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dana44 strength?

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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 09:09 AM
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dana44 strength?

does anyone know about the chrome moly upgrade for the dana44 from what ive read it says it will make it as strong as the dana60 and it would be cheaper if that is true.just woundering if thats true or not.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 09:15 AM
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Your limiting factor at that point, assuming you used ctm joints and good carrier like an ARB etc. would be the hubs, they would still be 19 spline at the hub. You could go with drive flanges where the axles are locked all the time, but if its a dd, the gas mileage would go way down.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 09:32 AM
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I have been wondering the same thing. It would seem to me that if you truss a 44, put in a 35 spline carrier, moser, superior or the like axles, oversized u-joints, that it could be as strong as a stock 60. This way you could buy it over time and then swap the parts in one weekend instead of keeping the truck down for a while. I don't need it right now, just wondering.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 09:44 AM
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Stick to Warn or Superior axles on the front. Mosers are good on the rear but have a bad rep on the rear. There are formulas for calculating the specs that take into account the rigs weight, tire weight, axle rating, shaft material etc.

So, calculations would have to be done on stock 44, alloy 44 and stock 60 for your specific rig to get some more "exact" numbers. But a wild guess would be in the area of 40% stronger than stock 44. The problem with comparing to a stock D60 is they are not all the same. The issue of the carrier isn't even taken into account. If you want to run 35 spline axles, you would have to run the new ARB and use d60 "c" and knuckles, outers, and hubs. You would actually be running D60 axles in a d44 housing! Perhaps get a D44 HD housing that already has thicker tubes, or retube a d44 with chromolly tubing to increase the housing strenght.

This is what you are really talking about I think.


If so, click HERE for the Petersen's article and other photos.
 

Last edited by rlh; Dec 4, 2004 at 09:50 AM.
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 10:00 AM
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Which, for all intent, you might as well buy a HP60 for $1500 and be done with it.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by bremen242
Which, for all intent, you might as well buy a HP60 for $1500 and be done with it.
I agree, however, ground clearance and weight may be something to consider. And I've never seen a $1500 HP Dana 60 in the condition of the one in the pic above. $1200-1500 will get you a junk yard 60 that needs, rebuilt, possibly regeared etc. etc. etc. Besides, were talking radical here!


Edit: OF course if I had Pro's money . . .
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 12:29 PM
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what i see is you are telling him to build a D50, becuase what I can tell of them is they are a D60 with D44 gears more or less. If you are wanting to run big tires then ground clearence isn't much of an issue go with a D60, but for anything short of 38" the D44 will stand up pretty good I knowthey have a bad rep, and people do break them but I have been running a D44 with STOCK axles, and 34" tires in muddrags with over 500hp, and haven't broken one yet. (intend was to upgrade the axles to moly when I break them, and still haven't gotten that excuss)
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 12:44 PM
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well im running 39.5x18 with 350hp and 5.13 gears do you think they will hold up to that combo it is just a toy for mud no rocks or anything to extreme.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 12:54 PM
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they 39s are pushing it they are heavy and put alot of stress on the axles, but since you are strictly running mud, and if you can put in better aftermarket axles (I would do like I did what till you break the stockers) yeah it would probably be fine
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by rlh

Edit: OF course if I had Pro's money . . .
HA! I have to sell plasma just so I can buy new boggers

The thing is, its way beyond just axle strength. Its the housing, tube, KNUCKLES, u-joints, etc. etc. Sure, you can put in moly shafts, flanges, and ctm joints but your still gonna be waxing your knuckles. I can put in moly axles in my D60 and they will be stronger than a rockwell shaft...but just about everything else on my D60 will nuke far before the rest of the components of the deuce.5. Especially the knuckles. So, I always tell people to just save your pennies and put in the D60. You'll end up ahead of the game.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 01:11 PM
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For wheeling purposes I can't see putting a D44 (even built) under anything other than maybe a Ranger or BII. Even at that it's iffy if you really beat on it.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 04:42 PM
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Don't underestimate the D44 HD under a Bronco.

Checkout Raf's Bronkzilla




Here's Raf's

Bronkzillla Site
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 05:20 PM
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True dat, but he's also built the hell out of his 44 and he's STILL going to upgrade to a 60. So even with his CTM's and all the goodies he's got there Raf is going to dump it in favor of something stronger. As I said, I'm not against putting them in light vehicles. I'm even thinking about buying one for my Camry ( Sorry, I'm a jackass). No really though, if I end up buying a little Ranger I'd probably stick a D44 in there if a 60 wasn't available but I can't see putting one in a fullsize. It's too much weight, especially with big tires, to be beating that axle and have it hold up well.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 08:13 PM
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But it's still the fact that how many replacement parts can you buy for a D44 for the minimum 1K it'll cost to get a D60, PLUS the rebuild. That's ALOT of axles shafts and ball joints.

Take into account buying my D44 and rebuilding it i'll be under $300 and all the bigger i'm going tire wise are 35's-37's a D44 will suit my purposes just fine.

Justin
 
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Old Dec 4, 2004 | 08:56 PM
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Originally Posted by hoxiii
Take into account buying my D44 and rebuilding it i'll be under $300 and all the bigger i'm going tire wise are 35's-37's a D44 will suit my purposes just fine.

Justin
Ivan just wanted 36's and 6" of lift.
 
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