Ryan_AustinJKU

I know someone on the forums rubiconized their sport or Sahara was wondering what it cost you. If anyone could drop ball park numbers or insight into what they did regarding axle swaps that would be sweet. Game plan as of now is to swap a complete dana44 (terra44 or dyna44 or similar company) go with 4.88 gears, then regear the rear. Possibly add lockers maybe rear, or just go all the way and lock both axles. Goal is to run 37 MTs and beadlocks, but wouldn’t rule out upgrading to 40s. Appreciate y’all in advance, trying to plan this out financially 🇺🇸

karls10jk

It depends on the locality. Gearing can be as cheap as $500/ axle or up to $2000 per axle. Finding used rubi axles typically isn't too tough or expensive. There used to be a guy on eBay that would build and gear a rubi axle and ship it to you for a reasonable price.

37's or 40's on rubi axles shouldn't be an endgame. You can do it and people do, it depends on how much wheel spin you get and how often you like changing ball joints. There's plenty of "What does it cost to go to 37's?" threads so I won't bore you there.

nthinuf

Unfortunately, you are going to end up with a rather wide range of ballpark numbers. Prices vary by mfg for the axles, and by which specific shafts and lockers and gears you choose, and which housing wall thickness, and which brackets/yokes. Then add in the hourly rates for the specific company you have do the axle swap, which can again vary quite a bit. There is even a huge variance in the regear costs from one shop to the next, anywhere from around $800 out the door (my first regear when I drove from Austin to Houston to get that price), to a more average 1500-1600 (my second regear, after the budget job imploded) up to $3000 or more in certain areas of the country. Those regear charges are for the exact same parts and work, it's just geographical location and company name that make up the perceived difference.

Anyway, all I'm saying here is that because you see a report of someone paying $X.xx, that could have zero to do with what you pay.

But, as a ballpark.
$3500-6000 for the aftermarket D44 axle (depending on MFG, locker, walls, brackets, shaft choices)
$800 to regear the rear end. (install labor for a locker may be included - not for air sources/switches/etc)
$800-1100 for a selectable locker (depending)
-or-
$400/600 for front/rear Truetracs, if you aren't a wheels-in-the-air crawler.

+ whatever you can get from selling your current d30 for scrap.


It's too bad this thread lost its formatting. It was a good comparison between building a stock axle vs a pr44.
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...-build-274896/

Ryan_AustinJKU

Thanks for the insight, there’s a good shop near where I lived called exodus Jeeps, they seem spot on with everything I see them post about, but might play around with the idea of either bolting up my own complete pr44 or terra44 etc. or finding a used rubi44. Definitely don’t wanna cheap out on this build, but I also don’t drive like a bat out of hell strait into some 3 foot boulders either. Also is my daily driver(will be at least 6 more years) and sees the highway quiet a bit so I can’t redneck build it either.

nthinuf

One other item that may be worth keeping in mind for your comparison is the Caster Correction that is built into some of these aftermarket axles. (Either that, or locking hubs.) Given that you are looking in the 37-40" range, having a way to mitigate the height/driveline angles can be a good thing.

Ryan_AustinJKU

Yea I’ve been eyeballing a 4-6in caster set that both the pro rock and terra has. Probably going with one of those but only issue is I plan on breaking up the purchase. Doing axle and gears lockers etc first, then bumping up my lift height. I have a 3 in in now so might be able to squeeze the 37s being cautious, but wonder how that caster would be with a axle built for a 4-6in lift. Eventually I’ll do the larger suspension myself probably 4.5in.

resharp001

I've got rubi axles I built up. Definitely not worth the effort IMO, so you're on the right track just thinking aftermarket. There was a thread I spelled out everything in regards to building a rubi axle vs. going aftermarket.....but probably hard to locate. I can expand further tomorrow when I have some downtime if it helps, but I think you're angled away from that anyhow. You can probably fit 37s as is. If anything, maybe just throw a 3/4" spacer in there if it makes you happy unless you're just really wanting to swap to a different manufacturer of springs. Going higher is only going to make things worse IMO.....unless you just like to live by the seat of your pants when wheelin off camber stuff. Keep the center of gravity as low as possible while accommodating the tires you want. Do you want 40s just because of the look, or function off road? Most people on 40s for function need to be on something more substantial than D44s.

Ryan_AustinJKU

Appreciate the advice, thinking the aftermarket route would be my safer option too because I’m sure some one out there’s trying to sell his bent used 44 to buy 60s. Was thinking 40s because I figure after I run down some 37s it’s gonna cross my mind eventually. Wheeling wise I’ve been fine with 33s just doing small trails but I eventually wanna run rubicon and Moab and a lot of those trails so it seems like the smallest I should go with is 37s. And definitely not trying to go to y’all with the lift, don’t feel like rolling just because I like to see my jeep sitting higher at the mall than anyone else’s. Just want full clearance with the 37s. If 40s require going to 60s I probably wouldn’t go that route, when I wheel I don’t go balls to the wall I have to drive home after it so I’m always the guy double checking my lines before hitting anything.

resharp001

You don’t need 40s to do Moab, in fact, most the stuff out there you can do very lightly modified. I’ve not done the Rubicon (although I’d love to….it’s do dang far away from us!) But people are doing that all day long without 40s.

I’m on 37s with 3.5” lift. My personal opinion is it’s perfect. It is enough to do 95% of what I want to do, but not so much that things aren’t a challenge at all. IE, wheelin is still fun. I have several friends whose builds just kept going, and going. They’re now on D60s with 40s and supercharged, and the jeeps get pulled on trailers behind F250s to a location. They used to wheel ALL THE TIME during the build process. Now, not so much, and when they do go out, a lot of the things we used to do just aren’t as much fun for them. It’s harder and harder to find real challenges. That is part of the fun of wheelin. When everything is supper easy cuz you just roll over it or have the power to blow through it……not as interesting. I still love my jeep as much as I used to. They’re to the point it’s just not as much fun and contemplate possibly selling it.

Seems like 33s will do most of what 35s will, 35s will do 95% of what 37s will, 37s will do 95% of what 40s will. However, the larger the tire gets, the more costly it’s getting to eek out those incremental abilities.

The biggest problem with a rubi axle is the locker IMO. They work, but they aren’t near as well built or reliable as an aftermarket locker. They are ok for most tooling around off road, but if you get more serious about things they are less adequate. Also, that rear locker is 32-spline. If you blow it up, all aftermarket lockers are 35-spline…..so you’re at a crossroads of paying to put the same pos locker back in it, or shelling $1k for a new aftermarket locker that will then require new 35-spline shafts. I had to deal with that this last summer. Locker trashed cuz a simple wave spring that is not replaceable. I’d much rather have a non-rubi D44 rear that is regeared with an ARB locker and 35-spline shafts to start with (if you stick with D44s).

Ryan_AustinJKU

Never thought of it that way, interesting about 40s and above it makes sense, I’ve onky been in the jeep world for a little over a year and just want more and more of it.! I’m at 33s right now and that works fine doing a good amount of things at hidden falls but I’m still trying to be able to hit all their 5 diamond trails. At the same time I’ve never pushed the limits of my 33s with a 3in lift yet, still haven’t high centered or anything either. You make a great point about the rubi lockers that I never thought of, but have heard people having issues with the electric actuation. Would hate to dump money into axle with lockers that have a frequent issue of malfunctioning!