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Axle strength and tire size

Delhux

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. Main concern is ball joints so I'll be going to CVS and getting some RCV's at some point.
Damn dude, my CVS can barely keep AA batteries in stock. Tell me you’ve got one of those 30% off coupons…
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hjdca

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Just sitting around and got to thinking. Since these axles on the JT rubicon's and max tow's are supposed be stronger than their predecessors. How big of a tire does one think can be used, daily and also on the trial in tough situations? I know most will use 37" ,which I have and do use and have had no issues with but, lets say maybe 40's, think the axles would hold up?
Weight of each wheel and tire is the big issue.... What ever size you go, if you can keep the weight of each tire and wheel low, this saves the drive train. The easiest thing to do is get as light a wheel as possible. I still would not go over 37", 38" on stock axles.
 

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So all JT’s get Heavy Duty D44’s. Only the Rubicon, Max Tow, HA, and Mojave get the extra wide axles. Can anyone confirm the non extra wide are not 10mm thick tubes? If so, what does the heavy duty mean in terms of all these axles, regardless of the width?
I'd like to know also, but it'll be impossible to prove unless somebody puts a caliper gauge on both axle tubes inside and out.
 

WK2JT

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I'd like to know also, but it'll be impossible to prove unless somebody puts a caliper gauge on both axle tubes inside and out.
So on the JL, the extreme recon package calls out the heavy duty D44 as an upgrade. Considering the JL Rubicon front is already a D44 and you can only get the extreme recon package on the Rubicon (the carrier, ring, pinion and width are all the same between JL and JT rubicons), the only thing reasonably left that I can think of is the tube thickness. I don’t believe the heavy duty gets performance ball joints or cromo axles shafts.
 

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Just heard synergy replacement ball joints are metal rather than the plastic in the factory; greaseable, too.
That should add some strength.

if you’re easy on the skinny pedal, seems these new D44s will support 37~38s all day long.
 

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Do rubicon and max tow have thicker tube walls than standard D44 or are they just wider with lower gears?

I think D44 axles should be standard on all jl and jt models.
The thicker was debunked as I recall. No one - not a single person - could quote a reliable source proving thicker axle tube walls.

I still have that challenge out there - show the specs, and the tech article showing they are thicker walled axle tubes. It was stated in a very early magazine article as if there was a difference, but others didn't repeat that so I suspect it's being repeated based on an old, likely inaccurate, article.
 

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The thicker was debunked as I recall. No one - not a single person - could quote a reliable source proving thicker axle tube walls.

I still have that challenge out there - show the specs, and the tech article showing they are thicker walled axle tubes. It was stated in a very early magazine article as if there was a difference, but others didn't repeat that so I suspect it's being repeated based on an old, likely inaccurate, article.
I've seen/heard it in a couple of places. One of them was an interview with an engineer when the JT launched two years or more ago now. Unfortunately, finding that link today would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But apparently it is true, the axle tube thickness increased to handle the additional payloads and trailering weights they were targeting with JT design.

The part that has been so confusing is the difference between the standard and "wide-track" axles. A list of differences between the two that's 100% accurate has been impossible to find. There have been rumors of higher spline count axle shafts in the wide-tracks, thicker axle tubes only on the wide-tracks, larger ring gears, etc. Nothing has been shown with proof.

The only thing we know for a fact is that certain parts of the axles were made smaller to acquire higher MPG for CAFE scores. So we ended up with weaker parts so that Jeep could save 0.002 MPG on a highway cycle test.
 

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I'm running 38's on stock Rubicon. Main concern is ball joints so I'll be going to CVS and getting some RCV's at some point. 2nd most concern is FAD. Going to truss it. 3rd concern is rear axle shaft. Will go to chromoly. At that point it will be time to put on some 40's.
Have you done any of this yet ? Since I bought a Rubicon I want to get as much mileage as possible out of the “heavy duty D44s”. I have the RCVs go in the front tomorrow and the Yukons for the rear “if they ever show up”. I am close to thinking to cancel them and just put D60 in for the rear but don’t really want to for reason mentioned (not for $$& sake). Currently 37s and 40s next summer when the tires arrive lol
 
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I'm on 37s but do run it pretty hard on occasion. I went with Artec trusses/gussets, chromoly rear shafts, and RCVs up front. I run heavy Nitto Trail Grapplers (not a fan of light tires with thinner sidewalls). So far no problems. I would go D60s if I went to 40s. I know some are running 40s on the trails with D44s, but it seems more likely to leave you stranded at some point.
 

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I'm on 37s but do run it pretty hard on occasion. I went with Artec trusses/gussets, chromoly rear shafts, and RCVs up front. I run heavy Nitto Trail Grapplers (not a fan of light tires with thinner sidewalls). So far no problems. I would go D60s if I went to 40s. I know some are running 40s on the trails with D44s, but it seems more likely to leave you stranded at some point.
I too run 37's but Milestar, RCV's and Spicer ball joints. Chromoly rear shafts still in the box lol. Took them along to Moab, but need to install still. So many other things going on. Anyway, things held up just fine. I would not run 40's on these D44 personally.
 

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Have you done any of this yet ? Since I bought a Rubicon I want to get as much mileage as possible out of the “heavy duty D44s”. I have the RCVs go in the front tomorrow and the Yukons for the rear “if they ever show up”. I am close to thinking to cancel them and just put D60 in for the rear but don’t really want to for reason mentioned (not for $$& sake). Currently 37s and 40s next summer when the tires arrive lol
I have not. it will be awhile as my seasonal work is drying up and my furnace just took a dump:crying:
 
 



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