[Thisguyhasadd42]

The easy decision for me is to do a cut and turn. A new housing without going wider, larger ring gear or larger ujoint doesn't seem worth the money to me. I'll stick with the more money than time or just laziness. Swapping housings, in my situation, is a pretty poor idea.

Just get your jeep towed and have the insurance company pay about 85-90% of the cost for a tera 44 housing front and 60 rear

In all seriousness i agree with you 100% i would have never gotten the axles above if it wasnt for this situation i am in. From the skill level we all know you have cut and turn is definitely the right decision IMO.

 

[SoK66]

In the end you've still got that small diameter tube and the weakness at the center section. But, if you're a welder and have the skills & time, means of jigging the thing up properly you can probably justify doing this. To me it just isn't worth the hassle to end up essentialy right where you started. The D44 in my '09 JKUR is sleeved, gusseted, skids on the lower mounts, Pro Steered & converted to Spyntecs. In retrospect, had corrected housings been available when I started the build I wouldn't have spent a penny on the stock D44.

 

[Alaska-HWY JK]

In the end you've still got that small diameter tube and the weakness at the center section. But, if you're a welder and have the skills & time, means of jigging the thing up properly you can probably justify doing this. To me it just isn't worth the hassle to end up essentialy right where you started. The D44 in my '09 JKUR is sleeved, gusseted, skids on the lower mounts, Pro Steered & converted to Spyntecs. In retrospect, had corrected housings been available when I started the build I wouldn't have spent a penny on the stock D44.

I agree with this but no one that has a Rubicon front 44 wants to here it. Weld away.

 

[Goodysgotacuda]

I agree with this but no one that has a Rubicon front 44 wants to here it. Weld away.

After it being trussed [artec]. I'm not sure what I'd worry about. What failures have been recorded due to the apparent problems housing problems post C and trussed?

I'll hear it, but I don't feel my housing has kept me from doing much. While I don't get cool points for having an aftermarket housing, it's worked just fine for 65,000 miles and plenty of wheelin trips.

Yes, the tubes and c's are crap. Artec trussed and gussets, I feel pretty confident in it. I don't feel the aftermarket stock width is worth my time and money, at all. Unless there is a thread of beefed up and destroyed front d44s, I'll probably continue believing that.

I've been called many things, but naive isn't too common for me. My biggest gripe with the stock housing is the lack of caster. Hell I'm still on factory front axles, I suppose I am just not be hardcore enough to need anything aftermarket..because those just blow up all the time too.

I think we have two completely different thought processes here. A few think upgrading a factory housing to aftermarket is the best way to go. Whereas I feel like it'd be wasting money buying an aftermarket housing that did not get me more width, higher tie rod location, ring gear size, u joints, etc. I might as well truss and turn a stock axle, after that, I feel the aftermarket housing gains are negligible.

 

[Thisguyhasadd42]

After it being trussed [artec]. I'm not sure what I'd worry about. What failures have been recorded due to the apparent problems housing problems post C and trussed?

A few think upgrading a factory housing to aftermarket is the best way to go. Whereas I feel like it'd be wasting money buying an aftermarket housing that did not get me more width, higher tie rod location, ring gear size, u joints, etc. I might as well truss and turn a stock axle, after that, I feel the aftermarket housing gains are negligible.

This

 

[yellowjk27]

This kinda falls into my budget build idea and seing as I havent yet done ball joints and c gussets yet I might do this next weekend.

 

[AWOL]

I think we have two completely different thought processes here. A few think upgrading a factory housing to aftermarket is the best way to go. Whereas I feel like it'd be wasting money buying an aftermarket housing that did not get me more width, higher tie rod location, ring gear size, u joints, etc. I might as well truss and turn a stock axle, after that, I feel the aftermarket housing gains are negligible.

I agree. I think you have a good plan and its an easy task. It will set you a little more apart from everyone else and it's built by you. Not bought by you. Now... Get to work and lets see the finished product!

 

[da20captain]

He's not understanding what you want to do. A JK has a fixed six degree offset between the caster and pinion angles. That's insufficient in most cases when you lift the Jeep beyond about 3 inches. All the cam bolts will do is reposition those six degrees, and you'll end up with either not enough caster, or not enough pinion angle. Seems to be a consensus you need about ten degrees of offset, which is what Dynatrac or Teraflex will give you in a "corrected" housing. If you have the patience & skills the "Cs" can be removed by grinding off the welds and knocking them loose. The housing is then carefully jigged to ensure the right camber and caster/pinion angles, then the "Cs" are welded back on. Lots of work and as Pig suggested, maybe a bit of a fool's errand when you can just get a replacement housing and be done with it. You can usually sell an undamaged/bent stock housing fairly easily and recover some of the costs of the new one.

He completely understood what I was saying. I said to him, the guys at Dynatrac build the PR44 housing with an extra 10* of caster. He continued to push cam bolts saying anything else is overkill and too much reading. I then retorted with hey if you get more caster, the pinion angle would be wrong. He persisted with smirks and offensive tone. I knew it was a no win situation..

I would not mind a PR44 but can't really justify it to the wife or myself really. I wheeled my TJ on 37's for a decade on a D30. Never an issue. I just knew I could not approach a challenge at the rev limiter. I did however have to change R&P a couple times in the rear Super35. But hey the guy used to do it for a couple hundred bucks.

In addition, if I were a shop owner and someone approached me with a request such as rotating C's it would get my attention. Maybe, hey this guy may know something. Just me. I have been in my line of work for 20 years, and I still learn everyday. If you feel like you have seen and done it all, you either A. need to quit or B. get your ego in check and listen up.

 

[ASSFROW]

Goody, I completely agree it's a the best option for you. Trussed, geared, going coil overs and doing the work yourself it makes sense. For a stock axle it seems better to save the money on the truss & gussets, get the new one and sell the old housing. Especially if you're not doing coil overs.

 

[PhrogMech46]

Forgive my ignorance and I have no dog in this fight but why is the stock width such a deal breaker for you goody? I ask because I have ran a couple of trails that I don't think would be doable in anything wider.

Edit: Unless most change out their wheels for backspacing that accommodates the wider axles?

 

[SoK66]

He completely understood what I was saying. I said to him, the guys at Dynatrac build the PR44 housing with an extra 10* of caster. He continued to push cam bolts saying anything else is overkill and too much reading. I then retorted with hey if you get more caster, the pinion angle would be wrong. He persisted with smirks and offensive tone. I knew it was a no win situation..

I would not mind a PR44 but can't really justify it to the wife or myself really. I wheeled my TJ on 37's for a decade on a D30. Never an issue. I just knew I could not approach a challenge at the rev limiter. I did however have to change R&P a couple times in the rear Super35. But hey the guy used to do it for a couple hundred bucks.

In addition, if I were a shop owner and someone approached me with a request such as rotating C's it would get my attention. Maybe, hey this guy may know something. Just me. I have been in my line of work for 20 years, and I still learn everyday. If you feel like you have seen and done it all, you either A. need to quit or B. get your ego in check and listen up.

Sometimes techs get to know only one fix and convince themselves it's the only way. You can find someone to do this if you look around.

 

[da20captain]

Anyone in the SC GA area that can do this ????????

 

[rdlynch2]

What he said ^^^^^

. Spending the money to regear, sleeve, gusset, truss and reweld the tube or C's and add a locker is going to be near the price of a complete PR44 or Tera44.

No it is not. People say this all the time, but it is not true. unless you are getting seriously ****** in the labor cost for a regear. Maybe a bare bones dyntrac PR44, but not for a complete, fully assembled, ready to install assembly, not even f-in close

 

[rdlynch2]

Oh btw, according to a Mel Wade at ORE and a discussion I had with him on his FB page the other day, he sees bent and broken factory axle housings that have trusses welded on ALLLL the time, so Goody, dont waste your time with a cut and turn During the discussion, he convienently left out internal sleeves

Sorry to derail, but this guy literally makes all those JKF newbies believe you cannot wheel hard trails without prorock60's and that no matter how much you beef a factory housing, it will bend/break and or spontaneously combust if you wheel. Rant over

 

[Goodysgotacuda]

I'm not surprised by someone bending a trussed housing. People can pretty much tear up anything if given the chance. I don't feel that I am that sort of driver however.

 

[da20captain]

just do it and do a write up. i want to do this too.

 

[JKred07]

No it is not. People say this all the time, but it is not true. unless you are getting seriously ****** in the labor cost for a regear. Maybe a bare bones dyntrac PR44, but not for a complete, fully assembled, ready to install assembly, not even f-in close

You can take a rubi housing and build up with full armor, 35 spline RCV's, ball joints, ARB, gears... The whole deal, under 3k.

And goody is right, anyone can tear up anything.

 

[kjeeper10]

Mike is going to walk outside to 17 axles on his front lawn

 

[da20captain]

Mike is going to walk outside to 17 axles on his front lawn

Make that 18!

 

[da20captain]

FYI to those of us in the SC NC GA area. I found a guy in Pickens SC at Chris Durant Motorsports that said he would do it for $450.00 if I bring the axle to him. That is just the cut and turn.. Said he has done it before just not on a JK yet.