Baystate Jeepers

We all know what opinions are like, and everyone has one. And I haven't been wheeling for long but until today, NOBODY has said or suggested that a D44 wasn't more robust, more desirable, better, stronger (or insert your adjective here) than a D35 / D30. Like I said, until today

Pete Trasborg, in the June issue of JP magazine says that after 150,000 miles on their '01 TJ "... the TJ Dana 44's really aren't that much better than the Dana 30 and Dana 35 they replace. The big increase in strength comes from the ring and pinion and carrier, but this strength is often negated by the weak housing and tubes"

IMHO, I'm guessing that JP rig was wheeled like it was stolen and has prolly seen more abuse than just about any privately owned rig. (Umm...... there are exceptions.... right Brian? ) I still feel fortunate to have a D44 hanging out in back and I wouldn't trade it for a 35. Of course, your mileage may vary

There aren't many differences between a stock D30 and D44 front, same tubes, knuckles, inner C's, outer stub shafts, u joints, brakes. The D44 does leave a little more room for upgrading however. Stock D35' and 44's have 1 main difference that makes all the difference in the world, C-clip vs. non C-clip.

fortyfour wrote:There aren't many differences between a stock D30 and D44 front, same tubes, knuckles, inner C's, outer stub shafts, u joints, brakes. The D44 does leave a little more room for upgrading however. Stock D35' and 44's have 1 main difference that makes all the difference in the world, C-clip vs. non C-clip.

A true Waggy 44 is stronger than a D 30 A rubi 44 or a Mopar 44 Is what your talking about A HPD30 is all most as good Im running 1 with 36s and alloys no issues at all A waggy 44 maxed out will be 38s - maybe 39 inch tires that will be like my D 30 with 36s
For the record I really do baby my jeep never beat it I just drive it the way its built GOOD LMAO

opinions are like ...... belly buttons?

brian + tim are right!!!!

Yep,
The TJ 44 rear and RUBICON 44 front use the SAME axle tubes (prone to bending when pushed HARD) and brakes as their D35 and D30 little brothers. In the rear, the gain in strength is the larger ring gear and carrier along with the larger non c-clip axle shafts. In the front, you get the larger axle shafts but the standard rotation low pinion ring gear makes it about as strong as a high pinion reverse rotation D30 found in the XJ.

For what most of us do around here, I'd still take a TJ with the 44 rear over a 35 rear. If you want more strength, go with an after market rear axle or find a XJ D44 rear end and put TJ brackets on it (same width but larger tubes)

Yeah that pretty much surprised me too. For years they have been saying the d44 was much stronger than the d35 etc and quite recently IIRC they said it was better than a 8.8... now they are saying its just as bad as a 35 really weird stuff they are smoking lately. Id expect that from the april issue maybe but being a newbie what do i know....

Yeah, that's why I'm pretty much giving up on most of the magazines. A bunch of them are all owned by the same company now so you get to see the SAME article in 2-3 different rags over a couple months time on occasion. Plus the previously mentioned conflicting opinions within the same magazine..... A Ford 8.8 is now junk because it has c-clips?!? For months I can remember them going on and on about how great a swap it was due to strength and price!

Now they take the "Consumer's Reports" approach to testing things.... abuse it way beyond what 99.9% of people will do, then gripe and call it junk when it fails!

Over the years, I've seen several D35's that have died (snapped shafts, blown carriers), heard of a few issues with the TJ 44 (never seen anything my self), seen two 8.8 ring gear fails (one set up in a high pinion 9" running on the coast side of the teeth with 35 spline shafts, the other pushed HARD in Moab running trails in 2-low) My personal 8.8 has been going for 7 years, was my first attempt at a gear install, and so far my only issues have been from my crappy welding and a used when I got it PowerTrax No-Slip. I've seen two HP D30 ring gear fails, one due to ring gear bolts backing out, the other due to extreme shock load (find the video of Kurt doing Potato Salad Hill) Several front shaft u-joint fails (some from abuse, some from worn parts, some from not thinking), ball joint fails (abuse and worn parts).

Bottom line, The D35 is the worst of axles. It'll survive better with smaller tires and a light throttle, but I'd still take a TJ D44 over it. The 8.8 is still a good cheap swap if your rig has leaf springs (coil springs add $$ for brackets). The D30's can handle quite a bit for it's size, so it's really not worth the $$$ swapping in a RUBI 44. If you're really worried about breaking your Jeep, your options are.... 1) Keep your foot off the throttle. 2) Max out your cards for the biggest axles you can get (D60s can still break with the right person). 3) Don't take it out on the trail.

johnsxj wrote:Now they take the "Consumer's Reports" approach to testing things.... abuse it way beyond what 99.9% of people will do, then gripe and call it junk when it fails!

This about sums it up.

"My Dana 35 is a turd because it broke with 35" tires and a locker."

No duh.

If I wasn't fortunate enough to come across the axles I did (custom HP 44 front w/.375" tubes and a XJ Waggy rear), I would have built the FSJ 44's sitting out back.

I think there may be some merit to the argument they're making about the TJ D44's tubes being "weaker" than what you find on a D44 sourced from FSJs and/or full size trucks. They think a bent tube / housing caused some of their failures and they feel the tubes/housing aren't much better than the D35 -- OK, that may be a reasonable assessment, though the R&P / axle shafts in a TJ D44 are still going to be a lot stronger than a D35.

What I take away from their article is that if I'm going to go shopping for an aftermarket axle (ever again) I'll go with one based on heavier duty parts and not on stock MOPAR D44 parts since the cost isn't significantly more and the tubes are probably stronger...

Their opinion is like anyone else's -- you have to figure out what parts of it are worth keeping.

JW