Who wants to give me a history lesson?
#11
02-16-2008, 09:29 AM
#12
02-16-2008, 01:24 PM
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RE: Who wants to give me a history lesson?
ORIGINAL: dhvaughan
don't lock the front. the worst headache will be when you SLIDE off the road with all 4 wheels digging and you hit your head on the airbag.
don't lock the front. the worst headache will be when you SLIDE off the road with all 4 wheels digging and you hit your head on the airbag.
Thanks hankL for the good read as always. Dynatrac doesnt have a kit for the dana44 as it says for 2500's. And with all due respect, I think you guys are missing the point. With the cad unit dissabled (rigged up to be engauged all the time using this... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...spagenameZWD1V) Where is the problem? I really do not see where im going to SLIDE off the road if Im using 4wd off road. With the hub's unlocked (yes that means getting out of the truck to unlock them) I can drive on the street with a spool in the front because nothing is engauged. Wheres the problem???? Off road, lock em up. I'm not gonna do it but i mean I was more curious than anything.
#13
02-16-2008, 01:40 PM
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02-16-2008, 10:03 PM
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RE: Who wants to give me a history lesson?
...why don't you get a push/pull or manual cad...this should solve for you problem on the cheap. I have also heard of people taking the stub shafts and nuckles off of f150's and putting them on the dodges...not sure how exactly but there's a right up on pavementsucks somewere...or maybe here....anyways...i would recommend the maual cad if i were you..
#15
02-17-2008, 05:37 AM
RE: Who wants to give me a history lesson?
www.emsoffroad.com has a hub conversion for your D44. You can then also elect to get the optional CAD eliminator (one peice passenger inner axle) whcih is a nice addition to the kit.
I have this kit for my D60. I also added the "CAD delete" one peice passenger inner axle (chromolly as well!!). I then also upgraded the inner drivers side axle to a chromolly shaft too. This way all four axle shafts on the front axle (stubs that came with the conversion kit and innersI upgraded to) are all chromolly shafts (they are all made by Moser axle which is a highly respected axle manufacturer).
I opted for an ARB in the front because driving your truck in 4wd with the front fully locked will cause massive steering bind especially on tight trails and the ability to switch from "open to locked" is a very nice option to have especially for a daily driver like mine.
With the stock Ram axle set up, you would not want to run a LSD or locker as this would result in the entire front drivetrain turning all the time even in 2wd. The set up your asking about changes the hubs out to a sevicable full floating axle that only engages when you get out and lock in the manual hubs. Therefore any carrier (selectable locker, spool, LSD, Open) doesn't turn at all until you engage the hubs so anyway you go you could get away with.
I would seriously suggest a selectable locker in the front though because once you do lock your hubs, turning becomes quite an adventure in a fully locked front axle and it causes reduced turning radius and greatly increased stress on the rest of the drivetrain especially when turned tightly. If you have never driven a fully locked front axle before you cannot appreciate just how hard it is to control the vehicle even on trails.
So with all that being said, here is the question that begs to be answered. Put over a grand in a hub kit, another $250 in a CAD delete, A couple hundred in gears and a spool and what do have?...................a D44 on a half ton truck that is still weak as hell and would be prone to breakage with large tires and lockers not to mentin the notoriously weak inner "C" on the D44. I would propose that the money would be better spent on swapping in a D60 in the front and a D60/70 in the rear. You can find complete axle assemblies in pairs for around $1000 and they basically bolt right in to your 1/2 ton truck.
You would instantly gain a huge strength increase over the D44 (evena modified D44), and wind up with a platform for future upgrades that can make the axles nearly indestructabe. There are manual hub conversion kits for the D60 as well so you could go that route later too.
Just thought I would throw that out there as in my opinion throwing ver $2K into the Dodge D44 is a waste of money.
BTW, the Rancharger axle you mentioned has apassenger side drop housing (opposite of your current plaform), and it would be set up for leaf springs so you would have to cut off all the bracketry and weld on your 4-link bracketry (lots of work).
I have this kit for my D60. I also added the "CAD delete" one peice passenger inner axle (chromolly as well!!). I then also upgraded the inner drivers side axle to a chromolly shaft too. This way all four axle shafts on the front axle (stubs that came with the conversion kit and innersI upgraded to) are all chromolly shafts (they are all made by Moser axle which is a highly respected axle manufacturer).
I opted for an ARB in the front because driving your truck in 4wd with the front fully locked will cause massive steering bind especially on tight trails and the ability to switch from "open to locked" is a very nice option to have especially for a daily driver like mine.
With the stock Ram axle set up, you would not want to run a LSD or locker as this would result in the entire front drivetrain turning all the time even in 2wd. The set up your asking about changes the hubs out to a sevicable full floating axle that only engages when you get out and lock in the manual hubs. Therefore any carrier (selectable locker, spool, LSD, Open) doesn't turn at all until you engage the hubs so anyway you go you could get away with.
I would seriously suggest a selectable locker in the front though because once you do lock your hubs, turning becomes quite an adventure in a fully locked front axle and it causes reduced turning radius and greatly increased stress on the rest of the drivetrain especially when turned tightly. If you have never driven a fully locked front axle before you cannot appreciate just how hard it is to control the vehicle even on trails.
So with all that being said, here is the question that begs to be answered. Put over a grand in a hub kit, another $250 in a CAD delete, A couple hundred in gears and a spool and what do have?...................a D44 on a half ton truck that is still weak as hell and would be prone to breakage with large tires and lockers not to mentin the notoriously weak inner "C" on the D44. I would propose that the money would be better spent on swapping in a D60 in the front and a D60/70 in the rear. You can find complete axle assemblies in pairs for around $1000 and they basically bolt right in to your 1/2 ton truck.
You would instantly gain a huge strength increase over the D44 (evena modified D44), and wind up with a platform for future upgrades that can make the axles nearly indestructabe. There are manual hub conversion kits for the D60 as well so you could go that route later too.
Just thought I would throw that out there as in my opinion throwing ver $2K into the Dodge D44 is a waste of money.
BTW, the Rancharger axle you mentioned has apassenger side drop housing (opposite of your current plaform), and it would be set up for leaf springs so you would have to cut off all the bracketry and weld on your 4-link bracketry (lots of work).