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REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9"?

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8.6K views 9 replies 0 participants last post by  **DONOTDELETE**  
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#1 ·
REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"?

This is a debate going on over on the Toyota truck page. I am getting ready to swap in full width axles under my Toyota. I am using a dana 44 in the front and a widened D44 in the rear. I am not using a Dana 60 in back b/c of weight as well as the loss of ground clearance. I have considered the Ford 9" but it isn't really wide enough to match the front axle width(about 2" short) unless I go custom width with it too. I also prefer the tapered cut gear design of the 44 and the higher pinion angle as well as the higher ground clearance. However, at the same time I don't want a weaker housing than the Toyota one I have now.

I have a couple of questions regarding the strength of the 44 vs. the Toy axle and the Ford 9".

First of all, is the 44 rear housing as strong as a Toyota rear housing? Most people on the Toy page are saying the 44 isn't as strong and that the Ford 9" is a better housing. BTW, I'll be running 1/2" thick tubes welded into the center section instead of just pressed in if I go with the 44. I may also truss the top portion of the axle housing but the truss can't be very long b/c of the spring perches and shock mounts. I have personally never seen a Toyota rear housing bend(and have heard of only a few), but I have *heard of* many 44s breaking where the tubes go into the cast center section. I don't plan to jump the truck at all. It is purely for rockcrawling. I'd appreciate your opinions here.

Second, does anyone know how much lower the Ford 9" pinion is than the 44 and can you get 5.38 gears for a Ford 9"? All I've found are 5.14s or 5.43s. Also, how much more ground clearance will I lose with the 9" vs. the 44? Can I get away with running 5.38s in the front axle and 5.43s in the rear if I go with a 9"? I've heard the gear ratios can be 7% off and it not matter, but in places like Moab where it's like driving on pavement that seems like it wouldn't be too smart.

Third, what is everyone's opinion of the Ford 9" vs. the Dana 44. I realize you can get more splines, heavier axles, etc. for the Ford but if the D44 rear will be as strong as my Toy rear end, I really don't need anything stronger. The 44 I'm going to get will have a full floater kit and alloy shafts-FYI. Is the sheetmetal housing of the Ford more resistant to bending or is what I've been told true, that the steel tube and center section design of the 44 are stronger? Again, opinions or experience welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Sean
Oops! I should have mentioned I'll be running 35x15.5 Sxs or 37x13.5 Claws for tires, locked at both ends with 227:1 crawl ratio with a stock efi 2.4L 116hp 4cyl. if any of that matters.
 
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#3 ·
Re: REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"?

i dont think for what you are doing that snapping a tube out of a 44 is going to be an issue for you. i would put a truss on it jic you plan on doing a little bouncing with it.

personally i would still run a 9in ford. yes the pinion is lower, but it is 1.5 in shorter pinion and larger than a 44 without the big sacrifice in ground clearance. if you are willing to spend a little extra, you can go with a 35spl locker and floater. the crush sleave is not that big of a deal. the differance between 5.38 and 5.43 is not big enough to worry about. you will actually find that having the front pull a little is easy to get used to.

dan
build 'em don't buy 'em
why is there no mazda thread?
I feel left out.:p
 
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#4 ·
Re: REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"?

Sean, you already have my opinion on the axles, but I wanted to say that 7% difference from front to rear is WAY too much. Granted, 5.38-5.43 isn't 7%, but I thought I'd throw my comments in here on mis-matched gears since a lot of us mud guys do it. I used to have a Jeep with 3.54's front & 3.73's in the back. This difference was compensated for with 38x12.50's on 10" rims front & 38.5x16's on 15x15" rims on the back. The extra 1" of height (36"/37") front/rear made it a matched set. BUT, when I first put this Jeep together, I still had a complete set of 33's left from the old Jeep. I mounted those up for a couple of events, but even at the speeds you'd experience in the garage, there was tire chirping. This was with a 5% difference. What I've heard is that you can generally have a .1 point difference (like 3.73-3.83). That's a rough number that changes as the ratio's get deeper, but it's still less than 1%. 5.38/5.43 is probably within tolerances (factory ratio's have been as far apart as 3.50/3.54). But, 7% is strictly for us mudders.

TEX

/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif Got Mud?
G.U.M.B.O. Mud Racing
 
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#5 ·
Re: REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"?

Yeah, I thought that was off when the guy told me that. I believe it was someone over at Dynatrac, but he knew the axles were going under a rockcrawler and not a mudder so he should have been able to figue it out. Oh well thanks for the advice,
Sean
Maybe I misheard the guy and he meant .07 which would tanslate as 7% in decimal terms.
 
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#6 ·
Re: REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"?

Maybe he meant .7% or .007??? But, surely he knows 7% would be way too much. Let's say you were going 50 mph locked in (okay, I know........Why would you do that locked in?). Anyhow, a 7% difference would mean something like the front spinning 53.5 mph & the rear going 50 mph. Or, matched gears with a 7% tire height difference would be the same thing. Imagine running 37.45" tires front with 35" tires rear. OUCH!!!/wwwthreads_images/icons/blush.gif

TEX

/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif Got Mud?
G.U.M.B.O. Mud Racing
 
G
#7 ·
Re: REAR Toyota axles vs. Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"?

Ahhh the debate continues....
The 44 rear IS stronger than the Toy axle housing, it's not even a close comparision.... Last weekend Jimmy ripped his Toyota housing in half under his S10 Blazer. Again.... The pink slip to my Cruiser if you can do that with a 44 (ok, maybe not the pink slip, but I'll buy you a beer ;)

The 44 will hold up forever especially if you run alloy shafts! Remember, a Dana 60 has THE SAME SIZE SHAFTS as a Dana 44 unless you upgrade to aftermark 35 spline units, or come across an OEM 35 spline unit, which is VERY HARd to find in the bone yards.

The only Dana 44 rear end I have seen bend was at the Hammers two weeks ago. Bob rolled his Commando on the sand dunes at about 40 mph doing a triple flip, and the housing bent.

Lance Clifford
http://www.pirate4x4.com
lance@pirate4x4.com
 
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#8 ·
Re: Should have labeled this: Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"-which would you get?

I appreciate everyone's input, but maybe I should have titled this post as the Dana 44 vs. the Ford 9". I AM going to switch to one of these azles for the rear and the cost should be about the same between each one. What would you do if it was your choice and why? BTW, either axle I choose for the rear will be a full floater with alloy shafts and a detroit locker with a thicker than stock metal custom housing with disc brakes. I am very interested in hearing your opinions in the differences between housing and gear strength as well as pinion height. TIA,
Sean
 
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#9 ·
Re: Should have labeled this: Dana 44 vs. Ford 9\"-which would you get?

No offense to 9" guys, but I've seen more 9" rears fail than 44. And usually, it's catastrophic (like a big chunk of pinion dangling from the driveshaft). Granted, this is in mud, but we have just as many 44 rears as 9" rears in my area. So, even though the circumstances don't match yours, the comparison is still worth something. The 44 is smaller, but has a superior design. All in all, that probably makes 'em about equal.

TEX

/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif Got Mud?
G.U.M.B.O. Mud Racing
 
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