Time to Max Out the Max Tow Axles

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

Gents if you all need any help or if things start getting complicated, just let me know. I have a lot of video I didn't post on YouTube and axle builds can be tricky.

We just pushed the market to be better by us all doing 35 spline shafts. Maybe the elocker guys will catch up. Arbs will always be stronger than an elocker but there are a lot of people that still want them for some reason.

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[bastage]

Gents if you all need any help or if things start getting complicated, just let me know. I have a lot of video I didn't post on YouTube and axle builds can be tricky.

We just pushed the market to be better by us all doing 35 spline shafts. Maybe the elocker guys will catch up. Arbs will always be stronger than an elocker but there are a lot of people that still want them for some reason.

lol.. Myself included. Its a simplicity thing for me. The Air lockers is an extra system that can fail so I would prefer not having it for the lockers. But ARB's though more complex they have been around long enough to know that the bugs & quirks should all be well documented if not already worked out.

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

lol.. Myself included. Its a simplicity thing for me. The Air lockers is an extra system that can fail so I would prefer not having it for the lockers. But ARB's though more complex they have been around long enough to know that the bugs & quirks should all be well documented if not already worked out.

I get that powering two wires is easier than an airline but its so satisfying to hear that pump come on and air lockers engage with a satisfying click. I lived in Colorado and been wheeling hard since 2004. Never seen any fail. Not that they don't but I believe the fear of failure is more of a dividing factor. Its simply not warranted for me.

Consider this. It may change your mind about air.
Air is king and it not an opinion in this video.

 

[bastage]

I get that powering two wires is easier than an airline but its so satisfying to hear that pump come on and air lockers engage with a satisfying click. I lived in Colorado and been wheeling hard since 2004. Never seen any fail. Not that they don't but I believe the fear of failure is more of a dividing factor. Its simply not warranted for me.

Consider this. It may change your mind about air.
Air is king and it not an opinion in this video.

Too bad your not in Colorado... I'd make the drive & buy ya food & drinks to help me. Your videos are awesome.

I have seen that video before. I totally understand what makes the air locker better. But for a weekend wheeler the less maintenance the better in my opinion. Same reason I am not going beadlocks even though I already have DOT legal true beadlock capable wheels & live in a state that doesn't prohibit it. Just a matter of less upkeep means more time playing when time is limited.

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

I dont want to junk your thread up but good luck to you. I would encourage others to look at all the options. You ever have an epoxy filled coul go out on an ac compressor, a grill ignitor, a ignition coil? All things get hot and fail, then you have to replace a cool inside the diff rather than an air line. Its a pick your poison kind of thing.

Anyway, cant wait to see what you come up with. Axle builds have always been my thing. Everything else on jeeps are basically bolt ons. Axles are for real men. lol. Jkjk. make axles great again!

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

I hope to be back in the c springs area in about 18 months. I'm retiring out of the air foce

 

[bastage]

I dont want to junk your thread up but good luck to you. I would encourage others to look at all the options. You ever have an epoxy filled coul go out on an ac compressor, a grill ignitor, a ignition coil? All things get hot and fail, then you have to replace a cool inside the diff rather than an air line. Its a pick your poison kind of thing.

Anyway, cant wait to see what you come up with. Axle builds have always been my thing. Everything else on jeeps are basically bolt ons. Axles are for real men. lol. Jkjk. make axles great again!

Oh I am impatient... Going with ARB's.. Just because its not my first choice doesn't mean I don't understand that its still a GOOD choice.

 

[MoparMan]

Yes, but the Ox offering should be available next month. There electric option though I dont like. Kinda defeats the purpose to me to have to run the actuator cable. If it wasnt for the 35spline options with the ARB's I would of heavily considered it. The 35 spline extra strength though I am just going this way. I mathed it out & going with 32 spline would of allowed me to save some now, but by the time I replaced the axles with Chromeoly later I would only have about 600 bucks savings so I didnt figure it was worth the savings to not have the better axles.

Still going to have to replace the driveshafts later, but those are easy so I will wait till I actually break one.

https://ox-usa.com/dana-44/445-dana-44.html

Is this the one you are referring to?

 

[bastage]

https://ox-usa.com/dana-44/445-dana-44.html

Is this the one you are referring to?

I believe those are for the older dana 44, not the new one.

 

[WK2JT]

I believe those are for the older dana 44, not the new one.

Yeah, they specifically call out JK and JL for those axles. Expect to see the same when the JL/JT D44 is available.

 

[bastage]

So my normal place is backed up & I havent even gotten a quote yet after several weeks. One other place is well reccomended here, but they are a drive-train specialist shop. They wont truss the axles, but otherwise they will do the rest, but outside of gears I bring them all the parts.

So I went down the rabbit hole of getting exactly whats needed & there was lots of bad info out there about what you need. So after a bunch of phone calls between ARB, Dutchman & RCV.

Dutchman sells the rear axle shafts in 35 spline WITH the ARB RD246. So thats an Easy one. The front however is a bit more interesting & when I called RCV I couldn't get a straight answer on the 35 spline front shaft's. Then ARB who wasnt super helpful called me back & basically said "hey I got someone who can answer your questions better". This was spectacular on their part & the guy who I spoke with knows whats up. I had him email me with the knowledge I would post it here to get the correct info out.

Thanks for reaching out to us.

As you mentioned, there seems to be a great amount of confusion around about JT axle shafts. I’ll try to clarify.


All JT’s have M210 front and M220 rear axles. All are 32 spline, front (inner and outer) and rear. Front and rear differentials are interchangeable. JT Max Tow has the same track width as a Rubicon.

If you need to change out a Rubicon locker(JT or JL), front or rear, (to an Air Locker ) and want to retain the 32 spline shafts, you would use our RD245 and the stock JT Max Tow axle shafts. The Rubicon shafts will not work. The factory electric locker uses a locking mechanism that forces the differential center pin to be moved towards the ring gear almost an inch. This means that (example- in the rear) the left side Rubicon shaft will be too short and the right side too long for either our Air Locker or a standard open or LSD Max Tow differential.

If you want to re-use your JT (non-Rubicon) 32 spline shafts (front or rear) and add an Air Locker you’ll use our RD245. This applies to Max Tow and non-Max Tow models.


For heavy duty 35 spline shafts, Rubicon or Non-Rubicon JTs, you’ll use our RD246 Air Locker and rear shafts from Dutchman and front shafts from RCV.


Z Automotive (631-533-3363), the company that builds the JL/JT Tazer, makes a harness that allows use of the factory Rubicon switches with our Air Locker.


I hope I’ve cleared up some of the questions.


If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me.


Scott
Regional Sales Manager
ARB USA

What he also explained on the phone is that it has to do with the stock elockers basically being offset in the housing. So even though the physical axle may be the same housing the ARB locker's & the stock elocker would have different length shaft's on each side (this applies to both the front & rear).

Waiting to hear back from RCV about the 35 spline front shaft's now & if they arent going to be available soon then I will go with the Max Tow 32 spline RCV shafts & the ARB RD245 locker up front. Part of me thinks this is the better idea because it would maintain the FAD & this is my daily driver if the plague ever ends & I go back to driving daily.

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

Whats sad is we, the community, have more knowledge on the Gladiator platform than most shops. The std tow dana 44s are easy. Just measure the shafts and install. My super 35 spline shafts and locker were all sourced after 1 call to east coast gear supply. I called arb too, they are in my timezone in Guam. I just called to verify measurements.

Good luck to you. Measure twice cut once.

 

[bastage]

Whats sad is we, the community, have more knowledge on the Gladiator platform than most shops. The std tow dana 44s are easy. Just measure the shafts and install. My super 35 spline shafts and locker were all sourced after 1 call to east coast gear supply. I called arb too, they are in my timezone. I just called to verify measurements.

Good luck to you. Measure twice cut once.

So ECGS I dont think had much to do with it other then calling dutchman. From what I gathered from talking to both ARB & Dutchman they worked out a deal for Dutchman to make the 35 spline shafts exclusively with the spec's from ARB. You sourcing yours may of pre-dated this

And yeah you are 100% correct about us knowing more then the shops. I have the feeling as though that may be why I haven't received my quote yet. There isn't a straight answer without doing lots of digging. Hopefully I will have everything ordered tomorrow. I have new 37's coming Friday so I want to get this project with the regearing wrapped up soon.

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

Funny you mention that. I gave all my info to ecgs and when I got the package, I got the dutchman shafts to my specs. DUTCHMAN didn't put the shafts for sale, on their website, until after I did all the work to be the first to post about them and share my build. I feel like their exclusive deal with arb was from my order and the work I did. No one to date has them but me. Im getting out of the Air Force in 18 months and hoping to get a job as an engineer as a civilian but car parts are too easy and too easily copied. They can have this one for free. Smh.

 

[MRPANDAZZ]

Don’t know how much help this will be but when I spoke to my shop regarding 35 spline RCVs with FAD, they finally reached back to me.
I was told RCV was in the process of designing the 35S with the ARB lockers. Seemingly the ones I got ordered may be some of the first. At least that is what the rep from RCV told my shop.

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