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[SPYDER]

so yesterday while on the trail we were talking about my want to swap 1ton's under my rig.  it was strongly suggested to me to not do it.  a large part of me aggee's with what was said to me yesterday.  My worry is the longevity of my stock d44 up front.  ive had the jeep for just about a year now and have already destroyed 4 axle joints and a set of ball joints.  im on my second set of hubs as well.  i don't mind breaking things, and i know its part of what we do, but ive always had commitment issues due to fear of breakage.  id like to be able to point and shoot and have little worry about being able to make it back to the trail head or even home.

my present set up....
stock d44's front and rear with chromoly shafts, arb's and 4.88's.  my u-joints are presently just stock craps but i have a set of the new alloy usa x-joints that ive been too lazy to install after i got them warranteed after failing after only 1 trip. 

i know that there are conversion knuckles out there that will allow me to run ford/chevy/waggy d44 stub shafts and have selectable hubs/drive slugs, would that be a good idea or just a waste of money??  if i were to go this route id probably swap my present chromo shafts for a set of RCV's as well. 

my original plan was d60/14b with upgrade shafts and all the fun stuff.  so what are your thoughts/opinions? 

[Bluerocket]

Just curious... Of the joints you broke, how many were the wheels strait?  I found on my XJ back in the day that if I kept the wheels strait I didn't break much, but as soon as I throttled turning they just snapped (granted we're talking 33 vs 37" tires on the same joint).  Same question with was the jeep hopping/bouncing/unloading then grabbing.     Personally I used to consider 2 shafts a year acceptable, beyond that its driving style or bigger axles.

[jeepgod]

I go back and forth on this myself, needed or wanted is really the question.

If you truly want to be able to point and shoot then you answered your own question. It's not economical to build a d44 to be able to do that. It can, to a degree be done but it will not be cheap and I still think you will break it even with the high dollar parts (rcv, knuckle conversion, etc) I do have a friend that runs a d44 with sticky 37"s and his rig is light and he has spent a considerable amount of money on it and he still breaks frequently.  I mentioned light cause a light rig will be easier on parts than a full bodied tj

It is possible to build a 1 ton tj and keep it fairly street legal, but it will def require thought and planning ahead of time. I am not sure if this a concern of yours but if it is it can be done.

I would love to hear the "no" arguements I would bet it hinged around legality and that you will end up trashing the tj rather quickly.

One thing I have learned after doing this for many years now, I am lazy, I don't want to fix stuff, I don't want to spend time on the trail swapping shafts. So for me it is just easier for me to swap in bigger badder parts rather than upgrading weak parts ( weak is a relative term)  also I am not sure as to whether or not you want to regear but I have found you can get geared and locked 1 tons for rather cheap if you look hard, have patience and have cash on hand to go and snag the deal quickly.


Just my .02


Oh and I wheeled with bluerocket often back in the days of the xj and he is totally accurate about keeping the wheels straight and not breaking shafts. I always recall this one time we were out and I was riding shot gun and I said " just turn your wheels and you got it". SNAP! BANG! Was the next thing that happened

[05rckymtn]

Don't 1-ton that TJ!   Its too clean and nicely set-up!  If you want to go to tons then spend 2g's on a 97-99 TJ that has over 150k miles, needs the rear section of the frame replaced because the lower control arm mounts rotted out (you don't give a because you are going to back-half the frame anyway, is missing the rear seat, has cigarette burns in the front ones, rusted fenders and 15" alloys with 29" tires. 

That is all.

[SPYDER]

ill correct this....they wheren't fully broken...both times i replaced joints, i had one cracked cap per side.  the hubs...just get very loose.  so i guess technically i haven't broken anything yet...

i always try to keep the bouncing to a minimum cause i know what that does to everything.  the wheels straight vs. turned...its only fun to go straight if you are in a fast car...so yes im sure ive spun the tires a little to hard while turning.

mostly the arguements for not doing it was the ability to drive the jeep around town.  i know andrew and ian have both mentioned to me that they miss being able to just hop in their jeeps and take it down to the store.  yes both those jeeps are a little bigger than i want and have full hydro.

so....has anybody actually run or knows anybody who has run the reid conversion knuckles??  will this actually give me any strength upgrade or does it just make fixing the broken hub's easier?  i know it gives me the ability to run ctm's cause i can disco the hubs and they won't spin.

the tons are definately a more want than need...but i like to build stronger than what i need.

[Ian]

Will you simply swap to tons and keep the current suspension or stretch, airshocks, and hydro etc. 

[SPYDER]

the rear i was thinking about stretch 7-10" to make it more stabile on climbs.  if i do that then id probably go air shocks.  the front probably would be just a direct swap with hydro assist.  possibly later down the road full hydro and front air shocks.

[jps4jeep]

What is your desired goal?

Street legal?
dedicated trail rig?

both can be done with 1 ton axles, just how you approach the design will determine which route you go.

Examples:
While these are not the rule, they are the norm.

street legal rig I would look to keep it on 37ish size tires. I would look to narrow the axles to the approximate wideth of your current axles. I would also limit the stretch to a couple inches forward and back to keep the body somewhat "whole." (not full comp cut)  I know it is an off the shelf kit, I do not recall the guy'sname, but I wheeled last year, or two years ago with a guy who had a massachusetts registered rubicon LJ, he had the rubicon express (i think) LCG lift. he had rubi axles, but fit a 37" tire, very low and stable, and was registered. this set up with some stout 1 tons would be a great drive to the trail wheel hard, then drive home set up.

The other would be buy some 1 ton axles, stretch the crap out of the rig, cut the body as much as you want, toss some 40+" tires at it and wheel. do what ever you want because it will never be registered, now go buy a trailer and a truck to tow it with (if you already don't have one.)

I will agree, tossing money at D44's is kind of pointless if you plan to go up in tire. right now I am trying to figure out ow to keep my D44's alive with 40's, and it will cost a pretty penny. I am very tempted to just bite the bullet and toss my 1 tons under the jeep.  In the end, do what best fits your situation and budget.

food for thought, RCV's for that front axle are just north of a grand, you can have a set of axles in your possession for that price plus some gears and or lockers.

[SPYDER]

that last sentence is where my dilema is coming from...to get the rcv's and the knuckles i could easily have built the tons...i know i can recover some of the money from selling my present chromoly shafts.  im probably not going to go bigger than 37's till these tires wear out, ive always wanted 40's (can't explain why)  i know i don't need them...more or less proved that on sunday, since i followed andrew thru just about everything he did...except that one climb and that was simply i wouldn't committ due to having to drive it home.


i just wish i knew someone with first hand experience with the knuckles

[05rckymtn]

Find someone on pirate or jeepforum who has done what you are talking about with the knuckles and outters.  Pm them and ask to speak with them about it.

[jeepgod]

Spyder, I honestly don't think you are going to have issues with the knuckles. All the guys I know that have run or attempt to run a d44 frt break axles and then they break ring and pinioned when the axle shafts are built stronger.

Just an fyi

[mattamd_xp]

I'm 3 years into my 1 ton/stretch with coilovers build that I'm keeping street legal. I also have very little time to work on it and decide to throw a 5.3 v8 in there while I'm at it, but in order to do a full 1 ton swap and keep it legal in Mass you have a ton more things to look at than just throwing a set of 1 ton axles under the rig and making everything else work. If you really want a point and shoot offroad rig that you can still drive on the road, it is definitely possible with 1 tons, but it is a heck of a lot more work than a typical 1 ton swap. I know I would miss being able to drive my rig on the road if I went that direction with it, so I've had to take extra time figuring out how everything is going to be able to stay street legal. It is possible to keep the axles full-width and just run high backspaced wheels to keep the overall width down. I'm running ~6.5" of backspacing and the tires will be fully covered by 6-7" flares that I'll make removable for wheeling.
It all depends on what you want to do.

[Bluerocket]

All well and good, but once you "point and shoot" and roll hard.  It will be cost prohibitive to make it streetable again.  Thats my .02

[rich]

All well and good, but once you "point and shoot" and roll hard.  It will be cost prohibitive to make it streetable again.  Thats my .02

this

[SPYDER]

well...i think ive finally had some sense talked into me last night....


im going to build off of what i already have and worry about the axles later.  ive got other things that i should address first anyways...ie...getting my cage finished.

thanks all for your opinions and suggestions.