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Dana 44 destruction

Mike D said:
Any tire bigger than 33" is too much for a D44, unless you are crusing down a paved road straight.
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That's a pretty blanket statement... there are plenty of guys on here running 35's on 1/2 tons w/o many major issues...
Plus it depends on where you wheel... I only hit the sand and currently run 38.5/16-15's on a 14ff/10b combo and haven't broken anything because sand is forgiving...
 
I have ran nothing but sand and 33" tires and broke quite a few dana 44s, It is how much you stand on the gas.
 
Mike D said:
Any tire bigger than 33" is too much for a D44, unless you are crusing down a paved road straight.
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Umm, yeah OK whatever...
jerkit.gif
 
JDNobodi said:
I have ran nothing but sand and 33" tires and broke quite a few dana 44s, It is how much you stand on the gas.
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i have wheeled my dana 44 and 35's for 8 yrs now and havent broke it.i have however broke my rear 12 bolt 3 times and went to a 14bff.3/4 ton conversion on front end.i was eating up bearings pretty quick on the 1/2 ton little bearing hubs though.i am going to upgrade the small stock shafts i have ion there soon though.the joints are about garbage at the moment.
 
Auto vs. Manual
Tire weight and width
what ya wheel
Gear Ratio/locker

All have a lot to do with the life expectancy of a 44/10 bolt
I have been running 37's (12.5 wide) for a few years now and 35's befeore that. Mostly rocks with an automatic only broke one ujoint in 10 years, it was the original and both ujoints were replaced with the 760's. Had a lunchbox locker for a long time and now the Auburn Ected.
 
I have a converted to 8 lug D44 (larger bearings) and have only had problems with the cheaper u-joints. I ran 38's for two years and generally only on Nevada terrain. (rocks=Nevada terrain) with a manual trans and no locker in the 44.

My real point here is that D44's are cost effective and so are the many many available parts. Would I like to have a D60? Sure - now who has one for free? Who has parts for free or nearly free? NO ONE.
 
NV K5 speaks truth. Here in AZ we have guys running chromo'd 44's and 10b's with 37+ inch tires on gnarly rocks with little or no breakage. One guy was running 42's on his truggy with a locked d44, and he wheeled HARD. It's all about how you wheel - with finesse, you can make them live.
 
I loved the cost effestiveness of my 44. That is up until I broke the drivers knuckle. I didnt mind replacing a ujoint or two but, When I have replaced almost every part in the axle and it still breaks, Im gonna need something a little stronger to keep up with some aggresive wheelin.
 
Blazin'4x4 said:
I loved the cost effestiveness of my 44. That is up until I broke the drivers knuckle. I didnt mind replacing a ujoint or two but, When I have replaced almost every part in the axle and it still breaks, Im gonna need something a little stronger to keep up with some aggresive wheelin.
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I've gotta ask - How exactly did you break the driver's knuckle? Was speed or heavy power used against the rock face?
 
Destruction

I was wheelin independece trail and came across a large drop in to another trail and decided to take another line,backed up nice and easy to straighten out the truck and backed into medium sized rock. On my way up it I snapped the divers u-joint and axle shaft ears got shredded.
So now with no 4 wheel drive I had to run and gun it to get back into a decent area to replace the joint and on my way out I bumped a rock and the wheel fell off.:eek:
I guess I should accurately describe the break. I didnt actually break the knuckle, I broke the ball joints that retain the knuckle. I believe that when the inner axle ears broke, they took out my ball joints and I just didnt notice anything broke other than the u-joint and shafts.
It was a very interesting adventure driving my truck with a log stapped to the underside of the axle to act as a skid.
 
MaxPF said:
NV K5 speaks truth. Here in AZ we have guys running chromo'd 44's and 10b's with 37+ inch tires on gnarly rocks with little or no breakage. One guy was running 42's on his truggy with a locked d44, and he wheeled HARD. It's all about how you wheel - with finesse, you can make them live.
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I just bought that axle. He grenaded the welded spiders and took the R&P out so he upgraded to a D60. He wheeled his truck pretty damn hard with 42" IROKS (yes 42") for a few seasons with minimal problems. Keep in mind his truck has a 450hp BBC w/FI & a doubler. He is a very good driver and has GREAT throttle control. I would NEVER recommend 42's on a 1/2 ton front but for the guy with the 1/2 ton's are only good for 33's you need to open your mind and close your lips because you are just making yourself look foolish.

37" is about the functional limit for 1/2 ton fronts especially if they are in stockish form with lockers. 35" tires and a good driver they are pretty darn reliable even with lockers. Some people get away with running bigger then 37's on 1/2 tons but you are really pushing your luck even if you are a good driver.

Harley
 
Hossbaby50 said:
I just bought that axle. He grenaded the welded spiders and took the R&P out so he upgraded to a D60. He wheeled his truck pretty damn hard with 42" IROKS (yes 42") for a few seasons with minimal problems. Keep in mind his truck has a 450hp BBC w/FI & a doubler. He is a very good driver and has GREAT throttle control. I would NEVER recommend 42's on a 1/2 ton front but for the guy with the 1/2 ton's are only good for 33's you need to open your mind and close your lips because you are just making yourself look foolish.

37" is about the functional limit for 1/2 ton fronts especially if they are in stockish form with lockers. 35" tires and a good driver they are pretty darn reliable even with lockers. Some people get away with running bigger then 37's on 1/2 tons but you are really pushing your luck even if you are a good driver.

Harley
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I agree 100% with Harley. I didn't mean to imply that I would reccomend 1/2 tons and 42's. I was just giving an extreme example to prove a point: You really can wheel on 1/2 tons :wink1:
 
Just like I stated earlier, I wheeled my 44 for years before I had any problems. But once it broke the first time, it never quit breaking. There again, I was only runnin 35s. Now the 39.5s are causing mayhem.
 
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