Seems to me if you’re buying an axle to be hacking it up that much you’d just buy a bare axle housing.
Wildman's TJ is getting a face lift
- Thread starter Wildman
- Start date
Interesting... there's a page 231 but no post on it, and no #4601 post. Me thinks someone has me on their ignore list!!!
Edit... Spoiler I know who it is...HAHAHA
In answer to this some people already have or have easy access to known good axles for cheaper than what a new bare housing would cost.
Edit... Spoiler I know who it is...HAHAHA
In answer to this some people already have or have easy access to known good axles for cheaper than what a new bare housing would cost.
OP
A bare housing from say Dynatrac is $2K or more where as if you shop around you can get a HP44 complete axle from a 78-79 F150 for $200-400. And you can get it retubed for another $300-500 so you'd be into that axle for under $1K. Yes it isn't a high clearance housing like the Dynatrac but if you are looking at one of these axles you're most likely wanting to run larger than 36" tall tires. So IMO that difference in housing clearance isn't going to matter as much. So it all comes down to what you want and how much money you have.
Also as Mike said:
Some of us just like dinkin around with things and building things. And if you have the means and capabilities then IMO I say GO FOR IT....
Not to mention the proprietary BS you have to deal with going for dynatrac housings. Didn't @NashvilleTJ run into that? Had to order part from them and they were ridiculously expensive, compared to "regular" axle parts?
A factory Ford axle will be cheaper to maintain, and you should be able to get parts for it for a long time.
Yup. From a proprietary "golden pinion seal" to non-standard front rotors that I had to buy from them.
OP
Yes he did run into some problem but this was with the outer axle parts. If I was to buy a housing from any aftermarket vendor it would be a center section and tube. I'd use standard "C" and knuckles that took off the shelf parts.
EDIT: And to add to this. Look at what I've gone thru with my CRD60 rear axle. Yes it's ARB but it takes a different ace than what comes in a master install kit. It also took a different pinion seal. Lucky for me Sierra had a CRD master install kit. So you have to keep track of all the oddball parts that your stuff takes. It's the same thing I do with the front axle.
Except that the least expensive Dana 44 center I found was almost $400 and I picked up two 78-79 D44s and a 9inch for $150.
And then had to do how much work? I guess all I’m asking is the time and effort saving value worth it? To me it seems about like a wash or minimal savings for a lot of work.
Also where are you finding 2 44s and 9” for $150, they certainly aren’t that cheap around here.
OP
Just and update on my axle. I tweaked my back on Sunday so I haven't worked on it yet. But I got the new air collar today so I can put it together once my back is better.
Damn I wish I could find them for that kind of price. I need to find a shop again that can & will press in axle tubes.
You have to weld on the axle brackets/truss that you need. And that is going to be different for each build. You'd have to weld on your "C" based on the amount of lift and what caster & pinion angle you wanted.
IMO it's still a lot cheaper than buying an aftermarket axle unless you are paying over $1K for the junk yard/used axle.
Damn I wish I could find them for that kind of price. I need to find a shop again that can & will press in axle tubes.
You have to weld on the axle brackets/truss that you need. And that is going to be different for each build. You'd have to weld on your "C" based on the amount of lift and what caster & pinion angle you wanted.
IMO it's still a lot cheaper than buying an aftermarket axle unless you are paying over $1K for the junk yard/used axle.
Just have to be patient and have the cash in the back pocket to pounce. And if you live where I do the extra work is cheaper than paying shipping from the lower 48.
OP
They always seem to pop up when I don't have the funds. Or they ae 6+ hours away and by the time I get there it's sold.
I don't have the shipping issues you do but I lived in AK long enough to know what it's like.
Ah yes didn’t factor that into the equation. ECGS is a 4 hour drive from here.
OP
If you don't have a place to work on this type of stuff or the tools to do the work then yes I can see how buying a premade unit makes more sense.
MY example is bent tubing for a roll cage or for adding thigs to a cage. If you don't have a tube bender or know someone who has one there are tons of things that just seem beyond your reach.
That’s my biggest hang up currently. I don’t have a shop, I have a parking spot… the complex I live in is pretty cool about things, but I doubt they would want me doing much more than a weekend project on my Jeep(which is about the extent of my working knowledge anyhow)
I like building and tinkering with things, but the fabrication part of my life is a ways off. I’d love to have a shop one day, but once I’m finished with chiropractic school, my time will be better spent at the adjusting table - so I can purchase said shop!
OP
And many of us have been there. Which is why I said you have to have some place to be able to do these kinds of things. So yes if you live somewhere that won't allow you to work on your rig. I lived in an apartment building that wouldn't even allow you to change a tire in the parking area. So I get it.
Of you don't yet have the skills or knowledge or tools yet doing these things is hard to imagine. There are still many things I can't do and have no idea how to do and doubt I'll ever learn how but I'm happy with where I'm at.
I hope you get your shop at some point. It's a blast being able to do all this stuff and it's been GOOD for me. I don't always do things the way others think I should but it's my rig and my money.
ya it really sucks ass not having a suitable place to work in the winter months.
OP
No progress to report but my back is finally not acting up. And I've got all my parts to assemble the rear axle now. I've got to find my micrometer so I can mic the spacer for the pinion gear since it's too thick right now and can't get a pinion preload as tight as I need it.
Once the rear axle gearing is done I can install the axle shafts and get the brakes mocked up. I've got new calipers & mounting brackets that I need to install. Once that is done then I can get the rear axle positioned back under the Jeep and get the rear Anti-Rock setup. Which means lots of flexing the rear and checking for clearance. Once the Anti-Rock is done then I can pull everything out and do my final welding on the frame and then prep it for paint.
It's starting to warm up over here a little. Hopefully by the time I'm ready to paint things it will be warmer so I don't need to crank the heat as much.
Once the rear axle gearing is done I can install the axle shafts and get the brakes mocked up. I've got new calipers & mounting brackets that I need to install. Once that is done then I can get the rear axle positioned back under the Jeep and get the rear Anti-Rock setup. Which means lots of flexing the rear and checking for clearance. Once the Anti-Rock is done then I can pull everything out and do my final welding on the frame and then prep it for paint.
It's starting to warm up over here a little. Hopefully by the time I'm ready to paint things it will be warmer so I don't need to crank the heat as much.