Help deciding on axle purchase

Alright so i found JK Rubi D44 axle housing for $450 on craigslist. it has upper and lower C gussets already installed and it has a tube truss on the long tube. It also comes with shafts, calipers, and rotors at that price. However it is stripped of everything else (internals and all mounting brackets). Ive been wanting to put a D44 up front to get rid of the D30 since i eventually want to run 37s. I live in Louisiana which really doesnt offer much more than mud riding and i have no interest in doing any hardcore offroading (im not rich and this is my dd and i cant justify putting $100k in a jeep unless im a pro crawler or racer). I would like to go up to Arkansas to a couple of their ORVs to do some light to moderate trails though and would like to start doing road trips to maybe Colorado or somewhere closer to me with some nice scenery and trails. I HAVE A FRIEND THAT IS SHOP MECHANIC FOR OUR COMPANY AND CAN WELD ALL THE BRACKETS ON FOR FREE. So here are the questions:

1. Would this be a good purchase?

2. Would you strip all and knuckles from D30 and install on D44 or go with another bracket kits from Synergy or someone else? Reason i said Synergy is because they have a kit that includes the outer sheel sleeves to make a 3.0" DOM and the lower control arm mounts and shocks mounts, the raised trackbar mount, swaybar mounts.

3. Based on what kind of wheeling and tire setup im wanting to go with, would you recommend reinforcing the axle anymore or is the 2.5" tubing good enough? This would help my decision on going with the Synergy kit i described in question 2 or just to get new brackets.

4. What do you think i could get for my D30 axle? This would help determine if i could justify buyin all new brackets or mounts or just stripping my D30.


5. What locker would you go with or is there a place im not seeing online that i could get some factory e-lockers since i would need the rear locker also eventually to match my front setup?


6. I plan on getting a regear anyways so im not considering that cost in this build setup. I can have it done for about $1200 front and back to include gears but my question is what else would I need to for the front besides the locker, gears, and install kits?

7. I will of course be getting the rear regeared when i do the swap so i will put in a locker there also. Can i go with a 32 spline locker and change the shafts to 32 spline chromoly for rubi and if so what else would be needed? I know might be a dumb question.

Anything else you guys might recommend other than a PR44 or D60 or any of that way out of my price range stuff. I dont have $4000-$5000 just to spend on a front axle without even touching my rear. I will prolly do Synergy ball joints here soon so i can swith those over and will also prolly do reid knuckles later on. Will also upgrade front shafts to chromos later if needed if i do get the axle. Thanks for any info guys.

For what it's gonna cost you to do a full build on a rubi 44 a pr44 is not too far behind in price.

Just off the top of my head your looking at
$750 for a locker plus a compressor
$999 for gears f&r
$1100 rcv

Plus BJ's, Reid knuckles.... Shit adds up quick!

I would say just find a stock rubi axle if that is what you want. I have seen Eddie say multiple times that if you put a truss on a D44 that the axle tube is most likely bent.

1) I would not buy this axle housing
2) I have also read that you can sleeve the axle but it will just find other places to bend. That is from I believe Chris from ORE.
3) That would be up to you.
4) You could get a few hundred from your D30.
5) I would go with ARB.
6) That's about it.
7) I'm not sure about that.

As for recommendations I would just recommend a stock rubi D44. It will have all the brackets on it and it will just bolt right up onto your jeep.

Hopefully this helps.

Yea most people sale their stock rubi axle for about $2000 or so and inside is usually stripped. If I could find one at reasonable price then I would definately go that route.

Also I prolly wouldn't go RCV. I know a lot people rave about them and they are good but I think chromoly would be just fine later on down the road for what I do.

Still have to get shafts and gears and all in a pr44 so cost is increased and again around the $5000 range which like I said before is out the ballpark and will not be considered on just a front axle

If you have the time, money and energy to do this then I say go. I was ready to pull the trigger and PR44's front and rear and call it a day. Then I read a few threads and and realized the Rubi's Dana 44 is just like the Dana 30 as far as tube wall thickness. The only difference is the pumpkin and internals.
Here is my opinion and what I am going to do. I am going to save for PR44 or 60's and wheel my Dana 30 until it breaks then I will replace it. Same with the Dana 44 in the rear. I do not want to settle like I did with the Pro-Comp 2.5 BB. Another story.

Good luck
R/
Will

If you don't buy it can you send me the link...I'll buy it. Was it local shreveport area?

I wouldn't trust it. I would save up for a PR44, wheel your rig until you need the upgrade. Like many others say on here, I'd rather do it right the first time. A good deal may be tempting but if you end up having to dish out when something happens to the D44 then what's the point?

As mentioned, if it were me, I would just play with what you've got until you can afford to upgrade to a PR44. Factory axles are junk and there's no amount of money you can throw at it to make it worth your while.

Alright well that settles it. Kind of had the same feeling but just wanted to see what others thought. Might still consider a regear though just to help with lost power with the 35s. Eddie I think you recommend no more than 4.88s in a D30 right? Automatic

DunnyBunny said:

Yea most people sale their stock rubi axle for about $2000 or so and inside is usually stripped.

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That would be for a complete axle I'm sure. An empty pr44 housing is 2k.

You can always get the tera 30 housing That would be like polishing a turd....

2011 JKU 3.5 R.E. Longarm lift.

munstie said:

You can always get the tera 30 housing That would be like polishing a turd....

2011 JKU 3.5 R.E. Longarm lift.

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Here we go again....

BBrown626 said:

Here we go again....

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It was a joke if someone is offended by it oh well..

2011 JKU 3.5 R.E. Longarm lift.

munstie said:

You can always get the tera 30 housing That would be like polishing a turd....

2011 JKU 3.5 R.E. Longarm lift.

Click to expand...

:cheesy: Honestly, it was all I could do to keep a straight face when I first saw it in persona at SEMA. Better still was listening to TeraFlex trying to explain why someone would actually want to pay good money for one. :crazyeyes:

wayoflife said:

:cheesy: Honestly, it was all I could do to keep a straight face when I first saw it in persona at SEMA. Better still was listening to TeraFlex trying to explain why someone would actually want to pay good money for one. :crazyeyes:

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I've seen the advertisements for it, I really find it hard to believe that people are replacing a 30 with another one, but to each his own, just doesn't make since to me either:screwy:

2011 JKU 3.5 R.E. Longarm lift.

munstie said:

I've seen the advertisements for it, I really find it hard to believe that people are replacing a 30 with another one, but to each his own, just doesn't make since to me either:screwy:

2011 JKU 3.5 R.E. Longarm lift.

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The crazy thing isn't even so much that people are replacing an axle housing that still utilizes weak shafts and a small ring and pinion, but that the cost for one is just within reach of a TF44. I mean, where is the logic :crazyeyes:

Hush now, I just ordered it in the super duty Low Pinion and am awaiting for them to come out with the super duty d35 :thumbup:

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