regearing causes axle tube flex?

[Stan H]

I've heard the exact opposite from my local shop. They have said they are stronger than the older Dana 44s but not sure on what they mean by older Dana 44s but we are talking about Gladiators when we are talking about them. They say they can handle more than the older ones. They build rock crawlers and take them out almost every weekend to test and are running Dana 44s on 42s and haven't broke anything yet.

This is correct the old 44's in the JK pre 18's the carrier wasn't even as strong OP they fed you a soup salad sandwich with a side dish of malarkey.

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[Bandit’s Lair]

My understanding is they’re wider but the tubes are the same thickness. This would make them weaker but not to the point of failing with normal wheeling. You’d have to hit something like the hole mentioned earlier or be real tough on your truck to have them bend. It’s not easy to do. I’ve seen one on a JK crack before and I’ve seen axle shafts break and outer Cs fail but I’ve never actually seen an axle tube bend. Not saying I’m an expert but I’ve logged hundreds of hours on trail in some pretty gnarly stuff. Trails we couldn’t even get through with a rock buggy along type stuff. Never seen one bend.

 

[Tim]

I’d find a different shop.

100% That's what I did. There were too many red flags with what they were telling me.

I reached out to a couple different shops who had a completely different opinion on the strength of the newer M220 Dana 44s in the JTs. The general consensus is the new ones are stronger than the older Dana 44s. I would agree the FAD is a weak point and I wish it wasn't there but that's not what was being refered to by the first shop.

I have a couple thoughts. First and foremost, the first shop just wasn't what I thought it was. More specifically, they seemingly don't have the experience with doing gears that I thought they had despite recomendations and such. They also use Yukon gears and it is my understanding the the quality of Yukon has become unpredictable in recent years. I wonder if they are having issues with Yukon parts and are misdiagnosing those issues as issues with the JL/JT axle housings?

Anyway, after finding a much better shop that is experienced in gear swaps and Jeeps a couple more things from the first shop stood out to me. They expected the job to take at least 12 hours and they quoted the job at $3,800. The also stated they would not warranty the job. Again, major red flags.

The shop I am going to use figured about 8 hours of time to do the job and quoted it at $2,700 with a warranty.

So yeah. That's a long winded rant stating things we all already know. Do your due dilligence in finding a good shop.

 

[SoK66]

Amazing the spin. The early JK front housings bent like Twizzlers. There is a weak spot at the FAD, that’s it. Find another shop.

 

[AstroZombie]

@tj3089

 

[TheGrendel]

My understanding is they’re wider but the tubes are the same thickness. This would make them weaker but not to the point of failing with normal wheeling. You’d have to hit something like the hole mentioned earlier or be real tough on your truck to have them bend. It’s not easy to do. I’ve seen one on a JK crack before and I’ve seen axle shafts break and outer Cs fail but I’ve never actually seen an axle tube bend. Not saying I’m an expert but I’ve logged hundreds of hours on trail in some pretty gnarly stuff. Trails we couldn’t even get through with a rock buggy along type stuff. Never seen one bend.

This is factually incorrect. The Gladiator axles are thicker and have a larger diameter than the JK D44s.

 

[slodsm]

The nicest way to put it is that’s complete horseshit and find another shop.

 

[DanW]

So I called a local 4WD shop to inquire about regearing my Gladiator and they cautioned me saying these new Dana 44s are not as strong as the pre-2018 Dana 44s. Apparently they have had a few JL/JTs come back in post gear swap with premature gear wear and axle tubes flexing/walking in the differential housing. I haven't heard of this and it seems like most people who go with a lift and bigger tires regear to 4.88 or 5.13.

Is this something I've missed over the past 6 years? The service writer made it seem like a common problem.

I think that is a bunch of bovine scatology.

The JK was known for the ¨JK smile¨ (bent axle housing in the shape of a smile) with the stock JK D44 when people ran 37¨ or larger tires, and sometimes on 35´s. Talking to Jeep rental companies in Moab a few years ago, they said the JL had much stronger axles and suspension than the JK and they were not getting breakage or problems like they did with JK´s. My understanding is that the housings on the Gladiator are even stronger than the JL.
Btw, I re-geared my JL to 4.56 and have been running it that way for something around 70,000+ miles with lots of off-roading and 35´s. I also tow a lot. No issues.

Like I said, that sounds like a load of crap.

Nobody has coined the phrase ¨JL Smile¨ or ¨JT Smile¨ as of yet, to my knowledge.

 

[tj3089]

The JL axles are stronger than the JK axles for sure, but you should probably still truss them asap if you run 37s and wheel it hard (or if hit a huge sink hole like I did).

I barely noticed how far back the front axle moved when it bent at the FAD.

 

[Janster]

I have to laugh…but please pardon, I haven’t followed along …

If a tube is gonna bend, it’ll bend…regardless if you changed the gears or not.

I’d be asking them..”Why are people coming back to you?”

Sounds like their gear installs are F’d up and they’re blaming the tubes.

Find another shop!!

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