Ashock

My 2007 unlimited X (4.10 gears) is no longer my daily driver. I mainly use it as a fishing vehicle now but have some long trips planned soon with colleagues who are using rather stock vehicles. My idea now is that I would like to insure that nothing fails on my jeep that isn’t easy to fix in the field and my jeep be the one to bail others out if they get in trouble.

My jeep is currently modified like this:
Terreflex S/T3 suspension system 3”
Rancho RS9000xl shocks
Rubicon Express CVF 1310-430 drive shaft Rear
MT Baja Atz p3 (315/70R17)
17x9 Wheels with 5x5 pattern
Cheap SRC oversized tire carrier
Smittybilt SRC gen2 front bumper

As this vehicle has been basically a fishing vehicle, and only plays in sand, I haven’t been worried about the front axle components. Now that I am fixing to do some serious off-roading and my vehicle needs to be the reliable one, I am extremely concerned.

Things I would like to upgrade:
Front axle, differential, and drive shaft
5.18 or 5.38 gears
Better brakes
Differential locker
What is the best way to accomplish this, and end up with an extremely tough and dependable jeep?
I was thinking of a Rubicon Dana 44 with the electric locking diff, but have read that some of the bits are not as strong as they should be.
Is the J8 axle a good option? (Comes with bigger brakes?)
Are there better options that don’t get incredible expensive, or should I just bite the bullet and go with the Mopar Dana 60’s (too expensive for how often I use it…)?
Am I overlooking anything?

Any ideas would be extremely welcome.

Biginboca

You definitely don't need Dana 60's to run 315 tires. A rubicon front axle with a truss and some minor upgrades would be a cost effective way to get you a reliable set up to run them. There was a guy selling rubicon front axles on eBay last year and you could get it with any gearing you liked for around $2k. Hard to beat that value for what you are looking for.

If you want overkill building up an aftermarket Dana 44 housing would be even better, but not necessary for what you have described as your goals.

Ashock

Thanks for the reply. On the stock Rubicon axles, would I need to upgrade the axle shafts as well?

nthinuf

What is the budget? What do you consider serious offroading? How skilled are you with trail repairs?

Haven't seen anyone post about that ebay guy in what, 6 or 8 months? Longer? Good price, if he's still around.

But, just add up all the costs for buying and then paying to beef up a rubi44, compare it to a pre-built aftermarket d44, then compare to fusions axles or any of the big name 60's, and see what makes sense. (and remember that the wheel bolt patterns will change once you go past d44's)

Oh, the stock rubicon front axle shafts are 30sp inner, 32sp outer. Stock d30 fronts are 27sp inner, same 32sp outers. (same hubs and brakes too). Rear rubi shafts are 32sp, non-rubi are 30sp. Not a huge beef upgrade with rubi shafts. The d30 and rubi44 housings have basically the same specs, same width, tube diameter, wall thickness, same c's. The big plus for the rubi's is the 44 gearset up front and the lockers.

Ashock

My field repair skills are poor at best. For grad school, I spent two summers making geologic maps out of my jeep in some rough conditions on the Colorado/Utah border (around the La Sal Mts.), but the only skill I masted was getting my jeep unstuck using a come-along. I had no money then so my jeep was at stock height with ~33" tires. That meant my jeep generally would get hung up or I wouldn't even attempt something, before I got into the realm of worrying about axle problem. My meaning of "serious off-roading" is more exploring mine roads and sheep trails that haven't been maintained in 100 years, at elevations that make your engine feel like it is out of an atv. However, the areas we will be in are remote and we could end up with 3 or more days hiking out if something went wrong. It should be fun trips of getting creative with washed out skree trails and unfortunately placed boulders more than rock crawling. My budget is $6k ish but flexible. I was reading about beefing up a Rubicon dana 44 and it seemed that it was a hassle to save not much money in the long run. I thought the J8 front axles would be a winner, but then the bolt pattern thing was something that got me. I would prefer simple and reliable. Basically I would like a locking diff, 5.18/5.38 gears, and piece of mind that things shouldn't break. Since I have to get new bits for the front to accommodate the gears, I might as well do it right.

sa29560

For 6k get a Rubi takeoff, have it beefed up and re geared. Add a locker and matching gears to the rear.

Should have cash left over for a winch, and good recovery kit.