which axle shafts?

[travisneville]

i am installing a detroit locker in my dana 44 and wanted to know what axle shafts i should run? i am running 36's and a 5.13 gear ratio. i know my stock axles wont hold up. its a full time trail rig and i dont want to break my first time out. the bronco graveyard has chromos for like $300 are these strong enough to handle my tire size? thanks for any help.

 

[Bronco Brian]

http://www.superioraxlegear.com/FRONT AXLES-c-10.html


Or maybe some RCV Bottom line is you get what you pay for.

Or maybe you want the weak link to be your shafts. To strong of shafts and the 5:13 R/P will be the weak link.

 

[travisneville]

i am currently running 4.11's. are the 5.13's a bad idea. i was going to order them for when i installed the detroit locker. i'm just looking for a better crawl ratio.

 

[Broncobowsher]

The low buck chrome mollys probably won't do. From what I can tell they are about as good as a set of stock big U-joint (cut down blazer long side) axles but at more cost.

The shafts will only be as strong as the U-joint. Remember that everything must work as a system? This is no different. To make the axles live you need U-joints that will live. To be honest I have not kept up with the prefered flavor of the month. The latest super stuff I remember was the CRV with the outer CVs instead of U-joints. But if you do a conventional U-joint, don't cheap out there. When that U-joint lets go it will take out the axles with it. The axles are no better then the U-joint you use in them. The last set up top-o-the-line axles I had were Superior Evo's with Ox joints. Joints were not the first pick, but were a raffle prize. The Superiors were due to a cheap joint breaking and taking out the Blazer axle and already having the set of Ox's on the shelf that didn't fit the blazer axles. That was on 33's

Not worried about 5.13 gears. The pinion is a little small, but not that bad. 1310's in the driveshaft should let loose before you kill a set of 5.13s

 

[luderchris]

Or maybe some CRV

They are RCV axle shafts-

http://www.rcvperformance.com/store/catalog/index.php

 

[Buldozer]

A good quality axle will break cheap u-joints. The best u-joints are CTM. You will not break the CTM u-joints. Most axles break because the u-joint broke first in my experience. There are some other joints that will not break that I have seen guys run but they wore out quick. CTM is the real deal, will not break and wear long and can be rebuilt if you manage to wear the bushings out in them. Lifetime warranty to boot.

 

[Bronco Brian]

They are RCV axle shafts-

http://www.rcvperformance.com/store/catalog/index.php

Thanks I fixed it

 

[travisneville]

are the superior evo axles that much better than the superior discovery? just trying to save money wherever i can.

 

[travisneville]

i forgot to mention i have a set of the gold u joints to add to the axle shafts

 

[ken75ranger]

are the superior evo axles that much better than the superior discovery? just trying to save money wherever i can.

Yes they are.
5.13 is pretty low for 36 inch tires. Do you drive it on the highway?

 

[KyleQ]

Look for a PROPERLY cut axle shaft - 10 Factory has a great warranty (10 years) and they properly cut their axle shafts so the valley in the splines is the same OD as the axle shaft. If the peak of the spline is the same OD as the axle shaft it will break at the splines - it's weaker.

http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-12...ly-upgrade-full-kit-dana-44-71-77-bronco.html

Buy axle shafts with splines that look like these -

36" tires do not warrant RCV's - but if you want the ultimate thing, go for the RCV's. CTM's are a thing of the past with the introduction of CV's. The CTM's need to be greased after each run, have zerks on every cap that must be installed after it is pushed past the knuckle and do not turn sharp and smooth like a CV. The CV's are fully rebuildable, as the CTM's are, and only need to be greased once a year. They do not fill up with water and are rated for freeway speeds. Lifetime warranty there as well.

What you need depends on you wheeling style - whatever you do, make damn sure you have full circle snap rings on your u-joints. I kept blowing ujoints up in my pickup until I got some JBG cheap chromo outers and ground the factory inners for full circle snap rings - pair that with Spicer joints and they lasted well over 2 seasons and eventually failed from lack of maintenance.

 

[travisneville]

no highway, Rausch Creek park is 10 minutes from my house and the bronco is towed there. its hard for me to spend $700+ on axles but if thats what i need to do. i dont wanna break on the first trail. detroit locker is costing me more than i expected.