We've received several e-mails from interested TJ owners begging to know which axles we're installing in Project Steal-J. If you checked the last two installments, we ran down a ton of front and rear axle upgrades-ranging from building the stock Dana 30 and Dana 35, to totally gonzo Dana 60 and hybrid Ford 9-inch stuff.
Since this TJ will spend the majority of its time cruising the highways at 80 mph, with only the occasional off-road adventure to trails like the Rubicon and Colorado ghost towns, we didn't really see the need to step up to 1-ton or larger stuff. What we were after was worry-free components that could not only stand up to the 32-inch tires we're going to run on this Jeep but that will survive any upgrades we may make in the future. Right now, we don't plan on getting silly, but if a V-8 swap and 35s are in this Jeep's future, we don't want to go buying axles twice.
We found a happy medium in Drivetrain Warehouse's TJ Dana 44 axle assemblies. For us, these axles make good swap sense all day long. As we ordered them, our Dana 44s should prove bulletproof even with a mild V-8 and 35s, so our 190 hp and 32s shouldn't prove to be any concern. They come with all the stock TJ brackets and tabs ready to go. All you need to do is swap over your steering knuckles, brakes, and vent lines and bolt 'em in. And both axle assemblies came ready to run for less than $5,000! Since our TJ was already at TAG Motorsports in Escondido, California, getting a tranny swap, we got greasy and helped shop foreman Jay Miller make it happen.
The items on this pallet run just under $5,010. For dual Dana 44s nearly ready to run in a TJ, that's a smokin' deal. You reuse your existing knuckles, brakes, and steering linkage, which really helps knock down the price. After all, why buy stuff that's already on your Jeep and that works?
A Lot For a Little
Here's what our axles contained and what the price as of press time was. In our book, we got a whole lot of axle for a little coin.Front TJ Dana 44 axle assembly:
* 4.56 G2 Genuine Gear ring-and-pinion
* ARB Air Locker
* 30-spline Alloy USA shafts, outer alloy stub shafts
* Alloy USA axletube seals
* Optional Riddler diff cover$2,524.99
Rear TJ Dana 44 axle assembly:
* 4.56 G2 Genuine Gear ring-and-pinion
* ARB Air Locker
* 33-spline G2 Genuine Gear alloy shafts
* Riddler diff cover$2,324.99
ARB compact compressor: $159.99
Grand total: $5,009.97