Mopar New-Generation 44
The Mopar Dana 44 is a great solution for the TJ owner looking for a bolt-in solution that comes with a warranty and can be purchased at your local Jeep dealership. It comes with 1.41-inch 32-spline shafts that are drilled for both the stock TJ bolt pattern and the JK bolt pattern. The tubes are 31/4-inch diameter 5/16-wall and the brackets are made from heavy-duty 3/16-inch steel. Compare that to the 3-inch-diameter, 1/4-inch-wall and 1/8-inch-thick bracket on the stock axle. The ring gear is bigger (up to 8.8 inches from 8.5 inches) and features a longer tooth profile.
The pinion is 1/4-inch larger in diameter and the pinion head is much larger for any given gear ratio. The longer tooth profile and larger pinion head diameter means way more tooth contact than on our current Dana 44. The axle includes the factory electric locker which solves our desire for a selectable locker. The unit is only available at your dealership with 4.10 gears (PN 51552527), but Dynatrac is an authorized Mopar dealer and can install any gears you want, at which point it becomes a Dynatrac Trail Series 44.
| Base axle price |
$4,120 |
| 4.56 gear upgrade |
$250 |
| Total (MSRP) |
$4,370 |
Pros:
•Dealer availability (free shipping!)
•Larger shafts
•121/2-inch disc brakes fit 15-inch wheels
•Big strength increase over existing 44
Cons:
•Potential locker disengagement problems
•Only available in 4.10 gears from dealer
Junkyard 9-Inch Axle
It would be really easy for us to just go down to the local junkyard and nab a 9-inch axle out of '74-'86 Ford truck, which would get us 31-spline axle shafts, stronger gears, and an axle that is easily modified. Again, we'd have it narrowed and regeared at Currie Enterprises and we'd be out the door at bargain basement prices. Or so we thought. It turns out that the junkyard build would be right around the same price as rebuilding our 44. The lower pinion of the 9-inch would probably pose problems with our lifted TJ and going to a high-pinion housing throws the bargain-basement theory out the window. However, Currie Enterprises feels the stock sheetmetal housing leaves a little to be desired in the strength department, and we would still have to have the TJ suspension bracketry installed before we could bolt it in under our Jeep. As with the rebuild, these things can add up fast.
| Junkyard axle |
$150 |
| Narrow housing and reinstall housing ends |
$140 |
| Shorten shafts |
$130 |
| Master Rebuild Kit |
$188 |
| ARB Air Locker |
$910 |
| 4.56 gears |
$200 |
| Gear and locker install |
$175 |
| Currie heavy-duty TJ suspension brackets |
$400 |
| Install brackets |
$100 |
| Square tube truss and install |
$400 |
| Total |
$2,793 |
Pros:
•Stronger gears
•Common centersection parts
Cons:
•Custom axleshaft lengths
•Potential for low-pinion being too low
•Still have hidden costs in rebuild, such as brakes and seals
•Not all factory shafts are able to be shortened