Are 44s enough??

[re-run]

I'm planning on a major upgrading of my YJ when I get home. I want to keep the 5 speed and the 4.0L but I'm planning on a flipped dana 300 and dana 44s front and rear. I want to run 35 or 36 inch tires and air lockers front and rear with 4.10 gears. my question is will the dana 44s be able to handle that kind of tire once I lock the axles? My old CJ help up with lockers and 33s but I'm not sure if the extra tire will cause me problems with the axles.

also I dont know if it makes a difference but I plan on having coils at least up front if not all the way around. Any suggestions on how this will affect ride quality on road or if it will cause me to have problems with my setup offroad?

I just dont want to spend all this money and break something right out of the gate, or lose ability to drive on the road.

Thanks guys

 

[Used-TJ]

Unless you pick a 5 speed with a granny 1st gear, the clutch wont last long with 4.10's, especially with the not so low gearing in the 300.
Go with 4.56's at least.

 

[Erik S.]

Unless you pick a 5 speed with a granny 1st gear, the clutch wont last long with 4.10's, especially with the not so low gearing in the 300.
Go with 4.56's at least.

How do you figure?

4.10s with 35s is fine.  I did 35s with 3.73s, and the clutch was fine.  Not being able to operate a clutch properly will burn it up faster.

His high range with the D300 will be the same, and the extra low Low Range will only help the clutch offroad.

Now, is this going to be an offroad vehicle or will it see a fair amout of time on the road?  If you want decent gas mileage, then I would suggest the 4.56s with the 4.0L and the 35s.  You want to use one of the gear ratio calculators and find the gearing that will put the 4.0L between 2500-3000 RPMs at your cruise speed.  This should get you the best possible gas mileage.

Remember, if you are running the Dana 44s front and rear, you can now go to a lower gear than you could with the D30 in the front.


Erik

 

[toyworx]

How do you figure?

From experience.

I ran a T-5, D300, 4.27's with a Q78 tire which is over 35", and it SUCKED big time. 5th wouldn't pull hills on the highway, and the gearing was way too high out on the rocks. If you want to run 35-36" tires and be able to have any control at all while wheeling, then you'll need at least a 4.56 and a Lo-MAx 4:1 kit in that Dana300.

 

[JeepinMaxx]

I run a YJ with 5 speed and 33's with 4.56.  Around town and highway - the gearing is perfect.  2500 RPMs at 65mph in 5th on the highway.  Off road - has a pretty good crawl - sometimes on the rocks I wish I had 4:1 T-case

If I planned on 35's - I think I would rather go with 4.88s

(stock Rubicons had the perfect on road gear with 4.11s and 31" tires)

Just my humble opinion  :2cents:

 

[re-run]

Wow I never really thought of 4.10s as a hight gear ratio

It will see a good deal of time on the road. However I still want to be capable on the trails. A low max kit is not much of a problem, considering this is gonna have a large price tag anyway, I just want to make sure I do it right the first time so I dont need to re-gear.

and yes Detour I know that means I wont be living up to my screenname but I think I've learned a thing or two in the past 3 years  :mad02:

 

[petey]

i my have a waggy dana 44 with a airlocker and 5:13 gear 5 on 5.5 lug.  it only has about 1000 miles on it and it was totaly rebuilt with all new wheel bearings u joints, rotors, calipers, hubs, locking hubs and ball joint. the axle will hold up fine for you.  Mike Young runs this set up with the motor tranny and tire choose and has no problems.  I my get rid of it because i have a v-8 and 38.5 swampers.

 

[Erik S.]

How do you figure?

From experience.

I ran a T-5, D300, 4.27's with a Q78 tire which is over 35", and it SUCKED big time. 5th wouldn't pull hills on the highway, and the gearing was way too high out on the rocks. If you want to run 35-36" tires and be able to have any control at all while wheeling, then you'll need at least a 4.56 and a Lo-MAx 4:1 kit in that Dana300.

You have to compare apple with apples and oranges with oranges.

Lets start with your tranny, it was a T-5, nough said.  With a 35.5" tire the 4.27s should've been plenty.  On the highway, a 258 will have a tough time getting out of it's own way.  It's a way underpowered engine.  Even if his 4.0 is a Renix it still has 60 more horsepower and gobs more torque.

As for offroad, a Lomax will help, but it's not the be all end all.  Like you previously mentioned a granny gear will help.  Or we can go with Teraflex and their 4:1, or JB conversions, or an Atlas II, or a 4 spd Atlas, or a Stak, or a 357, or a doubler, or a........  Lots of options, I don't think I listed them all.

I ran a CJ-5 with a T-18, Dana 18 and 3.73s.  No problems offroad.  WITH 35s.  That's a 60:1 final drive, roughly.  His final will be roughly 44:1.  Not bad, not great but not bad.  With the 4.0 he'll have plenty of control over the Jeep offroad.

ANYHOW, back to his question which was about the axle strength.  Yes, the Dana 44s will be plenty strong enough for what you are looking for.

Wow I never really thought of 4.10s as a hight gear ratio

They're not a high gear ratio.

 

[massxj]

5 speed  33 tires and 4.56 gear  just right  for me. i would go lower for a bigger tire

 

[toyworx]

You have to compare apple with apples and oranges with oranges.

Lets start with your tranny, it was a T-5, nough said.  With a 35.5" tire the 4.27s should've been plenty.  On the highway, a 258 will have a tough time getting out of it's own way.  It's a way underpowered engine.  Even if his 4.0 is a Renix it still has 60 more horsepower and gobs more torque.

Actually I think the setup would be very similar to his. My 258 had head work, Mopar MPI injection, and a full tube header. It was proabaly making about the same power as a stock 4.0, maybe a little less. And the T-5 has approx the same 1st gear ratio. I found the setup way too fast on the rocks. It was good for a lot of other stuff, but it was way too much gear for the rocks. The difference between a 44:1 and 60:1 final drive ratio is huge. Thats a 30% difference.

And yes, i agree that the Dana44's will hold up just fine.

 

[Used-TJ]

All depends on the type of wheeling you intend to do.
For crawling the rocks without burning up the clutch, or banging the snot out of the jeep, you will need more than 4.10's.
4.10's with the rest of the gear train you have, would be a great match for 31's, or 35's if you don't plan on hard wheeling.

 

[beaker]

I've been driving my cherokee on 4:10's for a couple years now.  I cruise at ~2100 on the highway.  I'm running an AW4 auto and 32" tires.  I'd think with an OD tranny, 4:88 would be good with 35's

 

[NomadJeep]

35" with 4.88 are a perfect fit for me,  the RPM is perfect on the highway.

4.10, say goodbye to 5 gear at least if you hit any hills.  Drive 395 and you will get pretty fed up of down shifting for every hill.

 

[garysoupy]

44's are ok. I have them in my yj. T-5, D300, 4.56, 35" tire & Detroits. Seems to work well.