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Dana 60s for 40 inch tires questions

AngryIrishman

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I want to run 40s on the Gladiator. Admittedly mostly for cosmetics but I would like to transition to more off road driving too.

Some questions:
Do I have to run Dana 60s on front and rear if I'm going to run 40s? Understand the wear on Dana 44s might be a bit much so upgrading is needed at least at some point.

If I stay on road for the majority of my driving is upgrading required to Dana 60s?

What regear is recommended?

Is it reasonable to assume I could drive the truck and upgrade over time if needed? Again, if I stay primarily on road at least until I would upgrade?

Also, this would be for a Rubicon automatic.

Very much appreciate the expertise available on this forum.
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CG07SUT

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Certainly not an expert but have a bit of common sense to interject. What model do you have, with what gears?
Would you be better off financially to sell the current axles to offset the cost of new 60’s? Possibly.
Could you run these for a period of time? Possibly

I ran my 14 Rubicon X for nearly 6 years with a trussed/gusseted 44 with 37’s for nearly 80k miles on road and a few dozen Offroad trips. At the time I did it, I was told that I was ignorant and 37’s shouldn’t have been run on road. There were a few people that used to run JK’s with 37’s and 40’s on the Dana 30’s, mostly on road, but a few wheeled theirs and if memory serves, blew them in short order. I did not damage my front 44 with the 37’s in the time that I had that vehicle, I did wear out bearings and seals (possibly from the water and sand from the park that I wheel at).

If you want to try to reduce the finances by selling the current axels, do so before you upgrade to 40’s otherwise I’d put the lift and 40’s on and use it until something broke.
 

PyrPatriot

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Dana 60s are not cheap. Looking at something like $17-20k for front and rear with install.

Is running 40s worth it in a JT? The long wheelbase is very counter productive to rock crawling based on the vids I have seen. Even Litebrite’s JLU on 40s isnt something I would want to crawl with.

At the end of the day if you have $20k to throw at a vehicle $50k vehicle for cosmetic reasons, sure.
 

smoverland

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I'm running 38s on the stock HD 44s (Max Tow) and wheel pretty hard regularly. So far, everything is holding up just fine. Long-term, it may not be ideal, but if you're cautious and easy on the gas, a lot of people have had success running Dana44s with 37s. Time will tell!

DSC_2365.jpg


P1020934.jpg
 

Tech Tim

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I want to run 40s on the Gladiator.
Is running 40s worth it in a JT?
If it's what he wants to run, then yes, it is worth it.

Gladiators look spectacular on 40s. Here's one we recently built: Spartacus Gladiator Build.

It's on 40x15.50x20 Nitto tires. The 15.50 width is definitely overkill and it looks super tough. Though that extra width will definitely cause more wear and tear on a lot of items down the road.

Spartacus-Gladiator.jpg


Do you need D60s to run 40s? No.

Do you need D60s to wheel with 40s? Depends on your type of wheeling and your driving style.

If you think driving fire roads and mild trails is wheeling AND you are a smooth driver, then you probably will get by with 40s under your Gladiator for quite a while. BUT you will be pushing it with tires that big.

If you think wheeling is getting out and constantly challenging your rig and your driving skills, taking the harder trails and harder lines OR you are one of those mash the pedals and get it, then you will need to step up to stronger axle assemblies sooner rather than later.

Is it cheap to upgrade? That depends on each persons budget.

Dynatrac was really on the ball on has 60/80 axle sets for the Gladiator and offers them in all sorts of combinations:
Dynatrac Axle Sets JT Gladiator

You will also need to beef up the steering box and pump to handle those 40s: PSC Big Bore XD Cylinder Assist Steering Kit
 

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If it is your only vehicle and your daily driver, feel free to ignore the advice below.



Build it how you want it and drive it until something breaks. As a second or pleasure vehicle, the most pleasurable and economic solution is to build it how you want it to look, Drive it until something breaks, upgrade what broke and repeat. The only exception are safety related items, so I would upgrade the drag and track bar to heavy duty and regularly inspect steering and suspension for damage/wear and then have fun!
 

Renegade

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I'm running 38s on the stock HD 44s (Max Tow) and wheel pretty hard regularly. So far, everything is holding up just fine. Long-term, it may not be ideal, but if you're cautious and easy on the gas, a lot of people have had success running Dana44s with 37s. Time will tell!

DSC_2365.jpg


P1020934.jpg
Looks like you got those King shocks on! Rock on!
 

konapants192

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I've got 40's on my Rubicon and love it! Like yours, this truck will stay mostly on the road. I would imagine that serious trail riding would eventually force an axle upgrade, but so far, no complaints at all. The falcon steering stabilizer kit is also a good option with the bigger tires.

mrbUv8y.jpg
 
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AngryIrishman

AngryIrishman

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I've got 40's on my Rubicon and love it! Like yours, this truck will stay mostly on the road. I would imagine that serious trail riding would eventually force an axle upgrade, but so far, no complaints at all. The falcon steering stabilizer kit is also a good option with the bigger tires.

mrbUv8y.jpg
[/Q
Did you regear or do anything else? Truck looks great!
 

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konapants192

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Did you regear or do anything else? Truck looks great!
I have not regeared. I’m pretty easy on the throttle, and the 8 speed transmission does a wonderful job around the city. Highway driving isn’t bad either. I’m realistic with the amount of weight vs. power so I cruise at 65mph to 70mph and it never feels like the engine is struggling to keep up.
 

WhatExit?

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spazzyfry123

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Unrelated... What are you running for your front fender chop? First I've seen that didn't include an LED running light like AAL or Quake. I had already set my mind on those, but I like the simplicity with just a blinder LED instead of the full LED bar like most. Looks good!

EDIT: Nevermind, I had found Rugged Ridge's website after some quick searching. Do the blinkers work well enough? Doesn't seem like it would provide much light?
 
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smoverland

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Unrelated... What are you running for your front fender chop? First I've seen that didn't include an LED running light like AAL or Quake. I had already set my mind on those, but I like the simplicity with just a blinder LED instead of the full LED bar like most. Looks good!

EDIT: Nevermind, I had found Rugged Ridge's website after some quick searching. Do the blinkers work well enough? Doesn't seem like it would provide much light?
I'm actually working on a write-up for the product/my experience with them, but here's the gist: if you're looking for a cheap alternative, go for it, but I really cannot recommend them. The quality control is poor and the components are clearly low quality/delicate. To just answer the light question, though, they are extremely bright. Brighter than the stock headlights by far haha.
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