another gear question

[dube]

what is the steepest gears i can put in a stock dana44? i have a friend that i can get the third member with 5.13 gears for cheap.

 

[tailpipe]

You can go pretty steep. Dana axles have what they call axle break. What this means is there is a carrier for 3.73 and higher (numerically lower) and another carrier for gears lower (numerically higher) than 3.73. You can get away with "thick" gears and run them on the higher gear carriers (this is what I did with my 4.88s). Research Dana 44 axle break for more details and explanation.

 

[dube]

right now i have the 3.50 gears up front, so would need to get a different carrier... right

 

[DirtDonk]

Yes.
Unless you can find thick 5.13's, which I haven't seen myself, you'll need what's commonly referred to as a "4-series" carrier.
They're available for very little money in stock "open" form, but now would be the perfect time to upgrade to a Truetrac or some other quality limited slip. Or an ARB if you want to have it both ways. And don't mind spending the extra dough.
Which, with ARB's, is actually spelled "d'oh!" complete with the exclamation point!

Paul

 

[tailpipe]

I know Tom's has plenty of stock 4 series carriers for sale but I will agree with DirtDonk now is the time to upgrade. If your talking 5.13 that tells me your rig sees a lot of off road time. Maybe go another step and get a full locker (Detroit or Grizzly or ARB as suggested).

 

[dube]

great onfo, thanks a bunch guys. until next time.wheele on