Any reason to NOT get a rear Dana 60 over a Dana 44?

any4xx

New member
I'm looking at G2 axles and find I can get the Rock Jock 60's for about the same price as the Core 44. I'm no hard core offroader by any means, but that doesn't mean I can't beat on something down the road. I have no intention on going with any larger tires than the 35's I'm running right now and am only wanting 4.56 gears to make up the torque I lost when I went to 35's.

So why wouldn't I just go with the 60's if they're all-but the same price? Thoughts???
 
I'm looking at G2 axles and find I can get the Rock Jock 60's for about the same price as the Core 44. I'm no hard core offroader by any means, but that doesn't mean I can't beat on something down the road. I have no intention on going with any larger tires than the 35's I'm running right now and am only wanting 4.56 gears to make up the torque I lost when I went to 35's.

So why wouldn't I just go with the 60's if they're all-but the same price? Thoughts???

Your JK already has a dana 44 in the rear. So the reason not to go with the 60 is that it costs thousands of dollars and your 44 is free since you already have it.
 
Why not just keep the stock rear axle until it breaks? You said you have no intentions of going bigger than 35's and don't wheel hard. Spend the money on something else. I believe Eddie ran his stock axle with 5:38's on 40's but he knew it wasn't a matter of if but when it broke.


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I plan on replacing both front and rear. I’m just trying to figure out my rear option right now. Certainly the cheapest option would be to just have both regeared, but I’m in the mood to spend some $$$.
 
What is the weight difference? Driveshaft change, clearance issues?
Don't know but at the very least I would assume a lot heavier.

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The only reasons not to is the cost, and lack of need. If you want to spend money, and just want a 60 rear to look cool then do it.
The stock rear 44 is a very good housing unlike the wimpy stock fronts. And as gadget said Dynatrac has a 35 spline rear upgrade that I am running, but then again aside from the Dynatrac cover you can't see that there is anything special there.
I am running 37s on 5.13 gears with zero concern for how my axles will hold up.


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Dynatrac has an upgrade kit for the stock rear d44 that would cost alot less but make a stouter rear end, you might look at that.


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Yeah... I’ve been shopping for a while and have looked at the Dynatrac also. I haven’t yet made a decision, obviously. I’m not married to the G2 brand. I guess I was just surprised at the price, as it’s actually a bit cheaper than the 44 at one vendor.

So my question REALLY is are there any disadvantages to the 60 when compared to the 44? I guess weight, parasitic loss, clearance, etc. are issues. What am I missing?

And also, just in case anyone thinks I’m just into throwing cash out the window, I’d be passing my Rubicon axles onto my son in law for his 2012 Sport if I were to replace them rather than to just regear what I have.
 
The only reasons not to is the cost, and lack of need. If you want to spend money, and just want a 60 rear to look cool then do it.
The stock rear 44 is a very good housing unlike the wimpy stock fronts. And as gadget said Dynatrac has a 35 spline rear upgrade that I am running, but then again aside from the Dynatrac cover you can't see that there is anything special there.
I am running 37s on 5.13 gears with zero concern for how my axles will hold up.


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So do think I’d be ahead of the game just leaving my rear alone and replacing the front with a better housing?
 
So do think I’d be ahead of the game just leaving my rear alone and replacing the front with a better housing?

If you are only running 35s then I would say yes. You can get a PR44 housing and use your existing internals (aside from gear change) and save yourself a lot. Of course that wouldn't be as nice for the son in law though.


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I'm no hard core offroader by any means, I have no intention on going with any larger tires than the 35's I'm running right now and am only wanting 4.56 gears to make up the torque I lost when I went to 35's.

So why wouldn't I just go with the 60's if they're all-but the same price?

Talk about overkill. Why not wheel what you have? You have a Rubicon yes?
Plenty of people wheel with tires larger than you and they hold up fine myself included.
Save eventually for a new housing if you ever manage to break yours.
You have a two door which does help in terms of keeping the front axle alive.
 
If you are only running 35s then I would say yes. You can get a PR44 housing and use your existing internals (aside from gear change) and save yourself a lot. Of course that wouldn't be as nice for the son in law though.


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Yeah... I just passed on a $6k watch to him a few weeks ago. If he misses out on a free set of axles I don't think he'll disown me.
 
Talk about overkill. Why not wheel what you have? You have a Rubicon yes?
Plenty of people wheel with tires larger than you and they hold up fine myself included.
Save eventually for a new housing if you ever manage to break yours.
You have a two door which does help in terms of keeping the front axle alive.

Damn... You guys are making a lot of sense. I'm guessing I should just order a set of gears and a master kit and get busy. I HATE doing gears, but even more I hate trusting a shop to do it right. I already have the tools. I guess I just need to set aside a couple of days and get it done.
 
Damn... You guys are making a lot of sense. I'm guessing I should just order a set of gears and a master kit and get busy. I HATE doing gears, but even more I hate trusting a shop to do it right. I already have the tools. I guess I just need to set aside a couple of days and get it done.
Stock 44s. I run 5.38s on a 2013 with 35s. Its my daily driver but I've been all over Moab & the Rubicon trail.

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Stock 44s. I run 5.38s on a 2013 with 35s. Its my daily driver but I've been all over Moab & the Rubicon trail.

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How are the road manners with 5.38’s? I’m wanting 4.56’s only because they will essentially mimic 4.10’s with stock tires. I’m averaging around 18 MPG if I drive gently right now. I don’t want my road mileage to tank.
 
How are the road manners with 5.38’s? I’m wanting 4.56’s only because they will essentially mimic 4.10’s with stock tires. I’m averaging around 18 MPG if I drive gently right now. I don’t want my road mileage to tank.
If I keep it around 70, the ride has been great. MPG around 15. I live 20 minutes from Moab style terrain here in southern Utah. 4 low & locked, just let it go ...

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I would not go with 5.38s on a 44 because the pinion gear is tiny. 5.13s are safer. I run those with 37s with no issues other than lack of power but that’s due to the 3.8 engine.
 
Yeah... I’ve been shopping for a while and have looked at the Dynatrac also. I haven’t yet made a decision, obviously. I’m not married to the G2 brand. I guess I was just surprised at the price, as it’s actually a bit cheaper than the 44 at one vendor.

So my question REALLY is are there any disadvantages to the 60 when compared to the 44? I guess weight, parasitic loss, clearance, etc. are issues. What am I missing?

And also, just in case anyone thinks I’m just into throwing cash out the window, I’d be passing my Rubicon axles onto my son in law for his 2012 Sport if I were to replace them rather than to just regear what I have.

From my experience I’d stay away from g2. Great products, customer service not so much. For the price of the 60 rear I’d just get the actual Currie one, or spend a little more and get a dynatrac 60.


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Man...I have certainly battled this demon! So I bought a set of built up Rubi axles a little over 3 years ago for my Sahara. Sleeved, trussed, and gusseted front 44 with LCA skids, factory Rubi locker, and RCV shafts. The rear had chromoly shafts and the factory Rubi locker as well. Both axles came with Riddler diff covers and Yukon 5.38 gears. We discovered that the rear locker wouldn't engage right after installation. A new Rubi locker was going to be a little over $1100. I told them that if I was going to spend that much more on it, what else could we do to beef it up even further. We contacted Auburn and got one of their 35 spline lockers for $650. So we put new chromoly 35 spline shafts, all new bearings, etc, along with the same Yukon 5.38 gear set.

Fast forward 3 years, 2 days, and 6000 miles. The rear locker gave up on me while down at Hidden Falls Adventure Park 5 weeks ago. I simply noticed that it wasn't engaging, and then started hearing some light metal dragging sounds about an hour later. The next day I pulled the diff cover to inspect and found that the outside of the ring gear had 90% of the teeth missing. Weird, as the pinion still had full bite on the middle of the ring gear. The damage had been done up to that point, so I cleared all of the debris, refilled with new gear oil, and continued wheeling the rest of the weekend without issue. Back to the shop 3 days later, 4WheelParts pulls it apart and discovers that the 6 allen head bolts that hold the locker case together had started backing out. The debris accumulated from the shearing of those bolts are what ate the ring gear up.

I asked about the warranty of the locker but they told me it was only 1 year, and anything over a 31" tire voided it anyways. I'm running 35's. However...I was then informed that I had paid for their "Extreme" warranty, and that stretched it out to 15k miles, or 3 years. I was over that by 2 days, but they went ahead and honored it. They told me that they would install all new bearings, gears, and the now upgraded version of that Auburn Ected locker for a total of $161.00. The old locker had a 2 pin locking design and the newer version is a stronger, 4 pin design and is made of a different, stronger material. It was also a little over a grand. That was a no brainer!! However...I am always about beefing it up! I inquired about the Dynatrac 60, and he told me he would be willing to credit all of the parts needed towards the new 60. I would've been out around $2000 for the upgrade, minus labor. The struggle was REEEAAAALL!! I've currently got a wedding ring fund going, so I ended up passing on the upgrade. Still can't beat $161 to rebuild the whole rearend! I'll be moving up to 37's after the wedding ring is purchased. Just Empty Every Pocket!!!
 
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