44 tire size...be truthful :)

[JeepingMoose]

How's everyone's D44's holding up with 35" or larger tires? Are they keeping together with light/medium crawling/wheeling?
Your honest observations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike

[tc]

I've been running 35's for a while and haven't had a problem with my 44's. I have broke drivelines and yokes tho.

[Heimeken]

No problems with mine... yet, but I have/had an M20 rear, now swapping to D60. I'm keeping the front D44 and upgrading to 8 lug outers. I think the D44 will hold upfront just fine for a long time the rear will eventually give if you do hard wheeling.

[Stuka]

I just upgraded to 33's, and havent wheeled it yet. But I had 31's with my D44's and a detroit in back since last summer. And I am not afraid to use the skinny pedal hehe. We will see how they hold up with the 33's.

[River Beast]

I think 35-36's would be the max I would go on 44's to be honest for moderate to heavy wheeling...

I ran 38's with detroited 4.89's in Ouray and bent both my axles.... I wasn't happy... for light wheeling... you will be fine with the occasional extreme.... the 4.89 gears ran hot literally to the touch in the 44's.... too much tire and not enuf beef on the 44's for what I was doing.... and it showed... now I run 14FF and D60 and even stepped down to 36's.... I don't want to break like that again....

[porkchop]

I have had no troubles with mine. I run 35's and I have 4.56's. I ran mostly sand and gravel. I have yet to see how they hold up in the mud and clay.

[davez26]

I run the rocks out here, except for an occasional twisted axle, no problems. I pull the rear axles a couple of times a year just to check them as maintenance, and sometimes I'll find the splines twisted on the long side. I have not had and on-trail failure, yet. The front, well, I just put the ARB in this winter. I'll let you kow how it holds up after heading up to Carnage Canyon next Sunday.

[scotty]

ive broken 2 u joints on the front 44,one with a welded diff,and one with true trac. i am pretty hard on my rig and im so far still having pretty good luck with the front 44. the rear is a different story. i bent the housing,and broke spider gears a couple of times,and 1 broken axle. i swapped in a 14 bolt out back and havent had any prollems with it yet smile.gif

i think the front holds up better due toa beefier hosing,the fact that its full floating,and mostly because the rear does most of the work when climbing a hill(weight transfer) those of us with twinsticks have prolly noticed that you can climb a hill much better in rwd than fwd

if youre particular type of wheeling takes you miles and miles out into the middle of nowhere,and/or thru tight twisty trails where breakage could be impossible to fix or lead to accidents,id stick with 33s on the 44s. safety should always be priority #1

if youre gonna run 44s,add a truss to the rear,and dont spend a buncha $$ on em right away. be very sure theyre gonna hold up pretty well before you spend alot on custom shafts,gears or lockers.

[CowKiller]

lol, i ran 33's on my 44's in the chero. and with a 16 yead old drivin, i never broke anything, cept had a rear bearing let go.

[Desert Beast]

ive got 38's on my 44 (4.88, detroit in rear)and i havent had any problems yet. its survived mud bogs, rocks, sand, desert (read high speed), and a roll. i know that its just a matter of time before i grenade an axle but after about a year of hard wheelin its still holdin up.

[blt2krl]

Originally posted by davez26:
I run the rocks out here, except for an occasional twisted axle, no problems. I pull the rear axles a couple of times a year just to check them as maintenance, and sometimes I'll find the splines twisted on the long side. I have not had and on-trail failure, yet. The front, well, I just put the ARB in this winter. I'll let you kow how it holds up after heading up to Carnage Canyon next Sunday.You had better post some pics from that ride. I hear it is on cool trail.

[JeepingMoose]

I have found so far, the main objection I have to 35's is #1-Trying to load objects into the bed, and #2-Trying to work on the engine! smile.gif
Thanks for the input so far, folks. I truly take into account your experiences over so called "mechanics" any day!

Mike

[orangecherokee]

i'd say if you do run a 35 or larger to go ahead and replace the bearings. i had one come out on me and i literally slid into my driveway on my backing plate.

[Joe J-Truck]

I run d44s, lock-rites both front and rear w/ 4.10 gears w/ 35" tires. I twisted up a stock rear axleshaft and that was no fun at all. It twisted right at the splines, where it goes into the diff. I called Moser engineering for a pair of custom forged axles for the rear. Set me back about $300, but its nice to know I have some beef in the rear now. I still carry spares anyway, as well as spare oem shafts for the front, just because I figure its only a matter of time before *SNAP!!!*...