[46WILYZ]

The wheel base is 100".

I was looking to upgrade my 44 axle shafts, but I think it will be cheaper to just use a 63 wms 14 bolt. I have to check the wrecking yard, for a good gear ratio.

 

[Mykul]

Why not just run the 44's until they break? If they do. I have ran my centers 44 in the rear for 10 yrs and never broke a shaft! I just let off if I start to hop. But I don't beat hard on my jeep either.

 

[46WILYZ]

I may just do that. If I grabbed a 14 bolt it would be for later, my father n law has a wrecking yard, so the price is right for a 14 bolt. My 35" tires now are about 33" and I would like to run 37" tires to have a true 35" tire. I would also like to lower my gearing a little, currently my axles are 3:73. My tranny at 7:1 and the Dana 300 do make up for it in low range. If I found a lower geared 14 bolt, then I could just get a r/p for the front. Either way my build budget is very limited currently. I do not have enough experience to make a knowledgable decision. I just have to try and read through all the crap online and figure it out.

I assume when I read that you should not go larger than 35" tires on a 44, that is the 35" listed size and not the actual tire size. Is this correct? Otherwise I would rather keep the 44 that is already set up.

 

[csutton7]

you've held out on us about your junkyard connection(you lucky dog)--once I got my ford 9" and then started reading about 14bolts I kicked myself, so it will have to wait and maybe the 9" will perform fine, but as most of us here, I do favor the full floaters over everything else…..

 

[Mykul]

I have a dana 44 centered axle that is a full float! I bought a warn full float chromo kit a while back when I built these axels. They have 4.88 gears and I run 37 iroks. With arb locker. Not problems at all. Have held up for 8 yrs running fordyce and the rubicon! Keep the 44 until it brakes. That's my suggestion.

 

[Mieser]

14-bolts on anything less than a 40" tire is overkill in my opinion. Cheap yes, good ground clearance not so much.

 

[46WILYZ]

Thank for the advise, I have no intentions on going bigger than 37" tires and was a little concerned about the size and weight of the 14 bolt. With the 4.88 do you drive it much on the road? I need my rig to be dual purpose.

 

[csutton7]

you just shave the 14 bolt for added clearance--I think it's TMR that has two different kits--one that requires you to grind down the ring gear and one that you don't need to grind the ring gear---for strength & price you can't beat the 14 bolt….although I do have some dana 80 SCS axle shafts, so I could always go that way also, the 14bolt just makes so much sense due to ease of setting up gears and pinion support also…..

 

[Mieser]

you just shave the 14 bolt for added clearance--I think it's TMR that has two different kits--one that requires you to grind down the ring gear and one that you don't need to grind the ring gear---for strength & price you can't beat the 14 bolt….although I do have some dana 80 SCS axle shafts, so I could always go that way also, the 14bolt just makes so much sense due to ease of setting up gears and pinion support also…..

Even shaved they don' have THAT much clearance. It's still a 10.5" ring gear and you need metal under that. Then there is the weight. If your building something more like a buggy than a flat fender maybe. The pinion on these also hangs down a bit more than normal....

Setup is easy. Price is generally good. They are strong. They are heavy. They have bad ground clearance. There is also a pretty limited selection of lockers. ARB, Detroit, or spool/welded basically.

They have there place for sure but you don't need one for a 35" tire.

 

[csutton7]

not arguing about the 35" tire, but you can gain 1 11/16" to 2" of clearance depending on the TMR data… and there's ⅝" plate with a recess cut out at the ring gear and that leaves 5/16" of metal providing protection--should be plenty strong….heavy sure, but that leads to their strength also due to the thicker components…..basically it's another choice….

 

[Mykul]

Sure I drive on the road with my 4.88's. But no I don't drive much faster than 60 MPH. It's a Willys not a car! I just take my time and enjoy ride! And hopefully waiting for the time someone blocks me in so I can drive over their hood!

 

[46WILYZ]

I made a 140 mile road trip today and my rig averaged 14 miles per gallon. At 2500 rpm it ran 65mph (gps) for a long ways. I did my first freeway driving in it also today, and it handled great. I stopped by my father n laws house and showed him my rig, he was very impressed. It was the first time he had seen it (my wife and him do not speak, it's her x step dad:shaking He has been into crawling for many years. I spoke of changing my axle, and he said that he would not change it. He has run a cj7 with 44s with 36" tires forever. He said he has never broken an axle shaft and has never bent a housing. He has changed out a couple axle shafts before they had broke though. He has always ran stock shafts also due to having the wrecking yard surplus. He said that I need to pull my axle shafts and paint a straight line down the shaft. This way when you do your maintenance after a hard wheeling trip you can slide your axle shaft out and see if it is starting to twist. He said you can get about a 1.5 twist out of a 44 shaft before it breaks. I also said I needed a locker for the the front, and he said I can just take a stock rear 44 locker and install it in the front, to save money. You can play with the clutches and make them as tight as you need, to the point that they are close to a spool. I also decided to not consider changing my gearing until I get the carb jetted in and tuned correctly, to see if that fixes my bog down on hills in 4th gear between 2000 and 2500 rpms. I do not have very much power in that rpm range on the grades. If I keep it over 2500 rpms I have all kinds of power though. So I need to get a fuel / air guage installed and start with the jetting.

 

[46WILYZ]

I was told to grind the lip off / smooth off my rear 44 cover, otherwise you can catch it on a rock and peel it open. Thought someone else might be able to use this advise too, I would not have thought about it until it was too late.

 

[46WILYZ]

I screwed up and had to order a different carburator. When I ordered my quadrajet from summit racing, I was told that it was the smallest 4 barrel quadrajet they had. I have been having issues with my rig running to rich. So last night while researching about jetting my carb to match a stock 4.3 chevy, I discovered that quadrajet made a special carb for the 4.3 ( 262 ). They are very rare according to the tech guy at USREMCO. However they did have one in stock and ready to ship via summit racing. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/urm-3-3829/overview/make/gmc . If anybody else decides to order a new carburator, make sure you order the correct one for a v6. It cost me extra on a restocking fee 20% plus shipping for the wrong carb that I ordered. Atleast I do not have to try and sell it on ebay.

I have always thought that there was only one size quadrajet, and they adjusted flows and linkages for the engines. This is not the case. The v6 carb is actullay smaller in size than the v8 carbs. I was also told the 4.3 marine carbs are a completly different setup, and would cause most auto v8s to run to rich.

 

[desertCJ]

you just shave the 14 bolt for added clearance--I think it's TMR that has two different kits--one that requires you to grind down the ring gear and one that you don't need to grind the ring gear---for strength & price you can't beat the 14 bolt….although I do have some dana 80 SCS axle shafts, so I could always go that way also, the 14bolt just makes so much sense due to ease of setting up gears and pinion support also…..

Even shaved they don' have THAT much clearance. It's still a 10.5" ring gear and you need metal under that. Then there is the weight. If your building something more like a buggy than a flat fender maybe. The pinion on these also hangs down a bit more than normal....

Setup is easy. Price is generally good. They are strong. They are heavy. They have bad ground clearance. There is also a pretty limited selection of lockers. ARB, Detroit, or spool/welded basically.

They have there place for sure but you don't need one for a 35" tire.

I must be the only guy in the country that thinks setting up a D60 or D44 is easier than a 14 bolt Sure, the adjusters for the carrier are nice but the pinion crush sleeve is a huge pain IMO.

 

[46WILYZ]

My winch and carb came in, but I am in Capitola. So I will get to install them on Sunday, If I get some garage time. Here's a pic I took at work. My Chief's rig has a 4" lift. My rig has 2.5" BDS SOA. My rig is a little lower, but with better belly clearance.

 

[TimCubed]

What winch did you get? My 2 cents on the 44 housing lower lips. Weld a 1/4 2x3 plate on the bottom now before you wheel. The granite will do a very good job of grinding the housing thin over the years. My suggestion, buy a Rough Stuff diff cover for the front and weld some 1/4x1/4 between the lower bolt holes. The lower bolts will get ground off so bad you won't be able to get a wrench on them. The front diff. takes a hella beat'n!
I have hp44 front, Tera Flex 44 rear. All cro. mo. shafts on 37" on rocks, 39.5 in snow. I have broke one housing 7+ years ago. And chipped some teeth pulling a broke friend out. A 14 bolt would not have broke. I feel your 44's will be fine.
Mykul said he runs 39.5 on Fordyce with his 44's. There is your proof.
As far as your daily driver, 37" 4.88's 4.1 is my opinion...... I think you said you have a d-300.
In a couple weeks you can drive a couple different rigs on the Rubicon and make a better guess of what you really want.

 

[csutton7]

14 bolt crush sleeve eliminator to the rescue:

Crush sleeve eliminator kit for GM 10.5" 14 bolt truck. - SK CSGM14T

 

[46WILYZ]

I could not swing a warn, I'm buying the wife a new car tomorrow. So I ended up with the new gen 2 x2o Smittybilt Part 97510 - X2O-10K Waterproof Wireless Winch Gen2 - - 4 Wheel Parts

Thanks for the tips on the 44 housing. I'll get that done.

 

[rckme52]

Should have spent the extra money on tbi just sayin 😬


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