Bohemoth

My ball joints / track bar are worn and need upgrading. I will either gusset the c's, install inner sleeves and get rebuildable ball joints or get a pr 44/60. My welding skills are not worthy yet for axle work (IMO), so minus the huge sticker price of the ball joints, I expect the majority of the overall price to upgrade the d44 to be in labor. Is this worth it compared to the unlimited pr44? The pr 44 comes with the pro steer ball joints and 1/2" wall axle tubes and the c's are huge.... Not sure which way to swing on this one. Anyone have experience with the gussets and axle sleeves?

nthinuf

Just a note - the pr44 comes with factory bj's. Pro Steers are an upgrade. If you have the coin, the PR is an all around better housing in every respect than a fully upgraded factory housing. Can't go wrong with it, just depends on the budget and needs.

There are probably a dozen gusset/sleeve threads in just the last week, so lots of info to look through.

Bohemoth

The higher price of the pr44 just means i save a bit longer but Im really wanting to know if the stock axle can take the abuse of the pr44 with a few cheap upgrades. Im also debating on just throwing on a pair of pr60's but would like to know how the pr 60 stacks up the the unlimited pr 44...

Dynatrac

Nuf was right on target.

Nothing you can do to a stock housing will ever make it as strong as a PR. I think it's fair to say that most would prefer a PR but, for some, budget limitations prevent buying it. The caster correction is a huge factor. With a PR you can actually get better caster than stock (and it could use more caster-even stock). I'm sure you've seen it here on this board- our PR44 customers are happy with their purchase.

Please feel free to conatct me with any questions or concerns.

Scott

nthinuf

Abuse, yes. Same abuse as a pr44, nnoooo...



The full specs for both are on their website, but I have not seen a comparison vs stock for the 60. (remember to take the bolt pattern change into account with a 60 also)

Since you know you want to upgrade, just run your stock housing (or with gussets?) until it breaks.

Kimbach

Agreed. Plan on upgrading if uhhhhh i guess i should say when the factory one gives up on me.

rockygap

I made a similar decision as the OP. I strongly considered the pr 44. I ended up installing sleeves as gussets on my rubicon 44. I also have RCV shafts. My reasoning was that my weakest link is probably the ring and pinion of the dana 44. I'm running 5.38 gears. I think the ring and pinion will go well before my beefed up d44 housing. At that point I would need to go with the 60's anyways because the pr 44 has the same ring and pinion.

Dynatrac

The research we did found only one front JK44 R&P failure with ANY size tire. That was just over a year ago so there may be new information out there. We frequently see rear JK44 R&P failures. A heavy rig (usually JKU) combined with large tires and very low ratios make the rear gear vulnerable.

The ProRock 44 front with RCVs or good alloy shafts will work very well with 37's. This is where we see the tire size break for most users. In the rear, if 37's are planned I'd really consider a 60. The rear sees much more load and use (and abuse) than the front.

The ProRock 60 is much stronger than the PR44. It has larger axle tubes (3.125"x 1/2" front) and has a very rigid housing. Also keep in mind that a PR60 front R&P is stronger than a PR60 rear (equally equipped) due to the way the power is delivered to the gear. A high pinion gear, such as our ProRock series, delivers power to the 'coast' side of the gear in rear end applications. In front end applications it is using the 'drive' side of the gear. This is why we offer a PR44 for the front only. In the rear axle, the HP 44 gear set would be too weak to survive. The PR44 front and PR60 rear is a great combination for tires up to 37".

Over 37", we feel that the PR44 may be too small for some users. In the rear axle, the PR60 is a good choice up until about 40". While we obviously have many users with 40"+ tires on PR60's, the weight of the rig along with drive train modifications must be considered. A heavy rig should really have a full float axle assembly. Combine a heavy rig with 40"+ tires and a low pinion Pro 60 full float assembly is a better choice.

You can make anything work. We see it on this board every day. Guys run 37's or bigger on fully polished 30's. It CAN be done. The point is- SHOULD it be done? Only you and your wallet can make that decision. If you want a worry free drive train- no, you should go to bigger parts. To me, based on the evidence we've seen in our own use and from customer feedback, a well built PR44 will be fine with 37's and be, from what we've seen to date, considered worry free.

viking

I have the pro rock unlimited with pro steer ball joints and RCV shafts and 5:13 running 37" nitto mud grapples and have no fear of doing damage to the front end. The cost is more but the extra insurance to get off the trail and back home is worth every penny.

vinnie

I have a PR44, top notch product and service. Thumbs way up. I like crawling with confidence. Scott at Dynatrac is the man! Just a satisfied customer.