Axles! Whats good, better, best?

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[yourfriendcharlie]

Ok so I have this old Bronco II that I have listed on craigslist for sale or trade. I got a call today from a guy that has a set of axles to trade for the POS ford. He has a 10 bolt front axle, and a 14 bolt rear. They come compleat with wheels and tires, they are a mached set too. Came off a 3/4 ton chevy mud truck. So here is my question. Everyone says to use dana 44's for a sas. How do all these differant axle stack up to one another? Is a d44 bigger than a 10 bolt? So if some one could list all the axles one would find out there from smallest to biggest that would be very helpful to those of us that don't know.

[OffroadX]

Doesn't really matter, the only driver-diff front axle options we have short of building something custom is a D44 from a Wagoneer or late-70s Bronco, unless you go for a full-size  Dana 60 axle from a heavy-duty Ford.

14-bolt rear is bigger than a 44 rear.

[Titan28881]

dont use a dana30. 

FSJ D44 front.

[meganissan101]

i was using a d44 on my hardbody for a sas out of a grand wagoneer but then decided to go full width with d60s to hold up to the tires im gunna go with

[yourfriendcharlie]

Ok people your not really answering the question here. If you where to make a list of axles from weakest to strongest how would it look?

[meganissan101]

d30,d35,d44,corp10,ford8.8, ford9, corp14,dana60,dsuper60,d70,d80,rockwell2.5

[Hootowl]

Rockwells are made on another planet I hear...

[sexy6chick]

if your asking if you could use those axles , it wouldnt be easy as im sure they are passenger side drop which is why alot of people use the jeep 44 or ford axle 44

[lmhin2003]

Rockwells are made on another planet I hear...

Not only that but they glow in the dark also

[hardbodymike]

My buddy used a ford dana 44 front with chevy axle shafts so it would be 6 lug, and he used a chevy 14 bolt rear end that came out of a 3/4 ton truck.  They held up to everything he gave it

[BIFF_AZ]

What's the difference between the waggy 44 and the Ford, for a frontier application?

[porsche996]

What's the difference between the waggy 44 and the Ford, for a frontier application?

Depends on what Ford D44 you're talking about.

The typical difference is, the Wagoneer D44 is just about the same width as the Frontier IFS setup, so the wheel track is very similar.  For a Ford D44 from the late 70s, it comes off a full-size pickup frame, so it's about 3" wider than the stock Nissan setup. 


Additionally, the wagoneer knuckles are 6 lug, same pattern as the Frontier, whereas the Ford uses 5 on 5.5 lug pattern.  Knuckles are interchangeable, though, so that's not really any big deal.

[SMITHTONU02]

Also some of the Ford d44s are high pinion axles which are more desirable due to strength.  I believe the Jeep is a low pinion setup.

[BIFF_AZ]

Natalie referenced using a Ford 44 above. . . so the width is the only major difference? Are any parts of either of the axles known for being weaker than the others'? IE: shafts from the Ford 44, not as good, as the Waggy? I assume, I can use wheel spacers to accomodate for the difference.
Has anyone put dual D60s under their frontier before?

[T-Ray]

A Ford 44 from a late 70's 150/250/Bronco will be High Pinion, which (as stated above) is desireable due to increased strength & provides better clearance & DS angle. Shafts are the same as far as spline count 30 on the inside/19 on the outside IIRC. A waggy 44 is the easiest & least expensive way to go for sure. Trust me, I have a HP Ford 44 - it wasn't inexpensive.

D60's would be great F/R, if you have the $$$ and plan on running 39+" tires. IMHO If you're gonna run 60's, might as well back-half your fronty & make it a truggy - you'll need to anyway to run the tires you'll wanna run with 60's. You could buy a built buggy off Pirate for 5-15k too. You can easily drop 5k into a front 60 and 4k into a rear 60, not including driveshafts & transfer case gears, etc, etc;

If I ever go 1-tons it'll be a 609 front & a S9 rear - under a trailered buggy. I just don't think it makes sense to run 1-ton gear under our trucks when we're not running 5.0+ rated trails at WOT, jumping up & down 10ft waterfalls on 40" stickies with water.