Dana ultimate 44 input?

Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
If I can’t find a front rubi take off I’m looking at getting a Dana ultimate 44. It’s only $3000 shipped and iv heard about how the housing is basically no stronger than a rubi 44.

I’m in a Dana 30 so it will be somewhat of an upgrade. My plan would be to buy this axle to use for a year or so until I can buy a prorock 44 housing to swap the internals into.

Before anyone asks, I can’t buy the prorock up front, my wife would kill me lol. That brings me to the question does anyone have experience or wheel with someone that’s had the UD44? I don’t do the super aggressive rock crawling where body damage is likely. Just nice trails like hell’s revenge etc.

Iv thought about a fusion 44/60 hybrid but once again we get above that $4000 mark where my wife would kill me spending that much at once.


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fiend

fiend

Caught the Bug
Why do you think you need to upgrade at all? How is the D30 insufficient for your needs?
 
J

JKDream

Guest
Braxtonsag said:
If I can’t find a front rubi take off I’m looking at getting a Dana ultimate 44. It’s only $3000 shipped and iv heard about how the housing is basically no stronger than a rubi 44.

I’m in a Dana 30 so it will be somewhat of an upgrade. My plan would be to buy this axle to use for a year or so until I can buy a prorock 44 housing to swap the internals into.

Before anyone asks, I can’t buy the prorock up front, my wife would kill me lol. That brings me to the question does anyone have experience or wheel with someone that’s had the UD44? I don’t do the super aggressive rock crawling where body damage is likely. Just nice trails like hell’s revenge etc.

Iv thought about a fusion 44/60 hybrid but once again we get above that $4000 mark where my wife would kill me spending that much at once.


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You'll be really dead when she finds out you wasted money on a housing that bent, just to spend it again on a ProRock.

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Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
Apparently you guys don’t understand my wife [emoji38] my Jeep is 4 months old, it’s on 37s and I know it hasn’t broken yet, but iv only had it out once on 35s before the weather got too cold.

I just would rather upgrade it before I become that guy that’s blocking the trail trying to run 37s on a Dana 30.

My wife is the type that would rather me spend 10k over 2 years than spend 5k at once.


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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Braxtonsag said:
Apparently you guys don’t understand my wife [emoji38] my Jeep is 4 months old, it’s on 37s and I know it hasn’t broken yet, but iv only had it out once on 35s before the weather got too cold.

I just would rather upgrade it before I become that guy that’s blocking the trail trying to run 37s on a Dana 30.

My wife is the type that would rather me spend 10k over 2 years than spend 5k at once.
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Is your front axle locked? If not, I'm gonna bet you can make your axle hold up for quite some time.
 
E2do7

E2do7

New member
Braxtonsag said:
Apparently you guys don’t understand my wife [emoji38] my Jeep is 4 months old, it’s on 37s and I know it hasn’t broken yet, but iv only had it out once on 35s before the weather got too cold.

I just would rather upgrade it before I become that guy that’s blocking the trail trying to run 37s on a Dana 30.

My wife is the type that would rather me spend 10k over 2 years than spend 5k at once.


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I'm running 37's on D30. No issues. Just take good angles and don't do anything stupid. Maybe add the Artec truss and save up. I'm also looking at getting the Fusion Hybrid.

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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
E2do7 said:
I'm running 37's on D30. No issues. Just take good angles and don't do anything stupid. Maybe add the Artec truss and save up. I'm also looking at getting the Fusion Hybrid.

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Truss is a waste of money and really, a bent housing isn't the end of the world.
 
Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
wayoflife said:
Is your front axle locked? If not, I'm gonna bet you can make your axle hold up for quite some time.
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It’s not, from all my research I was under the assumption that the Dana 30 was barely good enough for 33s let alone 37s. I had decided against doing anything at all to the 30 because of that.

If you say it’s not as bad as everyone says, I will save some money and get it gusseted, locked, and geared and worry about an axle down the road. That would be ideal.

I live in the Midwest and I really only get to play when we travel because all I’m surrounded by is corn fields for miles. When we do travel though, I like to really get off the beaten path and explore. That’s what makes me want to overbuild it so I’m not stranded on a mountain during vacation.

I definitely value you guys opinion and appreciate any help or tips I can get


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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Braxtonsag said:
It’s not, from all my research I was under the assumption that the Dana 30 was barely good enough for 33s let alone 37s. I had decided against doing anything at all to the 30 because of that.

If you say it’s not as bad as everyone says, I will save some money and get it gusseted, locked, and geared and worry about an axle down the road. That would be ideal.

I live in the Midwest and I really only get to play when we travel because all I’m surrounded by is corn fields for miles. When we do travel though, I like to really get off the beaten path and explore. That’s what makes me want to overbuild it so I’m not stranded on a mountain during vacation.

I definitely value you guys opinion and appreciate any help or tips I can get
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What I can tell you is that I have seen more axle failures than I'd prefer. More than anything, speed will bend or break a housing and unless you live in an area where you can bomb across the desert. Crawling can be hard on u-joints and that's where you'll see most of your failures. A good set of chromoly shafts with full circle clips can take care of that. Shaft breaks and ring & pinion breaks will come from a lot of skinny pedal and/or locked up axles. Run a reasonable ratio with a stronger pinion and keep your front end open and you should be okay there. Gussets are cheap and they'll help prevent your C's from bending. Based on your location and how what you've got to wheel, I'd think you could get by for some time with what you've got. SAVE for a real up grade like a ProRock 44 and if you never end up needing one, well, you can always spend it on something else like on your wife or something :)
 
Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
wayoflife said:
What I can tell you is that I have seen more axle failures than I'd prefer. More than anything, speed will bend or break a housing and unless you live in an area where you can bomb across the desert. Crawling can be hard on u-joints and that's where you'll see most of your failures. A good set of chromoly shafts with full circle clips can take care of that. Shaft breaks and ring & pinion breaks will come from a lot of skinny pedal and/or locked up axles. Run a reasonable ratio with a stronger pinion and keep your front end open and you should be okay there. Gussets are cheap and they'll help prevent your C's from bending. Based on your location and how what you've got to wheel, I'd think you could get by for some time with what you've got. SAVE for a real up grade like a ProRock 44 and if you never end up needing one, well, you can always spend it on something else like on your wife or something :)
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That’s what I’ll do then! It’s just hard to get straight forward info. So much misinformation from people that have no experience floating around the Facebook pages and old forum posts on google.

Who do you prefer as far as ring and pinion? I know most swear by Yukon but northridge puts motive in their assemblies.

I’ll do gussets, chromoly shafts, synergy ball joints, 4.88s, and a 1310 Adams driveshaft.


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nmwranglerx

nmwranglerx

Caught the Bug
For what it's worth, I got by with a D30 for several years, first with 35s and then with 37s. I even had 5.13 gearing. The only thing I did was gussets on the C's. I just took it easy, picked my lines carefully, and kept in mind that I had a D30 up front. Like others said, save your money for a PR44. When the time comes, you can get it with an ARB, a stronger locker design than the Rubi's. It doesn't make sense to spend $3k on an axle that you only plan on keeping temporarily. Do it right the first time and you won't waste your money.
 
Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
nmwranglerx said:
For what it's worth, I got by with a D30 for several years, first with 35s and then with 37s. I even had 5.13 gearing. The only thing I did was gussets on the C's. I just took it easy, picked my lines carefully, and kept in mind that I had a D30 up front. Like others said, save your money for a PR44. When the time comes, you can get it with an ARB, a stronger locker design than the Rubi's. It doesn't make sense to spend $3k on an axle that you only plan on keeping temporarily. Do it right the first time and you won't waste your money.
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I guess I was just misinformed on the strength of the Dana 30 lol


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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Braxtonsag said:
That’s what I’ll do then! It’s just hard to get straight forward info. So much misinformation from people that have no experience floating around the Facebook pages and old forum posts on google.

Who do you prefer as far as ring and pinion? I know most swear by Yukon but northridge puts motive in their assemblies.

I’ll do gussets, chromoly shafts, synergy ball joints, 4.88s, and a 1310 Adams driveshaft.
Click to expand...

Well, all I can do is share what I have seen and personally experienced. It'll be up to you to trust what I have to say.

Gears are pretty much all made by the same company in Korea called Cha and packaged in different boxes. Vendors tend to push whatever they have in stock or can make the most profit on so you'd be fine going with just about any brand. I personally like Revolution shafts and I might recommend their gears as well. Ultimately, it'll be up to your shop to do a good install.

As far as ball joints go, I might recommend you just pick up a set of Crown HD joints as they are EXACTLY the same joints only cost less.

Regarding drive shafts, your factory front shaft uses a 1330 u-joint at the pinion. This is STRONGER than a 1310. Do yourself a favor and get a 1350. If you ever can afford to upgrade to a ProRock 44, you'll be able to reuse your shaft.
 
Braxtonsag

Braxtonsag

Member
wayoflife said:
Not necessarily. Out in my neck of the woods and how I'd play with it, they are junk. In your neck of the woods, it'll probably be fine for quite some time.
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I had a subaru before this, I have taken it on Lots of trails. We usually take a big trip out west in July and we end up in Colorado, moab, etc. itl be exciting to actually be able to do some harder trails. Hells revenge And Imogene pass really took a toll on the subaru and that’s ultimately what led me to a wrangler, now I just need to get it to a point where I can explore comfortably without worrying I’m going to be stranded. Last years trip we went all the way to pismo beach.

On the driveshaft, I read that the 1350 would just be annoying and drivability would suffer, any truth to this?


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