Jeep Wrangler YJ Dana 44 Axle - Rubicon YJ

The tubes are cleaned up to get rid of the bracket remains and to prep them for spring pads and shock brackets.	This YJ has a spring-over-axle swap. The placement of the spring pads and shock mounts was carefully measured before welding. Check out the large rear disc brakes that come on the Rubicon Dana 44.	The JK Rubicon Dana 44s are 65 inches wide from wheel-mounting surface to wheel-mounting surface. The factory YJ is 61 inches wide, so the new front and rearends are 2 inches wider per side. Since new wheels need to be purchased to facilitate the JK Dana 44's 5-on-5 bolt circle, a little more backspacing will keep the track width the same and decrease scrub radius up front for easier steering. Or, you can have your tires sticking out 2 inches more per side for better stability.
The Rubicon Dana 44 frontends have a weak point. The inner knuckles sometimes bend where the top of the "C" meets the housing. Eric gusseted there, ensuring there will be no problems.	Mount Logan Off-Road is offering a super-strong aluminum tie rod and drag link for JK Wranglers. On JKs, Mount Logan provides heavy-duty 1-ton ball joints that are offset to clear the housing on the tie rod. Eric used those for his tie rod, but Mount Logan supplied Heim joints for the drag link because of Eric's spring-over configuration.
ARB Air Locker switches work great as switches for the electric lockers. They plug perfectly into the YJ's switch panel to the left of the heater/ventilation controls.	4 Wheel Drive Hardware sells the OEM harness (PN 56055357AF) that has the correct plugs for the housing.	Here are the plugs that Eric used from the harness. The small one powers the electric locker, and the large one is for the indicator light. Eric also used the wiring that is already loomed nicely to connect the locker switches.
37x13.50R18LT Dick Cepek Mud Country tires are mounted on 18x9 Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels with 5-on-5 bolt circle and 4.5-inch backspacing.	Even with 65-inch-wide axles and 4.5-inch backspace wheels, the Dick Cepek mudders don't stick out very far beyond the Warn TJ fender flares Eric had installed long ago on his YJ.