Advice on PR44 configuration?

Hi guys, I have a '15 JKUR that I'm planning the build out on now and I've searched and after reading posts after post about axels being a newb to the Jeep world I seem to be getting more and more confused lol. So..... I figured I would pick the brains of the more knowledgeable users on here and get some advice on the best way to move forward with things as I like to do things right and not rush into decisions that I later regret. I'm planning on installing either the EVO Double D Pro or DoubleThrow Down system w/ Slabs and 37's. I've read on here that some people seem to be running similar configurations with a stock D44 front axle but being in N. Ca with the type of trails we have here (rocks) and having the family with me while I'm already looking at dropping a ton of money I'd prefer to just bite the bullet and spend a little bit more to upgrade to a Pro Rock 44 especially if it's only a matter of time for the stock D44 front to bend. Which leads me to my questions:

First obviously I'm guessing the Unlimited and Extreme Duty options are a no brainer to add on for the minimal cost increase. But here is the big question that I have, go with the PR44 Rubicon replacement housing and re-use my stock OEM locker etc (which has all of 600 miles on it) or go with the dedicated aftermarket locker PR44 housing and spring for an ARB locker (and I guess replace the rear OEM locker with ARB at the same time too which costs more $)? Being able to just bolt in most of my OEM parts to the Rubicon PR44 seems like it would save a considerable expense but I have heard that replacement OEM lockers are big $ if they fail down the road. However I see that the ARB RD157 is supposedly a drop in replacement for it, so I theoretically can upgrade down the road if and/or when the OEM lockers fail. However I have seen that Dynatrac seems not to recommend the use of that locker but then I have ran across posts from people saying that they are using them in a PR44 with zero issues. So, I'm at a loss on how to move forward lol and hoping for some advice???

Honestly I would just get the whole axle with gears and locker and just bolt it in. Sell your rubicon axle whole to someone else. My reasoning is its not just the simple matter of "bolting in" all your rubicon internals seeing that to do it right you should be running the proper gears. If you have to regear anyway what's the point of messing with your rubi internals. Regear your rear at the same time and call it good. Much easier and cheaper this way

CrazyLarry said:

Honestly I would just get the whole axle with gears and locker and just bolt it in. Sell your rubicon axle whole to someone else. My reasoning is its not just the simple matter of "bolting in" all your rubicon internals seeing that to do it right you should be running the proper gears. If you have to regear anyway what's the point of messing with your rubi internals. Regear your rear at the same time and call it good. Much easier and cheaper this way

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Thanks for your input. I was planning on going to 5.13's so you are correct that is something that would need to be done too but based on what I have seen Eddie and some of the guys on here say Reid Racing knukles are not worth the money so I'd be re-using stock, RCV axels are overkil and it's questionable if they stand behind their warranty (based on comments I've seen) so you are better off going with something like Ten factory or G2 chromoly shafts anyways.

Eddie, I've read on here that on Rubicat you are running a PR44 with a stock locker etc. have you had any problems with that and can you or possibly others running the Rubicon version of PR44 give me your $0.02 on things and/or any regrets of going that route?

werks said:

Thanks for your input. I was planning on going to 5.13's so you are correct that is something that would need to be done too but based on what I have seen Eddie and some of the guys on here say Reid Racing knukles are not worth the money so I'd be re-using stock, RCV axels are overkil and it's questionable if they stand behind their warranty (based on comments I've seen) so you are better off going with something like Ten factory or G2 chromoly shafts anyways.

Eddie, I've read on here that on Rubicat you are running a PR44 with a stock locker etc. have you had any problems with that and can you or possibly others running the Rubicon version of PR44 give me your $0.02 on things and/or any regrets of going that route?

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As you have mentioned, I am not a fan of wasting money on orange knuckles as you're still going to hit your tie rod. If anything, I would use that money and invest in a good HD tie-rod. RCV's are nice axles and I have run them in the past but they're far from being the best thing since sliced bread that fanboys make them out to be. The reality is, a good set of chromoly shafts with full circle clips are all that you really need and I can assure you that they will hold up just fine. I would take the money you save and forward it toward something like a set of Dynatrac ProSteer ball joints.

That being said, yes, I am still running a factory locker and at the moment, a factory passenger side axle shaft as it has yet to break. I have not had any problems with my factory locker as of yet but I have been wheeling JK's since they came out 9 years ago. During that time, I had blown 3 factory lockers (1 front and 2 rears) and while I do prefer ARB's, I have found you can make a factory front locker last for a while. Depending on how hard you wheel and how often (and I know everyone has their own idea of what that means), I think you could be okay with this setup.

Thanks Eddie!

Let me take a wild guess, during the last 9 years while you have blown 3 factory lockers you have had not a single ARB locker fail on you right??? I'm guessing from a quality standpoint they are a big upgrade over stock lockers. Which then brings me to my next question which is does anyone know for sure if you can or can not run the ARB RD157 locker in the PR44 rubicon housing?

werks said:

Thanks Eddie!

Let me take a wild guess, during the last 9 years while you have blown 3 factory lockers you have had not a single ARB locker fail on you right??? I'm guessing from a quality standpoint they are a big upgrade over stock lockers. Which then brings me to my next question which is does anyone know for sure if you can or can not run the ARB RD157 locker in the PR44 rubicon housing?

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I don't know if I could say that. If there is a problem with the ARB's, it's that they do require air to engage them and in the past, I have had issues with air leaks caused by a bad o-ring and of course, I've had the air lines get damaged or melt from the exhaust. Over the years, I have been able to mitigate some of these issue by running stainless steel braided air lines and routing them away from heat and I now use standard gear oil as opposed to synthetic as the later will cause the o-ring on the locker to go bad. That being said, I've never had an ARB itself "fail" on me. As far as the ARB RD157 goes, I can't remember off the top of my head but if it is the 35 spline front locker, then yes, you can run it in a rubicon housing.

Just wanted to mention that I looked into this some more and it seems it's possible to run an ARB in the PR44 Rubicon replacement housing. So that option is available down the line if the OEM locker fails, just would need to swap front axles to 35 spline. So based off of that I decided to pull the trigger on a PR44 Rubicon replacement housing over the weekend. Got an awesome deal from Trail Jeep along with some Dynatrac Prosteer JK balljoints and Dyantrac rear diff cover. Also picked up F & R Ten Factory chromoly axle shafts and F & R Adams 1350 driveshafts. Figured on the driveshafts while I might be able to get away with running OEM shafts for a while ultimately I would have to replace at least the front and if I was going to spend money replacing the front I might as well just do both and go with 1350's instead of 1310's. That way not only are they much stronger but if I decide to go from 37's to 40's down the road and want to drop in some D60's I do not have to spend money replacing the driveshafts again. So I think that I now have most of the drivetrain to run 37's sorted out correctly, now time to let the wallet recharge and then it's on to the suspension!

Was just talking to dynatrac about this very thing last week. You are correct, a 35 spline arb is needed when using a rubi style PR44. There have been mention of oil leaks when doing so from the inner axle seals. When I mentioned this to the dynatrac guy he acknowledged this and told me that is wasn't that the seals were two thin but because there is a press fit metal sleeve carrier that holds the seals for the stock rubi axles. When you upgrade to the 35 spline axles this "carrier" needs to be removed for the bigger seals and many times the axle housing gets buggered up in the process causing leaks. Just something to watch for. I'm planning to go the same route as you, PR44 with stock rubi internals until they break.

Another thing I've heard about is there is sometimes limited engagement in the stock rubi lockers (dog clutch doesn't engage all the way). Some have fixed it with proper use of shims to get full engagement. Having not broken one yet its hard to say what the failure mode is but it may be why they work good for some and not for others. Might be worth a look while you're swapping gears.

Thanks for the input! I'm slowly but surely piecing together all of the parts for my build so it may be a few months before I get around to doing the install but in the interim I'll dig into the shimming issue with the stock locker that you mentioned. If you do your install any time soon please post back here with your findings if you would! I'd apprecaite any additional information and so that people doing a future search about possible Rubi PR44 build's can easily find the information.

werks said:

Just wanted to mention that I looked into this some more and it seems it's possible to run an ARB in the PR44 Rubicon replacement housing. So that option is available down the line if the OEM locker fails, just would need to swap front axles to 35 spline. So based off of that I decided to pull the trigger on a PR44 Rubicon replacement housing over the weekend. Got an awesome deal from Trail Jeep along with some Dynatrac Prosteer JK balljoints and Dyantrac rear diff cover. Also picked up F & R Ten Factory chromoly axle shafts and F & R Adams 1350 driveshafts. Figured on the driveshafts while I might be able to get away with running OEM shafts for a while ultimately I would have to replace at least the front and if I was going to spend money replacing the front I might as well just do both and go with 1350's instead of 1310's. That way not only are they much stronger but if I decide to go from 37's to 40's down the road and want to drop in some D60's I do not have to spend money replacing the driveshafts again. So I think that I now have most of the drivetrain to run 37's sorted out correctly, now time to let the wallet recharge and then it's on to the suspension!

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I hate to tell you this, but if you do switch to D60's down the road, you'd need new driveshafts again. The pumpkin is bigger and the length from the flange to the TC is shorter. Not the end of the world and you could probably get a good D/S shop to shorten them for you.

There was also a thread on here somewhere where there was a discussion about the two different housing shapes Dynatrac has on the PR44 depending on the locker you want. There are also two different ARB lockers with different spline counts. You may just want to call Dynatrac or Trail Jeeps to discuss the different options.

JK_Dave said:

I hate to tell you this, but if you do switch to D60's down the road, you'd need new driveshafts again. The pumpkin is bigger and the length from the flange to the TC is shorter. Not the end of the world and you could probably get a good D/S shop to shorten them for you.

There was also a thread on here somewhere where there was a discussion about the two different housing shapes Dynatrac has on the PR44 depending on the locker you want. There are also two different ARB lockers with different spline counts. You may just want to call Dynatrac or Trail Jeeps to discuss the different options.

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Thanks I brain farted on teh driveshaft lenght thing, but as you mentioned I should be able to get a good driveline shop to shorten them if I do the D60 swap down the road. In regards to teh PR44 pumpkin shapes etc I did confirm with Trail Jeep that there is an ARB locker that will work with the Rubicon PR44 housing when I placed my order last week. So that is covered although it's my understanding that it will require a change to 35 spline axles if I do later go that route.

werks said:

Thanks I brain farted on teh driveshaft lenght thing, but as you mentioned I should be able to get a good driveline shop to shorten them if I do the D60 swap down the road. In regards to teh PR44 pumpkin shapes etc I did confirm with Trail Jeep that there is an ARB locker that will work with the Rubicon PR44 housing when I placed my order last week. So that is covered although it's my understanding that it will require a change to 35 spline axles if I do later go that route.

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Yep that's right on the splines. I was pretty sure that was right about that combo but didn't want to steer you wrong if I wasn't. Congrats on the upgrade!

JK_Dave said:

Yep that's right on the splines. I was pretty sure that was right about that combo but didn't want to steer you wrong if I wasn't. Congrats on the upgrade!

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Thanks, I now have just about all of the driveline components for my upcoming build either here or on order! Now on to researching the seemingly never ending list of other other stuff that I need to get lol