airborne89

Morning. Starting to plan the upgrades I want for my 2016 JK Willys and needed some advise. I checked the search but haven’t found everything I needed so figured I’d just ask. I’ve owned Jeeps for years but this is my first major upgrade so forgive the noob questions.

My Jeep is my daily driver and sees 75-80% on road and the rest on trails. No rock crawling but but some decent trails. After the upgrades I hope to increase trail time to at least 30%.

Currently I have the 3.73 gears in an automatic 2 door. I plan to go with 35x12.5/17 tires on 17x9 wheels with at least 4.50 backspace. So my questions are:

- The front axel is the DANA 30 so first I want to upgrade that to a Dana 44 and want to add lockers. What’s a good axle to go with that I can have lockers with that will do what I want without breaking the bank?

- Recommendations for lockers? Brand and type like air, electric or manual/lever.

- Can lockers be added to the stock rear Dana 44 axle?

- For a regear I’m thinking just going with 4.10 since I know I’ll never go larger than 35” tires. Based on the 3.6L gear ratio chart 4.10 looks perfect and 4.56 might be to much. Is this thinking correct?

- I’m planning to use the Rock Krawler 2.5” Flex lift with Fox shocks. Anything I’ll need to add that doesn’t come with the package besides the exhaust spacer?

- Plan on upgrading both front and rear driveshafts. Any recommendations on good brands that will do what I need without breaking the bank?

- I don’t have or need electric swaybar disconnects and was thinking about installing one with disconnect pins in case I ever want or need more flex. Any suggestions on a brand?

- Will I need or should I get anything for the rear swaybar? Not sure if those disconnect or need to.

- Anything I’m forgetting to keep the best ride possible? Not sure if any other components will need replaced or upgraded to correct angles or improve ride quality. I know I’ll need to reprogram the computer for the bigger wheels.

Also I’ll be having a shop install this so if anyone knows a good shop in the Phoenix area, preferably west valley, I’d appreciate the recommendations.

This will be stage one. Stage two will be bumpers, flat fenders, tire carrier, lights, winch and side steps so I’m sure I’ll be back with questions when I start that. Figured I should add a picture of the before. Thanks

Dynatrac

You can add a locker to your factory rear Dana 44. We offer kits like this one for just such an upgrade, which has a locking diff, our HD axles, and one of our Dynatrac heavy duty diff covers. https://www.dynatrac.com/jk44-rear-3...it-5-on-5.html

On your front axle upgrade, you have lots of options to choose from in swapping to a Dana 44-type setup. Given what you said about your current usage with your Jeep, you might think doing a full aftermarket axle upgrade like our ProRock 44 is overkill, but reality often proves to be it's just what people need. It's always better to have more capability than what you think you'll need than just enough, because you never know when the situation will arise that's takes you past your expected limit. And it also means that while you're enjoying the type of off-roading you typically enjoy, there will be even less to worry about because you know your Jeep has the strongest parts possible and you can just focus on having a good time and adventure.

You can check out our ProRock 44 packages HERE, but in the meantime give us a call at 714-421-4314 so one of our techs can take down your current specs and planned upgrades, what kind of off-roading you plan to do, and work up a quote for the right ProRock 44 to fit your needs. This will take a lot of the guesswork out on cost as well, so you can know exactly how everything fits into your budget.

nthinuf

Most of the aftermarket front 44's run around $2000 for the empty housing, 4-5k for the complete axle depending on what is inside it. If you can find a cheap take-off axle from a rubicon, it might be a bit less painful to the pocket.

Just be aware that there are two different vesions of these housings. Rubcion/rubicon replacement, and standard. Rubicon axles use their own factory locker, and a few aftermarket lockers specifically designed for them. Standard housings can use any standard locker, but can not fit the factory rubicon locker. Good to know if you end up with a factory housing and want to build it.

If you go with a factory 44, you will also want to decide whether you will strengthen it. A ton of money can be dumped into this if you are paying labor. The aftermarket options can start making a lot more sense when you add up the costs.

One thing you might do is just a side-by-side comparison of the costs. This is for a d30 build, but shows a good example:

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

Selectable locker activation method is personal preference. ARB air lockers used to be the go-to standard, now Eaton e-lockers have closed the gap in terms of strength. But for light trail use, do you really need thousand dollar selectables? Read a few threads on the Detroit Truetrac, half the price and likely all the traction you will ever need.

Driveshafts you can probably wait on. Tom Woods, Adams, etc, etc. They all seem to be designed about the same, the difference will be price, which joints you choose, and whether you are swapping yoke/flange. But, at 2.5" you can wait and research it.

Leave the rear swaybar alone. Front, there are several different mfg's to choose from, with different ways of disconnecting. Choose the one you like, or go with the old standby JKS quicker discos.

Gears, do more research. But personally I would not pay to regear from 3.73 to 4.10, not enough difference to make the cost worth it.

cedarraider

Lots of good points here. If you are set on 4:10 gears search for someone that had replaced their rubi setup and buy them used. Every time I see a used set they are in your general area or SoCal area. The front driveshaft I think has to be replaced on a 2 door or use exhaust spacers. JKS quicker disconnects are easy to use. Your Willys will have a limited slip in the rear it will work pretty well for a while if you don't swap to rubi axles. As far as a front aftermarket 44 the cheapest out there with an arb locker I've found with a 10 year warranty is $4200. Then you would need to possibly regear your rear if you change ratios then it just gets more expensive from there.

BoraBora

See comments above.

airborne89

Thanks for all the information. I've been pricing out the options everyone mentioned and now wonder if I should just step up to a Recon and only worry about a lift, tires and wheels lol.

ragnarok_jku

BoraBora pretty much answered with what I’d tell you.
A couple of things I’d add:

- I’m planning to use the Rock Krawler 2.5” Flex lift with Fox shocks. Anything I’ll need to add that doesn’t come with the package besides the exhaust spacer?
Yeah, a lot. Extended brake lines, a rear AXLE SIDE raised track bar bracket, and front lower control arms would be the bare minimum I'd recommend.

This kit from what I understand comes with extended front brake lines, rear track bar relocation bracket, and front lower adjustable control arms.
I have the Rock Krawler 3.5” flex and paired it with Bilstein 5100 shocks per Rock Krawler’s recommendation. RK's website basically says if you don’t use RK's RRD Racing shocks, the Bilstein 5100’s are the way to go. I believe they provide the specific part # for what 5100’s to get.
I’ve had the 5100’s with my RK kit for almost 2 years and have been pretty happy with the set up on and off road.

- Plan on upgrading both front and rear driveshafts. Any recommendations on good brands that will do what I need without breaking the bank?

At 2.5” of lift you can probably wait on driveshafts.

- I don’t have or need electric swaybar disconnects and was thinking about installing one with disconnect pins in case I ever want or need more flex. Any suggestions on a brand?

The Rock Krawler Flex kit comes with adjustable front sway bar disconnects. Just pull the pin, rotate them up and you're disconnected.

ragnarok_jku

You definitely get a lot more out of the box that way... not as fun though. Half of the fun for me is the build. I started with a basic Sport model and at this point if I'd started with a Rubicon the transfer case is the only Rubicon part I'd have left on my Jeep.

BoraBora

Ah, I thought that kit only came with coils, shocks, and a front track bar. My mistake.