Axles....to ProRock, or not to ProRock....

[caminton]

I would think if you scheduled it they could swap the front axle in a day. People knock it out in their driveway in a day, surely a shop would be able to do this for you.

Cool, good to know. I'll keep that in mind. Still might be better for us to plan a weekend trip so the wife is happy and doesn't notice the cost of the axle haha.

 

[wayoflife]

Thanks for the details Eddie. I'm assuming I can get gears/lockers installed from Dynatrac?

Yup, like I said, you can order it up so that it comes complete and ready to bolt on.

 

[caminton]

Yup, like I said, you can order it up so that it comes complete and ready to bolt on.

Sweet! This is probably the route I'll go.
Is there a way I can get a price estimate online, or do I need to call/email? I'm only seeing the housings listed on their website, but I do see where they say they'll do gears and all.

 

[Sullivan]

Sweet! This is probably the route I'll go.
Is there a way I can get a price estimate online, or do I need to call/email? I'm only seeing the housings listed on their website, but I do see where they say they'll do gears and all.

Dynatrac just put out some pricing deals on a few axles. You can build one complete, which is the way to go, IMO. Your spending the money, so just do it right and have them build it correct. And if something did happen to be wrong, you know they will take care of it for you.

 

[Mike_JK_Houston_711]

Sweet! This is probably the route I'll go.
Is there a way I can get a price estimate online, or do I need to call/email? I'm only seeing the housings listed on their website, but I do see where they say they'll do gears and all.

Just give them a call and they'll get you a quote same day. I just did this last week with a rear trail series 60 w/ prorock housing. They're really easy to work with.

 

[caminton]

Just give them a call and they'll get you a quote same day. I just did this last week with a rear trail series 60 w/ prorock housing. They're really easy to work with.

Awesome. Great to know! Thanks

 

[caminton]

Might have to pull the trigger on this sooner rather than later. Off-road Evolution is offering $999 regears all summer, so I could just go ahead and regear the rear and get the PR44 put on the front.

 

[Jk_nate]

Wheeling out in CA is a bit different than wheeling up in the Great Lakes area. It's not the rocks or mud that'll wreck havoc on a rear 44 housing, it's speed. Adding a truss is completely unnecessary and I personally wouldn't waste the time or money on one. Again, the biggest weak link on a factory rear 44 is its semi-float shafts. Regardless of what brand you choose to buy, you WILL bend the flanges if you play hard enough. If you lived in an area where you can drive hard and fast, it'll happen even sooner. Of course, that's just what I've seen.

As far as throwing any money at a Dana 30 goes, I personally feel that's a complete waste of money. But then, that's just me.

I put 35s on my jeep and the first trip out I bent the rear flange. I didn't do anything super hard in my opinion. I put some chromoly axles axles in it and I'm hoping I won't have any other problems out of it. Do the chromoly axles bend easy too?

 

[JagJeeper]

Love WAL. I learn so much. I got stock Dana 44s on 37s. Looks like saving for PR 44s especially front is in the budget. C-gussets are the only mod recommended till then? Truss is a waste (by what I've read) but what about an inner sleeve? Also if rear Dana 44 is a bit hardier anything besides C- gussets for those? Thanks for the input.

 

[MR.Ty]

Love WAL. I learn so much. I got stock Dana 44s on 37s. Looks like saving for PR 44s especially front is in the budget. C-gussets are the only mod recommended till then? Truss is a waste (by what I've read) but what about an inner sleeve? Also if rear Dana 44 is a bit hardier anything besides C- gussets for those? Thanks for the input.

You can't gusset the rear D44, it doesn't have Cs. The are Cs on the front as part of the steering components. Gusseting the front with allow you to run bigger tires without bending them while you save for a PR44.

 

[Guascone]

Is there any suggestion about the brand of the C-gussets ( teraflex, evo, etc...)?

 

[cozdude]

Is there any suggestion about the brand of the C-gussets ( teraflex, evo, etc...)?

Look at ones that cover the whole C like the Evo ones do. I would do Evo just purely for the fact that they were the first to offer them and also still today prob the thickest gusset on the market

 

[Guascone]

Clear, thanks!

 

[Bingobelle]

A semi-float shaft is all one piece - shaft and flange. I suppose you could say it bends where the shaft becomes the flange.

Does this mean that if you break a rear shaft your tire will fall of?

I thought you could pull the shafts on a jk and still be able to drive but guess that only is correct on the front axle?

 

[KrawlerJK]

This is basically what I was looking for. Thanks! Also, LOVE your build man.



Thanks for the response Eddie.
While I do know that the "44" they put in Rubicons is basically a 30, isn't it a High Pinion, and therefore MILES ahead of my crappy D30?

I'll sell you my Rubicon 44... 5k miles on it $1500

 

[Sullivan]

Does this mean that if you break a rear shaft your tire will fall of?

I thought you could pull the shafts on a jk and still be able to drive but guess that only is correct on the front axle?

Yes. If you break the shaft, the whole tire and axle shaft will slide out. This is one of the differences in a full float vs semi float. I always keep extra rear shafts with me for this reason.

 

[MR.Ty]

Yes. If you break the shaft, the whole tire and axle shaft will slide out. This is one of the differences in a full float vs semi float. I always keep extra rear shafts with me for this reason.

That's not entirely true. That was a problem with the old D35 but the D44 will be retained by the brake caliper and supporting hardware. Your tire and shaft won't work their way out of the axle.

 

[wayoflife]

Does this mean that if you break a rear shaft your tire will fall of?
I thought you could pull the shafts on a jk and still be able to drive but guess that only is correct on the front axle?

First off, I rarely see ANYONE breaking factory rear shafts. Second, you can only pull a shaft and keep on driving IF you are running a "full float" axle - the factory Dana 44 rear axle is a semi-float axle. Unlike a Dana 35 that used c-clips to hold the axle in place, IF you were to break a rear shaft down at the spline or deep on the shaft, your wheel will NOT fall off. However, IF you were to break a semi-float shaft at the flange, your wheel would fall off.

 

[caminton]

I'll sell you my Rubicon 44... 5k miles on it $1500

Thanks, but I'm pretty much completely sold on the PR44. Contacted Offroad Evolution last night to get a quote on it. If it's astronomically higher than I thought it would be, I might still consider this. But, I'm also not in a hurry to get this done, so I'm alright with saving for a little while.

 

[Zadi]

Sorry all. Not to derail the thread as I'm learning a lot and I'm also considering the prorocks 44 front and 60 rear. I have a question about full float axles. I think I understand the concept but if someone more knowledgeable could explain that would be great. Does it have to do with a separate flange and shaft?
Thanks