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Want to buy a ProRock 44 with OEM e-lockers - can someone talk me out of this?

8K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  Fusion 4x4 
#1 ·
Hey gang, I want to order a ProRock 44 unlimited for up front to gain some pinion angle and castor with my 4" lift. I plan to stick with 37s but may try 38" MTRs (and do some trimming) since they weight about the same as the 37' Nittos.

Northridge can build me the axle with an oem elocker so I will just buy the complete new one and sell off the complete old one.

Currently, I have no plans to upgrade the rear axle and just run chromoly shafts front and rear. Also no plans for RCVs up front.

Factory e-lockers seem to work fine for me and I have been watching the threads where folks are rebuilding them.

I even already have on board air but would still have to wire and plumb the lockers, mini tank and relays etc.

What am I gaining by going with an aftermarket locker up front? 35 splines at the differential side, correct? Does this necessarily shift the axle's break point from the differential to the wheel side?
 
#2 ·
Buying the weaker and more problem prone OEM locker makes no sense to me. I could see the argument if you were re-using the one you have because your tight on funds, but you say you will buy a new one from Northridge and sell the old one in your complete axle.


Just because your OEM one has not yet caused you heart ache and pain, does not exclude you from ever feeling that pain.


If your spending the money on an E-Locker, I would strongly suggest spending the money on the one least likely to cause you fits later. Forget the OEM, spend that money on the Eaton.


That just seems like good money spent bad from my perspective.
 
#5 ·
Same weak unit bearings, ball joints, and brakes. Why drop that much money and regain those things. Its funny people think they need to upgrade the housing which actually has very few failures but don't mind keeping the things that actually wear out and fail often. Just keep the current axle until you break it.
 
#6 ·
Thanks gents. Yeah, I did not really expect to break or bend the housing itself very soon and it isn't even sleeved. Again, the motivation here is for the caster angle and pinion angle and the satisfaction of having done a proper build. The exploding transfer case thread caught my attention for sure. I am even contemplating bringing my JKU's lift down but not sure I want to go that route either.

From what I understand, it really does not make sense to try an rotate the Cs on the stock housing for the pinion and caster angles. For the short term, that is the only problem that I am looking to solve.

Okay so I will just try harder to break the axles. That was the original plan anyway.
 
#8 ·
Why not just run the RSE brace? They claim no one has had a T-case grenade with their brace on it? And what about that slick Tatton driveshaft with the TF Rzeppa joint on it? Shouldn't that resolve any vibration issues? I am seriously considering getting that driveshaft, but only if it resolves the vibration issues..............
 
#9 ·
I bent my sleeved front 44 tube. Given that I had rcv's, teraflex brakes and no other damage, i figured the housing was all that I neded. That minimized the added weight and cost that a 60 would bring. With my intended use, it should be more than adequate. Not everyone needs a 60 or an 80. I just wish i had cash for the 60 outers to get the unit bearings and balljoints. Manual hubs are sweet too
 
#11 ·
dont do the E-locker.

if youre going with a prorock, just get the conventional D44 one.

i know a lot of people say go with a 60, but when all said and done, a 60's cost will be more than just the axle.

you would need new wheels, steering, etc.

i used to tell myself that i wish i did 60's but even though the prorock was $5.5k, that was all i had to spend and it would bolt right in
 
#13 ·
#20 ·
They did a re-tube with corrected angles. One of their guys told me they had too many failures and the process was just taking up too much of their resources.
 
#14 ·
I run a Teraflex R44 angle compensated housing with the factory locker, chromoly shafts, CTMs, Reids, and Spyntec hubs. 37s on Trailready HD beadlocks. The combination has been on there for several years, numerous trips to Moab and no issues whatsoever. If you can recoup most of the cost of a fresh locker go for it.

I don't buy into this "weak factory locker" spin. Yeah there are a few occasional reports of issues with locking and unlocking, but no one is blowing out the spiders or cratering the locking mechanisms, even with 37s. Now that the actuator assembly is available as a repair part and more is known about engagement tweaks, shoot, if you have one stick with it. JK Tru-Locs are not the weak dogs found on TJs. Any of us who have run ARBs know you're eventually going to be chasing line leaks and replacing diaghrams.
 
#15 ·
Good info. Sounds like a solid D44 We have a lot of the same parts already. CTMs are u-joints (had to Google)? Yeah, exactly. I'm not buying the weak factory locker thing either.

I was going to do a simple housing swap at first as well and the teraflex made the most sense for a housing swap but I am getting to lazy to do a differential setup. Haven't done one in years. Maybe I should consider getting unlazy.

Thanks for the you and thedirtman for recommending the spintec hubs. That may be another part of the approach I take here. Will look into them.
 
#19 ·
My pro rock unlimited works great.perfect pinion angle and tons of caster.yes im running the stock rubi locker with zero issues e locker in rear. I don't know why everybody says there not good?but I hardly use it and im at the rubicon all the time and yes i take most of the hard lines...yes I wish I could of went with 60 but 2k for a new housing with their 500 dollar ball joints I couldn't pass it up. And for person saying stay away from eton e lockers please explain. I've installed many of them no issues except one (early type) and it was under warranty upgrade. I wouldn't turn the inner Cs the tube is very thin but it could be done just my opinion tho.
 
#23 ·
What about the g2 core 44 option? A bit cheaper than the pro rock, and you could either do the whole thing with their hd ball joints and 35 spline shafts, or just the housing (which I think also comes with their new ball joints). Maybe setup is a bit easier due to using an adjuster nut for backlash and preload?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
#24 ·
I am running the dusy ershim august 22-24 and if I bend my stock D44 I am going to do the same with the prorock or the TF44, just reuse factory locker as mine knock on wood have been reliable in the last 46,000 miles (2014). I have used them a lot and so far so good.
 
#26 ·
#28 ·
I thought about doing just that but decided that I already had C's and that after gussets, the strength would be sufficient and the price was considerably less than the big C's. I actually almost went the 99-04 Ford SD60 outer route on that axle but decided against it due to price. But a JK 44-SD60 hybrid has always interested me.

As it currently stands, it's an axle I just don't have to worry about at all while performing wonderfully on the road. That's about all I can ask for.
 
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