I would fit D60s to the truck but they're so rare and expensive here its not worth considering at this point.
The best I can do right now is stuff as many hi-zoot goodies into the D44 and limit myself to 39" rubber, as well as be more careful in my approach to wheeling.

Does anyone know much about the "super joints" for the D44?

 

Could you tell me what the height of the front coil springs are when compressed to ride height?

 

Yeah sure I'll run the tape over them tomorrow.

 

Nice looking truck Aussie...looking forward to the finished product.

 

Superjoints and ctms are pretty equal in strength but I give ctm the edge.
I hear ya about d60 availability.

 

Thanks SavageNFS, should at least be on all four wheels, if not driveable in the next two weeks.

73 ford guy,
Would I be correct in thinking if I use a stock Spicer u joint rather than something fancy, it would give out first when I'm punishing my front end, acting as a fusible link so I don't blow apart something more costly?

 

Nice build Aussie .. Not getting much done here, still the dead of Winter here .. Ready to roll with some warmer weather .. spicer fusible link That works .. best to break where it costs the least .. Hang in there you've made great progress

 

I can answer that, No, it is not reliable the uni it would give out first...

But i am glad you asked...
I have a little old skinny D44 under the front of my big old bus...
I am very surprised at the punishment it has taken...

Yes, i do do very serious 4x4ing in it.

One day my huge big old bus and a tiny little quad bike got into a showdown at the local quarry...
He was just about exhausted trying to shake me off his trails but i pushed my beast through whatever he dished out... Steep climbs, steep drops, off-canter descends, tight trees, he couldn not shake my bus from his trail...

Towards the end he got playing a little dirty and started doing locked-diff circle work...
This was a little unfair. There wasn't quite enough room for me to pivot unless i went up the entry hill and used the top moguls to lift the rear while i flicked the front...
This works in soft sand for me. The closed knuckles on my 44 gives a better turning circle than a king-pin front allowing me to powerslide around the centre-point of the bus.
As long as i have a mogul to break the weight off the ground to start the pivot, the chevy takes care of the rest...
As i started up to the top of the hill towards the moguls I noted the loose gravel and thought all was good.
As the front hit the mogul the nose lifted, then the rear, then i pedaled on to start the slide.
As i pedaled on the front compressed fully, dug through the gravel, hit the granite base and the pencil thin front axle went "pop, rattle, rattle" and i went uh-ohhhh...

This is the thing about my Dana44. I never thought a 19 spline, 22mm (or it it the other way around) axle would put up with half the punishment i've given it, but it has...
Furthermore, when it did fail and after a full pull-down inspection with an experienced mate, all that had happened was the axle snap, there was no other internal damage.
At the time I was looking for a 60 front as well. Since then I scored another D44 front and have settled with that...
I also have a failsafe uni between my tranny and tcase and a spare uni in the parts bin for field fails...

The redundancy of a big beefy 60 has been well tested..
They will break, they will be much more expensive to fix...
My tiny little front axle might look puny, but it's plenty strong.
I reckon a 44 has 10 times the redundancy of a 60. Certainly in cost alone...
As long as i dont outright abuse mine doing locked diff circle work on gravel, all will be good - sand is fine 8)

 

Fusible link? Well if the joint fails it can wipe out the ears of the shaft like what it did to my factory 35 spline yesterday. My chromoly stub survived just I think. It's a little scored but should be ok. I'll pull tomorrow.
It's kinda luck what it all breaks. My 35 spline warn premium hub might have popped too. They were new! Again I'll figure it out tomorrow.

 

Stock Dana 44's bring the suck!! Believe me I had my fair share of snapping them. Closed knuckles are drum brakes,even more gay.

Ausie Trucker, beef it to chromoly,invest in either Yukon super joints or ctms and drive it hard but not crazy and back off when wheels hop and you should have pretty good luck. You may want to consider drive flanges over hubs but that sounds like its too late.
Driving style will make shafts last and keep it unlocked when not needed. Also avoid gassing hard when tires are on a tight turn,hard on ujoints.

 

'73FG, i bet you had fun with your self thinking about all that gayness!

AussieTrucker, I was trying to demostrate a different approach to what can be a very expensive alternative.
Spinning a wheel, any sized wheel, dramatically increases it stopping mass on an exponential level that it is almost impsible not to break something not matter how strong it is.
It will come down to luck, NOT your driving style....

 

If its not driving style I guess just crank tires to full lock all the time and hammer home and let luck take over..

 

Don't try to build up the d44 more than it is. I totally understand Ausie Trucker and lack of availability and beefing it is all you can do!

A well built D60 can take a very hard beating! Mine I broke yesterday as my inner shafts were still factory and I was hammering on it hard!
This is what a real axle looks like...






Dana60,High steer(5/16 wall links),hydro assist,5:13's,3/16'' stainless diff guard,ARB,kingpin,high pinion,Ubolt flip,35 spline 1.5" chromoly outers, warn premiums and disc brakes.
I'll take disc brakes for stopping power over drums and closed knuckle with "supposivley" better turning radius.
Anyways rambling over.

 

i was only quoting you

 

When something breaks yeah it can be luck on what else it may take out, hub,shaft, even a locker, but driving style can prolong the life of parts in a big way.

Example yesterday I got jammed hard on a rock decent almost rolling. I turned into the lean to prevent roll over,moving forward. I ended up in a spot where I couldn't move forward or backwards easy at all my front tires were jammed hard and at full turn to right. I needed to straighten tires to move forward but I couldn't straighten with enough power even with hydro assist. Instead of hammering hard I risked a huge possibility of snapping something. Luckily I pulled out rear winch and pulled myself back up a couple feet up the 3' rock then letting winch line out from in cab and turning left , I rolled back down the rock I straightened tires and got out.

Edit ..some pics


Pulled back,tires straightened out, going back down..