So I have been really thinking that as much as I would love to have a front 60 I do not want to pay the money especially when I do not do a lot of hard core rock crawling. So I would like to get a rear dana 60 then beef up the rear dana 44 and move it to the front.

So is this possible or I am better to just keep waiting and watching to catch a deal of a front dana 44 for sale or should I save my money and get both front and rear dana 60's

It will cost you quite a bit; new gears (if you can find them), new control arm mounts, new c's and knuckles, new/extended passenger side tube, new axle shafts, plus a not insubstantial amount of work, and you'll lose the high pinion of a front D44. Not worth even thinking about in my view.

by the time you cut the axle, extended it and added everything need for steering you could have bought a prorock 44

x2 or find a D44 on a wrecked Rubi..

If you could even do it. Finding a low pinion reverse cut gear set for the front may be difficult.

What 60 do you plan on putting in the rear? and why do think you need it?

there is a lot of 60 fetish going on these days if you aren't gonna be rolling 40s or jumping off of rocks it is highly unnecessary

Thank you guys for the input as I really appreciate the feed back.

I have been on the look out for rubi front 44's I plan on doing a rockjock in the rear.

You confused me with the above statement. Why does he need different gears?

BTW, I totally agree with what's already been said--not worth even considering making a front axle out of your rear.

Wouldn't he be better off running reverse cut gears at the front? Otherwise the pinion would be pushing on the weak side of the cut and he wouldn't be gaining anything in terms of strength. Thinking about, without changing the diff housing he couldn't do it anyway, so yes you are right, no need for new gears, sometimes I think ahead (or is it behind) of myself

Not to hyjack, but in my opinion D60/s arnt needed utill you start doing 3.5-5 diamond trails running tires 37' or bigger. Even then I wheel the famed 3-5 diamond trails in Florence junction, AZ every weekend with a local club and I'm only running a front D30 ( sleeved, truss, gusseted, Crome-Molly axle shafts, ect.). The rear is a D44 ( truss, 35 spline Crome-Molly axles, arb). My tires are 37's. The key to not bracking anything is to let your gearing/lockers/tires do the work not your foot.

You absolutely DO NOT need D60's.

Not even when I upgrade to 38's? And planning on doing some higher speed dunes and mild jumps?

Hmmm, as long as you drive on a real straight trail.....

What if your rolling of 37s and jumping off rocks?


corey d

Just solidify your D30 a little and keep saving your money for the 60's.

Dang Phil, you're one smart fella!! That's what is so cool about this forum, people like this always willing to share their knowledge....sorry for the hi-jack

It's a very good point that Phil brought up. The gears would be driving on the "coast" side.
I've seen dudes convert Ford HP44's and 60's to rear axles so that they can have high pinion rears. But they end up with the same thing... driving on the coast side of the gears.
Although I have never seen this fail, I would think it would wear out a gearset faster.

x2

If you're plan on running tires larger than 37's and running/ jumping dunes then yes D60s would be a smart buy. But then again so would a pre-runner with indipendent double wishbone front susp with a badass 9' in the rear; and of course coilovers in the front and maybe leafs in the rear.

A jack of all trades is a master of none.

Phil was nice enough to explain how to do it properly if you wanted to. I just flat wouldn't do it. I am lazy and just want to buy something pretty much ready to go. Do a search on here for "axle housing"--I personally would NOT recommend the JK D44 front for moderate to hard wheeling, unless you are planning to beef it up with some sleeves and gussets, etc. Hard to beat Currie http://www.currieenterprises.com/ces...96&p=4999.9500

Happy trails!

What the heck are you talking about? A gear set is a gear set, a housing is a housing. There is no such thing as a "low pinion reverse cut gear set". It makes no difference to the gears or the housing if it is in the front or the back. There have been millions of low pinion axles used in front applications, you are right that it runs on the coast side of the gears but its not a problem. High pinion axles are 'better' for front applications, but low pinion will work just fine.

Even though they work, Low pinions make drive line angles a PITA up front.

Hence the reason I said he couldn't change the gears anyway. I was incorrect with the first comment and corrected it after I put my brain in gear.

Yes it does, you run on the weaker side of the ring gear. Whether or not "millions" of people do this is not the point, it does a make a difference.

If he needs the strength of a 60 in the rear, using a rear 44 in the front is unlikely to give him the tsrength he needs. Besides which the work involved doesn't make it worthwhile in my view.