Rubicon axles and 35s

MaxWSU

MaxWSU

New member
good morning! I have a 17 Rubicon with 35s and I’m going to start doing some moderate wheeling soon. I know the Rubicon D44s aren’t true 44s so what should I replace/strengthen to prevent most damage while wheeling? I was thinking C gussets and chromoly outer shafts..... any thing else I should hit too? Truss?

Should I treat the front and rear differently?

Thanks!


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Go with some gussets on the front axle Cs. Get a real transmission skid plate. Eg Rock Hard.
 
MaxWSU said:
good morning! I have a 17 Rubicon with 35s and I’m going to start doing some moderate wheeling soon. I know the Rubicon D44s aren’t true 44s so what should I replace/strengthen to prevent most damage while wheeling? I was thinking C gussets and chromoly outer shafts..... any thing else I should hit too? Truss?

Should I treat the front and rear differently?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

C-gussets are cheap and a good idea. A truss is a complete waste of money. Personally, I would hold off on new shafts too until you actually need them. Your rear end should hold up fine as is for the kind of wheeling you're talking about.
 
⬆️what they said. I have a 16 Rubicon with 35s and other than guessets, Im not going to upgrade any axle parts until I break them. Plus hang around here too long and tire envy will have you going up to 37s with some new axles🍺

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MaxWSU said:
good morning! I have a 17 Rubicon with 35s and I’m going to start doing some moderate wheeling soon. I know the Rubicon D44s aren’t true 44s so what should I replace/strengthen to prevent most damage while wheeling? I was thinking C gussets and chromoly outer shafts..... any thing else I should hit too? Truss?

Should I treat the front and rear differently?

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

don't underestimate the strength of the stock components on the Rubicon.

gusset the C's and run it until you actually need to replace parts.

Make maintenance and pre/post wheeling inspections part of your "to do".

Even though I have chromoly axle shafts, they use c-clips to hold the u-joints in place - much better to have full circle clips.

There have been times I've found my c-clips not fully seated. I think they tend to rotate and the crud that builds up in the groove hardens and causes them to unseat.

I'm not sure about my theory, but a small pick to clean out the groove and reseat the is clip easy to do.

wheel and have fun!
 
Thanks for all the reply’s! Local shop is having a killer sale on gussets and I have a buddy who’s a good welder.... at least I think he is. Here’s a picture of some of his recent work.... would you trust him? IMG_9175.jpg


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Welds look good. Besides, You don't have to be that good, if you're changing out the bjoints.
 
MaxWSU said:
Thanks for all the reply’s! Local shop is having a killer sale on gussets and I have a buddy who’s a good welder.... at least I think he is. Here’s a picture of some of his recent work.... would you trust him?


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

For gussets, those welds look more than fine. As long as the gusset is secure on the top and bottom, it does its job as far as support.
 
Remember when you do the gussets that you either want to do small increments of welding at a time or change the balljoints and do it while they are out. Otherwise you run the risk of overheating the balljoint and ruining it


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I ran completely stock on 35s for a few years. The first thing to bend was my drivers rear axle flange. Hard to notice but I had a chirping sound that led me to the discovery. I wouldn’t change the axles until you bend one, in most cases you can still drive it home. Never bent anything up front but I recently added gussets and ball joints are going in next week.
 
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