Axle Talk

I considered the Ruff Stuff JK 9s but their pricing wasn't within my budget.

Waiting for the new Mopar JK 60s to come out.

If the price were right id be ok with it.
Realistically id go 44/60 because of price...

BKGM Jeepers said

If the price were right id be ok with it.
Realistically id go 44/60 because of price...

Do you regret putting a 60 up front? I think I would replace the front axle before I replace the rear.

I seem to get feedback from you to stick with the 44 front, but Scoped was saying at our meeting to skip the 44 and head straight for a 60 due to ball joint issues. I don't think I would every break a 44 ring and pinion, but I am worried about ball joint and unit bearing wear. If I keep the 44 front, I need it to last 5-6- years with a 37 being the smallest tire I ever run...

I will admit I am no pro or long term 4 wheeler but I do not understand the concept of replacing the rear axel before the front when the front has all the weak points and more consumables. Ball joints, u joints, hubs, weak C's, steering components. Why not replace this unit first?
- I understand the rear being the main drive system but with minimal parts and almost no maintenence needed why replace it first, it's simple strong and effective unlike the front.
- I use the Jeep for Jeep stuff and after figuring in strengthening and hi po front end consumables I have determined building the front 44 is not as cost effective as just throwing a larger stronger axel up front with much larger and stronger consumables.
The hubs I'm using are not hi po and I am on my third set already 4th coming soon (though will try some "better" units this go around), I purchase what were supposed to be a solid ball joint upgrade but will be on my third set as soon as the replacements are in, my front axel u joints are failing and retail for around $80 a unit.
- I have done nothing with the rear and it is happily trucking along costing me nothing more than some gear oil and rtv every now and then.
- in the 4 years I've been at this I have never stopped and thought Oh the rear axel be careful but even when diving on the road I wonder what is next on the front and hope it's not a catastrophic failure.
These front end failures/replacements are not because of poor maintenence but good maintenence detecting what will be a complete failure before the part actually fails and leaves me stranded - the parts just can't handle what the Jeep has become at this point while the rear can.

Greg you want to go bigger tires than I. Though you may be able to do it on the 44 with some good parts I believe you will be spending more money and time on consumables and always have a worry about the front in the back of your mind which makes things less fun

I suggest front axel replacement from my experience

I don't want to load my credit cards up with Jeep stuff but like Kevin I am waiting to see the mopar 60 and if it prices right it is going on the card as it will save me money and life in just in not having to worry as much

I agree with you Jon. I think I would replace the front first and run spacers on the rear. The two main things to worry about would be gears breaking and bent flanges. Gears can become pricey for sure, but flange bending is $300 fix for a lifetime warranty.

I also agree that I bought this jeep to wheel and have fun. I can be a worry wart and that will limit my experience for sure. Honestly, I'd rather have a short arm lift and a front 60 then long arms and coilovers. Hmm...Anyone want an unmolested rubi 44? LOL!!

Thanks for the input Jon!

Gregulator said

BKGM Jeepers said

If the price were right id be ok with it.
Realistically id go 44/60 because of price...

Do you regret putting a 60 up front? I think I would replace the front axle before I replace the rear.

I seem to get feedback from you to stick with the 44 front, but Scoped was saying at our meeting to skip the 44 and head straight for a 60 due to ball joint issues. I don't think I would every break a 44 ring and pinion, but I am worried about ball joint and unit bearing wear. If I keep the 44 front, I need it to last 5-6- years with a 37 being the smallest tire I ever run...

Aftermarket 44. Not stock rubicon 44
Also if i kept rubicon 44 I'd immediately replace ballpoints with the dynatrack upgrade

Gregulator said

I agree with you Jon. I think I would replace the front first and run spacers on the rear. The two main things to worry about would be gears breaking and bent flanges. Gears can become pricey for sure, but flange bending is $300 fix for a lifetime warranty.

I also agree that I bought this jeep to wheel and have fun. I can be a worry wart and that will limit my experience for sure. Honestly, I'd rather have a short arm lift and a front 60 then long arms and coilovers. Hmm...Anyone want an unmolested rubi 44? LOL!!

Thanks for the input Jon!

Bent shafts is what happened to me with a stock 44 in back. Thats what i learned first...

Related topic. Im about to replace my unit bearings in the front 60. Does anyone have experience with the spintek conversion kit? What has everyone heard? It is made for full size fords so it is plenty built for my use. It's pricy but one and done is more paletable than 1000 bucks every 4000 miles...

Do these things seperate? Do they require special maintenance?

Not a JK guy, but I've run a rear 9" axle in my old TJ. The downsides I had were:

Leaking pinion seal
Leaking axle seals
Low, low, low, low pinion

For the gears, I never had a worry about that axle. Mine was an older factory 9" axle from a '79 Ford, not one of the newer Spidertrax, Diamond or Ruffstuff axles and still had the drums. My setup was also on an old, tired 4 cylinder TJ to be clear. The strengths, the deeper you get into gears, the stronger the pinion gets. If you spend the coin to go full float, it is an incredibly easy axle to work on with the drop-out 3rd. There is a TON of aftermarket support for the 9" with the drag racing folks being big supporters/users of the axle. Gear choices are ridiculous - you can go into the 2.xx or into the 7.xx (if I recall correctly). If you're going super crazy with your budget, go 9" center with a set of 40 splines shafts and portals and that is one crazy strong axle that you're never going to break, except for at the bank. Also, take into consideration that pretty much every 9" front axle is a unit bearing setup, so if that is a deal breaker look somewhere else. The 9" is used everywhere from crappy TJs with 100HP 4 bangers to 1000+ HP dragsters and hangs right in there. Just keep in mind, it's going to get expensive, so again budget is where it gets interesting. By the time I built mine almost 10 years ago, it was well over the cost of a comparable D60 or 14 bolt, I also wanted to be wider than stock though....

For me, my current setup is a '95 Ford D60 up front and a shaved '05 AAM (14 bolt) out back for my Tacoma. But given an unlimited budget, I'd got Diamond 9's with True Hi-9s. My setup is 35-spline front, 30 spline rear and with a 3.4L with about 190HP stock when it was new in '98, and with 40's and steel beadlocks - I'm not going to worry about pushing my setup until it's upside down. My setup is locked front and rear with ARB rear / Yukon Zip up front, Yukon 5.38s and I can pickup parts at any corner O'Reilly or Autozone if something breaks. My only real "upgrades" are chromo shafts up front, 35-spline outters, Yukon hubs and shaved gears for the back. If I blow anything up, it's an easy fix.

So back to the 9" question, if I could justify the cost, find parts when I do something stupid and be able to wheel regularly I'd do it in a heartbeat!

I think my future will include an aftermarket 44 in the front and the stock rear with chromo shafts.

Nice feed back Troy!

Brad, I had a buddy at work run the spyntec conversion on his f350. He said it sucked to buy but has been working great for years and has never really had an issue with it.

Thanks Greg. That's the feedback i was looking for.

So it looks like im going to convert my my front unit bearing set up to the spintek kit. This is supposed to eliminate the unit bearing set up and make my front end both play-free and reliable.

While the cost seems steep, I pay almost 1400 for each pair of these unit bearings. One time for 1500 bucks seems logical and cheaper than an axle swap.

Any thoughts or concerns?

troyman said

But given an unlimited budget, I'd got Diamond 9's with True Hi-9s.

I would consider this if I were to do it again and felt like spending the cash.