, but like I said, that will end up being replaced with a 14 bolt sooner or later.

Okay, back to the question at hand. We have both Chevy Dana 44's and Chevy 10 bolt fronts, the question is, which is better to narrow and why. We have plenty of housings and spares for both, 5.13's are available for both, and both will use the same assembly from the knuckles out, being 5-lug for a while, then eight lug. I say Dana 44, he says 10 bolt. I guess the question here is a matter of shaft strength, gear strength, ground clearance, and ease of service. A lunchbox locker will find it's way into either axle, as he does not wish to pony up for a slectable locker when a Dana 60 is in the near future. And before you say skip the baby steps and jump into the 60, his wife is expecting a baby and the 60 is just not an option for the next year or so, the 44 and 10 bolt can both be built with minimal funds, nearly identical costs, so that's not an issue.

Some facts we already know:
Dana 44 - 8.5" ring gear, 30 spline shafts, 297 joints, 2.75" x 0.50" tubes
GM 10 bolt - 8.5" ring gear, 28 spline shafts, 297 joints, 3.00" x 0.375"? tubes

So.........what would you use and why? Real tech reasoning please, not just :rainbow: replies.

I read this, but didn't have anything really substantial to add, except I'm having a hard time getting a 10 bolt with D60 outers out of my head. The axle yokes would slide right on, give great ground clearance, and have the bullet proof outers. Like a 609, but...

Other than that, I like the fact that the D44 axle shafts are bigger.

Bryan

I would say go with the Dana 44. The shafts are stronger and so is the housing (at least a little bit if you use the 3/4 ton Dana 44 front vs the 1/2 ton). It has been my experience that in the front it is usually the axle shaft that breaks rather than the ring and pinion and so the strength possibly gained in a 10 bolt might not really be a factor. Lastly they both use the same u-joint and that seems to be most often what breaks when you wheel, I would say they are about the same. Some other factors might be that the usual mounting on a Dana 44 for the tie rod is on top of the knuckle rather than the 10 bolt on the bottom. I am not sure about this, but I think the 44 has better ground clearance but I could be wrong.

I personally think you guys are splitting hairs if a Dana 60 is in the future. Is there a possibility he might not upgrade to a 60? If he is definitely going 60 put in what ever is the easiest. (ie: The one with the a matching gear set to the rear)

Well, none of them match his current rear, but gearing isn't a major concern, I also think that it is a minor difference, but with the proliferation of different width Dana 44's, it's seems he has a good chance of cutting down the 44 to allow the use of off the shelf shafts.

D44. I think the 10 bolt "c" or inner knuckle is a bit thicker, so ya might want to use those.