Air Time! Here's what not...
Air Time! Here's what not to do with a stock axle housings and 34" tires. The landing felt fine, but the damage done was permanent. ProROCK 44 housing to the rescue!
While driving home from an amazing week of wheeling at the Moab Easter Jeep Safari 2008, I noticed that the steering wheel on our '07 two-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon was slightly off-kilter. It could have been the three feet of air that we got while driving the sand dunes with the Mopar Skunkworks crew, humn? What I thought would be a simple wheel alignment, turned out to be a bent axle with the increased chance of it bending even easier on the next trip out.
Two axle straightenings and wheel alignments later, we were looking for a cure for the "JK smiley-face syndrome". After speaking with several other JK owners, we found that we weren't the only one with this conundrum. There are two choices on the market today to cure the "smiley-face syndrome"; one is to install one of the many aftermarket weld-in axle strengthening kits or replace the entire housing. Our dual-sport JK doubles as a rock crawler, desert prerunner and back country adventure vehicle, so we need a front axle that will handle everything that mother nature dishes out. Fortunately for us, Dynatrac Products has solved the "Smiley-face syndrome".
Everything about the ProROCK 44 axle housing is beefier; brackets are twice as thick, steering knuckles are redesigned for more strength and heavier gauge tubes and gussets are just a few of the things that make this axle housing bulletproof. It truly is the ProROCK 60's little brother! The beefy ProROCK 44 front housing is the ultimate insurance against bending your JK, TJ and YJ front axle. The problem with the stock axle housing is, after installing oversized tires and lift kit, the front Dana 30 (or 44 on the Rubicon) is just too weak to withstand the extra pounding of the suspension. Even though the Rubicon edition has the Dana 44 internals in the front axle, it still has the weaker Dana 30 thin wall axle housing.
We went to the experts at Off-Road Unlimited in Burbank, who handled the installation with ease. ORU has been in business for over 20 years and their axle techs are some of the best in the business. One of the big advantages of the ProROCK 44 axle housing is that you can re-use your existing or aftermarket JK Dana 44 front internals; everything from the electronic locker to the axle shafts. Since we recently increased our tire size from a 34" to a 37" tire diameter, we decided to swap out our ring and pinion to match the stock shifting points. With a 34" tire diameter, the Superior Axle & Gear 4.88 ratio was right on the money, but when you add a 37" tire size, the Superior Axle 5.13 ratio is what you need to get the engine rev's in the meaty part of the torque range.
In the process of swapping out the ring and pinion, we also changed out our stock axle shafts with Superior Axle & Gear's Evolution Series Super Alloy axle shafts, which are highly recommended when running 35" or larger tire sizes. If want to lower your chances of breaking an axle shaft, the EVO's are bombproof. The Chrome-Moly Alloy is dual heat treated for high ultimate and yield tensile strength. Last, but not least, we installed a new Poly Performance Chrome-moly tie-rod, made from 1 3/8th, 4100 Chrome-moly. Our stock tie-rod has taken a beating over the last few years, so it was overdue for a replacement. Follow along, as we pump up our pumpkins on our 2-door JK Wrangler.
Our stock front axle housing...
Our stock front axle housing had taken a beating during its' first 28k miles, with roughly 20k of those on 34" tires. Two axle straightenings and multiple tire alignments were merely band aids, because we knew that another bent axle housing was bound to happen again.
The Superior Axle & Gear ring...
The Superior Axle & Gear ring and pinion install kit, comes with everything you need to rebuild your axle; bearings, shims, carrier housing bolts and more.
New 5.13 ring and pinion slides...
New 5.13 ring and pinion slides into the rear pumpkin. Alberto from Off Road Unlimited is an axle housing master. It takes a ton of patience to sort out the shims to align the ring and pinion just right.
Here, Alberto is measuring...
Here, Alberto is measuring the shim thickness, in order to make the slight adjustments to the contact patch on the new ring and pinion. After installing the front and rear ring and pinion's, he told me that since the Dynatrac ProROCK 44 housing was so true to spec, it took almost a quarter of the time to shim it up.
The EVO axle shafts eclipse...
The EVO axle shafts eclipse the strength of the stock shafts. I've witnessed a buddies stock front axle shaft break on the Rubicon trail and it's not pretty sight. Limping out in 2 wheel drive is the last thing you want to deal with on the Rubicon and Superior Axle & Gear is a great insurance plan.
It's a new bouncing baby ProROCK...
It's a new bouncing baby ProROCK 44. Most importantly, check out the added reinforcing ribs on the pumpkin and the trusses on the control arm mount. The best part is, the control arms and internal guts bolt right up to the ProROCK 44 housing with no extra expense or modifications.
Here's a closer look at the...
Here's a closer look at the beefy upper control arm mount. All of the brackets are at least twice as thick as stock, to take the big hits on the trail. Rubicon trail, here we come!
The stock axle shafts are...
The stock axle shafts are doomed for failure, especially when you install oversized tires on your JK or TJ. The EVO Series Chrome-moly axle shafts are more compact and are exponentially stronger.
The original JK steering knuckles,...
The original JK steering knuckles, brakes, and axleshafts bolt up to the ProROCK 44 housing without a fuss. The stock lower ball joints can loosen up with less than 50,000 miles, so Dynatrac's optional heavy-duty Pro-Steer ball joints are a worthy addition. They have stainless steel guts for long life, plus you have the ability to rebuild on the trail.
Driving Impressions:
In a word, amazing! On the street, after installing the Dynatrac ProROCK 44 housing and driving our JK around the block to check settings, you could literally feel the tightness of the rock solid front end. Of course, the new ball joints and tie-rod helped, but you could really tell the difference between the stock axle housing and the ProROCK 44. The new 5.13 ring and pinion gave the JK more RPM's where you really need it. On the trail, it's reassuring to travel deep into the backcountry without worrying about limping out with a bent front axle housing or breaking an axle shaft due to oversized tires.