Well i destroyed my rear axle shaft and locker this weekend at rausch creek and i need something to replace it. I could spend another 900 dollars to replace the super 35 kit and then spend the money to have it installed, or i could spend a bit more and get a completely new dana 44 or possibly a dana 60. I was wondering who has the cheepest prices on pre built axles, and if anyone has any other suggestions. I called aroudnd and found that drivetrain direct is probobly the cheapest at 2150 plus shipping for a d44. Also considering the detroit broke in mine( the splines that the axle slides into are broken into pieces as are the axle shaft splines) should i try and call detroit and complain? And where can i find the number.
Need advice on new rear axle
-
who did the install? I've seen a couple like that and detroit said it was b/c of improper installation, to much backlash i think.
the other thing poss. is that your axle tubes were bent. They both will snap a detroits neck w/ no problem.
Artie
-
You might want to look at an Explorer 8.8. 96 and later if posi has 31 spline and disk brakes. There isn't enough you could do to a D35 to match a stock 8.8 for strength I believe it is stronger than a D44. I've got a D30hp with highsteer Cobra brakes and 8.8 with disks (probably will be Cobra Torsen T2R and have less than 1k in both.
[/img] -
Quote from "hssss"
You might want to look at an Explorer 8.8. 96 and later if posi has 31 spline and disk brakes. There isn't enough you could do to a D35 to match a stock 8.8 for strength I believe it is stronger than a D44. I've got a D30hp with highsteer Cobra brakes and 8.8 with disks
The 8.8 is a good option but it's actually slightly weaker then a D44 and is still a c-clip axle. It does get you disks and (if you choose wisely) 4:10's w/ an LSD but you'd need to do just as much welding as if you got an XJ/MJ D44. You can usually find them for ~$350 and the bracket kit is $299 from MORE...add your choice of gears/locker and you're still _well_ under the $2150 from DD.
--Ian
-
It all depends on what you want to end up with. I know 60's are expensive but if you are already spending 2150 plus shipping, I am sure you could find a pre-built 60 for not too much more. If you want to stick with a 44 or an 8.8 building one should not be too bad, older cherokees had a 44 that can be found for 350-400 add a bracket kit and you have a nice axles for under $1000.00. The 8.8's are a little more expensive but since the gears don't matter to you, you can probably find one for cheap. Just make sure it is a newer one as they have the 31 spline shafts and the discs.
-
Dana 60's are big though. You'll be dragging that across every rock you go over.
-
Everything I've read has stated that the 8.8 is stronger than a D44. A friend has a Hot Rod shop in Houston and he has a number of customers running 600+ hp at rear using 8.8s. He uses FRP gears, Truck posi and Mosler axles, and if needed to get rid of the C clips 9" axle ends (from Mosler). Two cars come to mind, one destroyed a new pair of Drag Radials in one pass, The other is well over 600hp with slicks. The only thing they don't seem to break is the 8.8. I just checked car-parts.com they list a 8.8, 31spline, posi, 4.10:1 for 150 & 250. The other trick is the Mountianeer has the same axle and is generaly cheeper. I just did 2 8.8s the first was complete with a bad pinion bearing fron a garage for $100, FRP 4.10:1 bearings posi rebuild and setup $400 and an exploded TJ housing for brackets $50. The other, housing $50, Torsen T2R $255, gears and bearings should run about 200, Mosler axles about $250, Cobra rear brakes about $300 (but I'll pay less), and brackets $75 this is going in My TJ (twisted Jeep).
-
8.8's seem to have trouble rotating axle tubes. Perhaps it is how they are set up. I imagine setting up a rear for drag racing where the tires will supply some slip is different than setting up a rear for rock crawling where there shouldn't be any slip. Rock crawling utilized much lower gears to transmit the torque through than street racing.
-
There are a couple of mods that can be done to resolve "weakness". One should always be done it the vehicle is going to be used hard, that is to weld the tubes to the center with stitch welds. The other is eliminating the c clips with 9" housing ends, keep in mind that the c clips in the 8.8 are much thicker than most and the disk brakes will tend to keep the axle on the car. A kit for the 9" housings along with stronger axles are available from mossler. Also as far as welding I believe that MORE will now setup the brackets for you, for a price.
Participate now!
Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!