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Over-stressing axles

Mad-Dog

Mad-Dog

1/2 ton status
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Posts
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Location
Ocklawaha,Fl
i notice a lot of people installing tires and and wheels with little or no regard for axle strength, dana 44's are rated for a maximum tire size of 33".
installing anything bigger is a invitation to disaster
 
nah


depends on if you wheel your rig hard. i would say 36s max, but you will break a few axleshafts if you do anything but mud
 
a 10 bolt is no difference in strength than a d44, right? i have wheeled hard with my 10 bolt and 35s with no carnage. a buddy has broken 1 ujoint on his truck with 38.5 tsls and a 10 bolt in 2 years of hard wheeling.

its how you wheel AND maintain your stuff.
 
Whats the point? If you wheel a truck hard with 33's you will still stress alot of parts beside and including the axles.

I broke a factory gov-lock in my 10 bolt rear with 32's. According to you it is rated for 33's but still broke.

I have a locked 10 bolt front that has 35" tires. I rock crawl it and have only stretched the ears on 1 stub axleshaft.

Harley
 
I run 33's on my IFS daily driver and I used to torture that thing and everything has held up fine...I'm not sure I understand the point of this thread... :dunno:
 
I'm having a hard enough time keeping chromoly shafts together in my 60, maybe I should swap in a 44? Anywho...
 
Don't get me wrong here folks.....i never said it wont work.
i think it is a invitation to breakdown, hardened axleshafts, trusses and floaters all contribute to strengthen a axlehousing.
personally, i would follow the manufacturers guidelines and Dana rates their 44's for a max tire size of 33".
So my point is if you fail to follow the manufacturers guidelines then you're inviting disaster.
These are just my opinions and should be taken as that......... :(
 
Wow :eek1:

I don't even know where to start with this. I am speechless.

Well lets talk about invitation to disaster, Putting anything in your pocket can puncture your liver if you fall just right, placing anything inside the cab of your rig can cause it to decapitate you in a sudden stop.


Show where dana says that 33's are max. I am raising the BS flag right now.

As for manufactures guidlines, they are recomendations for sue happy morons, not laws governing modifacations. I am trying to restrain myself, but what is the ideal set up for 33's?
Also why did the factory offer the D44 under both 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton, auto and manual, diesel and gas, in all of the big three, if they were inherently weak?

Agian, where is my BS flag, I can't find it.
 
I still don't get the point of this thread. The great majority of us here are well aware of the 1/2 ton limitations...you're preaching to the choir.

On the other hand, as Harley pointed out, many of us have broken those diff's with even smaller tires...and quite a few of us regularly abuse those same axles with 35's, 36's and sometimes larger.

Trying to define the real world upper limit of a D44 or 10 bolts strength is not exactly cut and dry. Age, maintenance, quality of replacement parts used, type of tires, type of terrain, and most importantly driving style, all factor into it. If you're comfortable looking at all those variables and saying "33's are the definitive upper limit" that's great. I for one feel the true answer is "It depends".

Rene
 
Mad-Dog said:
Don't get me wrong here folks.....i never said it wont work.
i think it is a invitation to breakdown, hardened axleshafts, trusses and floaters all contribute to strengthen a axlehousing.
personally, i would follow the manufacturers guidelines and Dana rates their 44's for a max tire size of 33".
So my point is if you fail to follow the manufacturers guidelines then you're inviting disaster.
These are just my opinions and should be taken as that......... :(
Click to expand...

I know what you're trying to say.. But most guys on here know the jist of what is ok to run etc. If someone chooses to run tires bigger on a 1/2 ton, or 3/4 ton set up they know what type of driving is required to keep it together. Sometimes the law of averages comes into play, and something breaks... and often it does not. It's a give and take. Not everyone can afford to upgrade to a D60/14 and even if they could, it's still not fool proof. Smart driving can make almost any system work just fine.. foolish driving can ruin even the best "bullet-proof" set up. And again, even a well built rig, with cautious driving will sometimes choose to break something ... just to show you it can. :crazy: The main thing is, have fun with what you have. Like the article that RJ wrote.. back in the 80's we just wheeled what we had.. there was never any talk of upgrading parts.. no one cared, and not much was even offered. It was fun, and we had fun doing it.. I knew guys running 39's on 10 bolts.. who never broke anything. We were not locked.. and didn't flex for crap.. but we learned to get into places with good driving skills, to offset the lack of equipment... and we always came back dirty, with big grins and plenty of storys to tell.

heres to the old days.. :saweet:
 
This is some funny stuff, I got a good giggle out of it.

I'm not sure if you're serious or not though.
 
Mad-Dog said:
So my point is if you fail to follow the manufacturers guidelines then you're inviting disaster.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the max. reccomended size for a D60 is like 37 or 38 inches...so are we all supposed to run out and buy 2.5 ton gear?
 
mikey_d05 said:
I'm pretty sure the max. reccomended size for a D60 is like 37 or 38 inches...so are we all supposed to run out and buy 2.5 ton gear?
Click to expand...
Oh man, I just bought 40's, you are saying I have to get rockwells?
 
was: over-stressing axles

I don't care what you do anymore...
Sorry for posting a thread here... it wont happen again.
C-ya

P.S. Ryan B. can find me on alt.autos.4x4.chevy-truck.
 
Mad-Dog said:
i notice a lot of people installing tires and and wheels with little or no regard for axle strength, dana 44's are rated for a maximum tire size of 33".
installing anything bigger is a invitation to disaster
Click to expand...


Wow, after viewing your website........

GM never put a 575hp engine in front of a TH350, so you probably shouldn't do that.....

GM didn't make it a habit of equipping their vehicles with nitrous oxide, so you probably shouldn't do that.....

GM didn't twin stick their NP205's, so you probably shouldn't do that......

:surepal: :dunno: :deal:




:haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:
 
Mad-Dog said:
I don't care what you do anymore...
Sorry for posting a thread here... it wont happen again.
C-ya

P.S. Ryan B. can find me on alt.autos.4x4.chevy-truck.
Click to expand...

:dunno:

C'mon dude.. don't get all serious -n- chit. I think your post just suffered from a lack of point... and fore thought. Chalk it up and move on... lifes to short.. and so is Tim.

No harm done.
 
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