Project economic JK

[Xof]

but urgently needed as all stock rims where bended pretty badly.

how ?

[MalteJK]

but urgently needed as all stock rims where bended pretty badly.

how ?

Thats a good question. I can only guess, that the normal offroading was already a bit too much for them - or they were already "rebuilt" when i bought the car ( i got it used ) - so they were weak.
On the other hand, since my front knuckles are also bended a bit due to some earlier driving failures of me ( jumping & 1 time flying ) they've hard times with me as well ... And they got rotated while rebalancing the tires - which could led to the situation of having bended tires in the rear as well...

For the rest ... i'm innocent

[MalteJK]

OK update :

found a F150 rear axle with a 9.75 diameter differential ring .
This one is the same league as a dana60 (34 spline) ...
Right now, they're welding the brackets and balance & rebuild the diff.
They'll also take care of the tone rings and the bolt pattern - so it will be compatible with the
jeep ABS and speedsensors as well as with my rims ( ok for the rims this is not 100% but promised ) .

This time it not done @7p but in a decent workshop in Quasis. They're also doing a lot of nice engine swaps ...
So i can pass by to check a lot easier

[MalteJK]

Without Rear Axle

the new donor axle

The new Axle shaved in the front (ready to get the JK brackets mounted on)
The Old axle is in the back ... the diff of the new is just huge
I think this will even withstand my driving skills

[MalteJK]

New Axle Assemble is in place, all the brackets are welded on ... it got sand blasted and painted accordingly ...
Now it's there and huuuuge , waiting for the new driveshaft and the Axle + Hubs - this takes a bit more time, because of the ABS sensors and the balancing of the driveshaft ...


... but the guys there promised to finish before the weekend.

[MalteJK]

Now i'm still thinking about what to do with the front axle ... I'm a bit puzzled and need opinions.
My idea is to have a high strength front axle assembly with thick spline ( thinking of 34-35 ) or minimum chromoly axles
because i'm planning to go on with 37'' tires. And will take this car maybe also for some rock crawling later on.

Plan right now :

either

get a new D44 rubicon complete front assembly ( cost ~9000 AED )
get RCV's for the D44 ( cost 1085 $ + 129$ for the axle seals ) =~4500 AED + shipping (maybe 1000 AED?)
get Outer sleeves + inner sleeves + knuckle enforcement (ranger set) = 2300 AED (~2000 AED labour)
get 2nd enforcement (brackets for upper & lower knuckles) 500 AED
other weld-on enforcements ~ 1000 AED
get Richmond R&P 4,88 = 3000 AED

== ~ 23300 AED

- advantages :
* locker included (even if it is the factory rubi locker and not an arb ... but it will do the job)
* high strength chromoly axles
* high strength RCV joints
* enforced high strength housing
* high strength knuckles

- disadvantages :
* still 30 spline (anything bigger means removing the locker & carrier)
* not possible to put an aftermarket locker (like preferable arb) into the rubi housing
* very costly

Of course this can get even more expensive if i'm getting a different D44 housing like the new terraflex D44 or dynatrac ProRock44
(housing only without carrier outer knuckles and so on ~2000 $ - 2500 $ )

Alternatively :

keep on searching for a D60 front axle from Ford F250,F350,F450 or Dodge 2500,3500 trucks here in UAE

* get D60 front axle from junkyard 3000 AED
* get Richmond 4,88 R&P 3000 AED
* get ARB locker 4000 AED
* get knuckle bracket enforcements 500AED + labour 200AED
* get custom housing enforcements (welded on) 1000-1500 AED
* labour for shaving of the brackets of my D30, enforcing the D30 brackets & welding & painting the assembly,
changing the bolt pattern from 5x5.5 to 5, weld on the ABS sensor ... ~4000 AED
* optional get RCV shafts (2300 $) ~ 9000 AED + 1000 shipping

== ~16200 (26200 incl. rcv's)

Advantages :
* 35 spline ultra high strength axle (regarding Ford it's already a chromoly axle)
* Arb locker
* bigger Diff diameter (9,75 inch instead of 8,5 inch)
* same width as the new rear (67,5 inch instead of 65,5)
* big and solid housing
* comes with bigger brakes (min. 4 piston calipers)

Disadvantages :
* hard to find a donor axle (or car ) so timeframe
* lots of custom work so qualitywise it might not be the same quality
* RCV's are really expensive :/


so right now i tend to stick with the idea of finding a D60 locally what do you think?
Anyone has a good idea or GPS locations of a junkyard in Sharjah / Mussafah who might have these axles ?
What do you think about the plan should i take a completely different route - am i missing something ?

[SSS]

Do you get your rear driveshaft balanced locally in Dubai?
So far I have not found a machine shop who can balance a driveshaft in the UAE!
(Even Mebar/Rashad do not know of any ... )

pls . if you have a address let me know

regarding your front axle : if you go with a front built/reinforced HIGH PINION D44 axle you should be fine!

and 4.88 with your monster high torque/hp V8 and 33" tires is tooo low especially with the very low 1st gear ratio of your 6L80E ... you might want to consider 4.10! or even 3.73 ... the higher (numerically lower) the gear the stronger the pinion btw.
or go with 37" tires? (and risk shaving your pinion/ring?)

just my 2 fils

[IDO]

i have this information if it is any help
Dynatrac 44 unlimited with 1/2 inch wall and extra caster
arb locker
4.88 ring and pinion.
rcv axles
prosteer ball joints
this will total to 5,491 without shipping or tax.
teraflex dana 60 front with arb and 4.88 ring and pinion with big brake kit is 7,534.0 without shipping and tax

[MalteJK]

Yes i'll get my driveshaft balanced in Dubai.
I will tell you the machine shop as soon as i have my car back

Regarding the HPD44 it is nice - but it is a lot more expensive in the end then the junkyard D60 so this is why i'm uncertain as well.
There are still a lot of other things i need to get

Right now i'm going with 3,73 - and this is totally fine for my tire size (285/70/r17) but when i'm with 37'' (this is my plan)
it is not ok anymore. Yes 4,1 was an idea although i'm orientating a bit on the manual JK setup ( it has the same 1st gear ratio ) - and on my last 2 gears which are not in the comfort zone of the engine when i'm doing > 190 ...

So i was thinking about going a bit lower to 4,88 instead of 4,56 .

I know that the the numerical lower ring & pinion has stronger teeth ... but still i broke the D44 rear ( ok it was because of failed bearings ) .. but this is now not really a problem anymore with the 9.75 inch Ring Diameter. I'm not afraid of these to break that easily.

But still it's about what to do with the axle - the re-gearing is another topic - it might be important regarding the D44 in front can become weak with > 3,73 ratio whereas a D60 front will have the same strength as the rear axle...

[MalteJK]

i have this information if it is any help
Dynatrac 44 unlimited with 1/2 inch wall and extra caster
arb locker
4.88 ring and pinion.
rcv axles
prosteer ball joints
this will total to 5,491 without shipping or tax.
teraflex dana 60 front with arb and 4.88 ring and pinion with big brake kit is 7,534.0 without shipping and tax

Thx @IDO btw. do you know what splines are included in the D44 ? Is it a 30, 31,32 or 35 spline setup ?
And from where do you have this offer if i may ask - it's quit good i think!

so it's around 19987 + 5000 shipping (25000) for the D44 but this time a nice Dynatrac with ARB ... tempting!
and 27424 + 5000 shipping for the D60 (32500) for the D60 uff - but nice because of the big brake kit already ... but still uff...

[MalteJK]

Lost & Found

Lost :
- Rear left fender ( 2 times ) ... but fixed 2 times & repainted

Found :
- Warn vtc compressor & cabling
- Aev Snorkel
- Custom made heat isolated CaI airbox for the snorkel
- radiator fan heat shield
- HD toyota radiator fan relay (5 other relays got burned already)

[khaiwi]

* not possible to put an aftermarket locker (like preferable arb) into the rubi housing

Sure possible Malte,

Have a look at mine I have ARB air lockers on my original Rubi axle housing. Not sure if I still have the ARB part number, but I have replaced the axles as well with chromoly 35 splines at that time.

[MalteJK]

* not possible to put an aftermarket locker (like preferable arb) into the rubi housing

Sure possible Malte,

Have a look at mine I have ARB air lockers on my original Rubi axle housing. Not sure if I still have the ARB part number, but I have replaced the axles as well with chromoly 35 splines at that time.

That's good news Chief,

i only heard that the rubicon housing does not have enough place for aftermarket lockers. But great if i'm wrong ... this means the rubicon axle shines again in new light ... and is tempting as well.
Although i just asked Ford about how much a brand new F250 front axle might cost... (it's a D60 with 35 spline already )
If these are affordable i might go with that one - my rear is already a ford axle as well ... and ARB's are available for both (rear 9,75 & front D60 ) ...

[IDO]

i have this information if it is any help
Dynatrac 44 unlimited with 1/2 inch wall and extra caster
arb locker
4.88 ring and pinion.
rcv axles
prosteer ball joints
this will total to 5,491 without shipping or tax.
teraflex dana 60 front with arb and 4.88 ring and pinion with big brake kit is 7,534.0 without shipping and tax

Thx @IDO btw. do you know what splines are included in the D44 ? Is it a 30, 31,32 or 35 spline setup ?
And from where do you have this offer if i may ask - it's quit good i think!

so it's around 19987 + 5000 shipping (25000) for the D44 but this time a nice Dynatrac with ARB ... tempting!
and 27424 + 5000 shipping for the D60 (32500) for the D60 uff - but nice because of the big brake kit already ... but still uff...

Sorry for the delay in the reply,
for the my quotation the axles are 30 spline setup but i think you can order it with a 35 spline setup
like this one.
http://extremeaxlesales.com/rcvpeforman ... set-3.aspx

for the source of the quotation it is from Dynatrac through jackie from 4wd.

[ossme]

In Dana 44, the 35 splines is only bigger at the splines area. The rest of the shaft is the same.

If you only going to buy the housing then I would go with dynatrac 44 instead of a rubicon housing. You will pay extra $600 but you don't need to reinforce it anymore.

For tj it is different because we can buy a rubicon housing for $800 and reinforce it for $99!