Aftermarket Technical Axle housing discussion

[ECHO]

So there are a several great choices currently on the market or in design stages for upgrading your JK axles, either keeping your 30, stepping up to a 44 or scraping what you have and starting over with 60's or even bigger.

I thought I start this thread so everyone that has done the switch or upgrade can share the facts with other members who are condsidering the same move. I am doing some serious shopping at the moment and will be pulling the trigger before Freak Fest, so I have been doing some research.. That just makes me dangerous at this point.. not educated, by any means.. haha


So what I am hoping for this thread is to get first hand experiances, what set-up you have and why you went that route.. What I have found is that it can get VERY expensive real quick by Dream shopping and htting the buttons for axle options, then I came back to reality and started to think about the type/style of wheeling I do? Do I need to have RCV's? Do a need a full on Locker? Do I need to spend $500.00 bucks for ball joints? Well; being a realist, Yes would be great to have on all of those questions, but; The option to upgrade later is just as good... More importantly, I need to get rid of the D30 (Before it shells) and step up to a 44.

So. This is what I have currently:


The Jeep 2008 - 2-door - 3.8 - 6spd - 3" lift - Centerforce Clutch - running 37's

The axle in question: Stock Axle - Dana30 - Detroit Trutrac - G2 5.13 gears - "C" Gussets

What I want: TERA44 or PR44 - with Detroit Truetrac - 5.13's (of course) - Synergy Ball Joints - Alloy USA axle shafts (or simular)

I know there is only about a $200.00 difference between the TERA and the PR with my desired setup, and BOTH would do very well for my style of wheeling.. Reading over the spec's for the last couple of days, I have found that both have ALOT of things i like and only a couple that make them different... tough choice for me anyways...


One thing I noticed was the Tube thickness... from stock to the different manuafacturers, as well and tube diameter... some use thickness for strength, some use diameter and thickness for strength...

Here a chart thats shows what I am talking about:



So looking at the TERA 44 - Likes: About 136% stronger then stock, Drain plug for easy fluid change, extended flanges to get rid of stock weak points, built in caster
Dislikes: Not as thick of a tube wall as the Duratrac

Looking at the Duratrac PR44 Likes: Everything that I liked about the TERA + thicker tube wall & higher ground clearance, the only dislike is the lack of a drain plug....



So I would like to hear from those of you who have had these or other axle replacements so this thread can be a good learning source for those who might be looking to change axles in the future.

[CH10]

I've been running a HD PR44 for almost 2 years now. Got it with ARB, 5.38s, Reid knuckles, RCVs, Dynatrac ball joints.

Bought it from Northridge, they recommended that I have them cut off the Dynatrac track bar bracket and weld on the Poly Performance one. Sounded good but then my RK track bar wouldn't have fit if I didn't already have the RK bracket to use inside the Poly bracket (Poly bracket opening was wider than RK bushing).

I also have a PR60 rear and didn't like the track bar bracket. Instead of raising the rear mounting point they push it back about an inch to clear the diff cover. I called Dynatrac about it and was told hat because they don't know the setup they tried to go with a universal bracket. I'm only bringing up the rear axle bracket because I got the impression the front track bar bracket might not be ideal based on that conversation and the recommendation from Northridge, hopefully someone else can offer some input on that part.

If you use the RK style spring retainers they won't work, the spring perch is different and you'll have to fab something up.

The final thing worth mentioning is that this axle is built really tough which means more material was used. I didn't have any clearance issues until I added the Poly skid system, had to trim some of the reinforcement on the housing with a grinder in order to clear the oil pan skid.

Now that I've covered everything I had to adjust / modify I should add that I see them as minor issues because I can resolve them myself and it would be impossible to make it fit every setup. It's one hell of an axle and I would definitely do it again but I 'm sure the Teraflex would be a good decision too.

[CH10]

Should have added, drain plugs are convenient but I don't mind. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're doing very frequent oil changes.

I'm also pretty abusive and have bashed the diff cover hard dozens of times, it's holding up great.

[ECHO]

Thanks for the great feedback...

[ECHO]

My suspension lift, trackbar & Flex Arms are all TeraFlex.. so that should be an easy transition

[e-jeep]

Great thread topic. I'm a long way off from this, but it'll be nice to read real-world experiences.

[dahreno]

I think I am going to replace my stock d 44 on my JKUR , which is bent , with another stock d44 housing . They are about 1400 bucks , I can retain all of my internals . I will press in some inserts , and gusset the inner Cs.Then probably strenthen up the stock brackets.I think it will hold up fine at that point for me as I only run 35" tires .I do have another bad ass jeep that I have a d60 and a corp.14 b. f.f. for , with 38.5 x 15 inch tires.That is the jeep that I can beat on to my hearts content and not worry !

[Dynatrac]

I think I am going to replace my stock d 44 on my JKUR , which is bent , with another stock d44 housing . They are about 1400 bucks , I can retain all of my internals . I will press in some inserts , and gusset the inner Cs.Then probably strenthen up the stock brackets.I think it will hold up fine at that point for me as I only run 35" tires .

I'm afraid I don't understand your thinking. A PR44 Unlimited housing is $2,147 and a PR44 std housing is $1,959. Adding sleeves, gussets and labor to a new $1,400 stock housing seems like wasting money. Yes, I sell the products and have a vested interest but if I were building my own rig, I certainly wouldn't rebuild with a housing proven to be weak. Especially with so little $$ difference between a great housing and stock/modified.

If I figured $220 for sleeves/gussets, I'd still figure my time was worth something, even if just a little. Adding reinforcements to the brackets adds time and effort too. When you're done, you still don't have the added caster that is such a huge part of the PR44 Unlimited. Considering it all, material costs, labor and the end product, regardless of where I worked, in this case I'd be installing an high strength aftermarket housing. The savings don't justify going back to another weak housing.

[dahreno]

Thanks Dynatrac , you are right. What do you recommend the caster to be with my Pro Comp 6" long arm suspension and 35 " tires ?Will I have any fitment problems with the new axle ?I have heard there might be clearance issues.

[SlvrJK]

So i've been running a Dynatrac PR44, with the 1/2 wall axle tubes for the last 1.5 yrs. It has poly bj's, rcv's, 5.13's, rubi locker, and no caster correction. I'm running 37's with 2"of lift on my 2 door.

The axle has been fantastic, It's nice to know that I can use the loud pedal and not have the front end implode on me. I'm not easy on my rig and the axle has taken everything I can throw at it.

Just to give you an idea I destroyed my 30 back when I was on 33's. 4 sets of shafts (including one chromo set), nuked the spiders (replaced with aussie locker), ulitmately ended up bending the housing so badly that my front tires were like /---\ even with the gussested c's.