In my searching to upgrade my dana 30, I found a Rubicon take off D44 for the price 0f $1500.

What is a decent price to pay for it? The axle itself has 15k miles on it. Don't want to over pay. I'm looking to Run a 37in tire or 35in comfortably.

Thanks!

 

if in perfect shape and locker works etc that's a good price. if going 37's look at a beefier axle.

 

Supposedly it is in like new shape.


Don't most people run a 44 with 37s?

 

You can get by running 37's but the stock axles just aren't as robust as most would like them to be. You're probably going to want to at least truss them. Front and rear. Also, the front tubes + C's are weak and the rear tubes are notorious for breaking their spot welds and rotating.


If running 35's, you should be ok for awhile.


.

 

I sold my front Rubicon D44 housing with only 4000 miles on for $850. I sold it without the locker as I swapped it into my PR44.

 

The 44 housing your looking at, and the 30 housing your taking out have the exact same weaknesses. Your only gain is in the ring/pinion. The bending axle tubes, flexing casting that can blow the gears, small unit bearings and small ball joints all remain unchanged after you spend your $1500. You would gain the larger ring and pinion.

Or you buy a aftermarket D44 housing and get tubes that will not bend, casting that will not flex and cause the gear misalignment... but still have the ball joint and unit bearing issue. The good thing is that ball joints and unit bearings are fairly simple maintenance items and don't typically go from good to catastrophic failure without ample warning.

With 37" tires, your outside of the comfort zone of the front OEM D44 if your going to actually wheel the Jeep. If your more of a daily driver to work and stuff kind of person... you'll be just fine with the OEM D44.

 

Since I went this route I'll add this - I spent $1800 on a new/crated front rubi. I have about another $1k in it in the form of re-gear and Dynatrac BJs along with Artec gussets, truss, TB bracket, LCA mounts, and shock mounts. If you can't do those things yourself or have someone that can help, labor on that stuff could easily add another $1k - $1500....bringing a reasonable total up to ~$4k for a built rubi D44. I'm in mine for $3k. I've run 37" Nittos on the axle for close to 2 years now.....and I'm actually just now adding the truss, LCA & shock brackets. I wheel the heck out of it and have not had an issue...........yet.

I think that most people look at the cost of a PR44 and think no way, but if you really look at what it cost to build a D44 the gap starts to narrow. A lot of it depends on the labor you can do yourself. The biggest difference is with the rubi 44 you could spread the cost over time vs. having to pay up front for the PR44. Would I prefer to have a PR44 or something bigger? Sure, who wouldn't?

$1500 isn't a bad price for the rubi 44 you're asking about. As others pointed out, weaknesses are the same as the D30. The "upgrade" is really gaining a locker, not a stronger housing. Throw some gussets on it, if you can add a truss, but it's not gonna turn in to a pretzel the first wheelin trip out or anything. You're always gonna have 2 sides to the D30/44 argument. One side will say the POS is gonna pretzel or break on you, and the other will say that is just fear mongering. Both sides have valid arguments. Be aware of the weaknesses, address them, use your head when wheelin', and go have fun with your jeep.

Keep in mind if you pay $1500 for that, it's going to retain most its value should you decide later you wanted to upgrade to a PR44 or something else.

 

Where? That's a crazy deal. I bought mine for $2,350 new in a crate.

Strongly agree with all the points you've made though. Not everyone needs the Pro-Rock's strength gains. Although it's superior, needs are subjective as everyone wheels differently. There's no way I'm going to ramp on my Rubi 44 enough to bend the tubes or c's without already risking damage to a lot of other parts of my Jeep; I'm not a rock bouncer, and don't treat my JK like a trail rig.

 

Couple years ago there was someone selling crated Rubi 44s on ebay for $1850. I found mine on craigslist and believe the person I bought it from originally bought it off ebay, then decided to go a different route. I bought a rear Rubi 44 off the forum for $1k from someone moving to a 14b. That was my original means of gaining lockers.

 

Nothing to add to what resharp posted, very well said, just a suggestion to add up all the costs of any add-ons or future mods you are considering, and do a good side-by-side comparison. Something like this, filled in with your variables, and even using several different aftermarket options since many more are available now than just hte PR...

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...-build-274896/