Here's what "I" would do if it was mine, and I wanted to be budget minded. First and foremost, I would ask myself if I thought I was really going to wheel hard enough to justify upgrading to the Rubicon spline count. We're only talking about going from a 30 spline axle to a 32 spline axle. If that answer is yes, I would call Gregg Moser Enginerring and order the 32 spline count axle shafts for a Rubicon. 295 bucks a pair. Then, I would buy a detroit locker for the 32 spline D44 and call it a day. On a good day, you can find a Detroit Locker for around 450. Of course, to make the Detroit unit work on the JK D44, the ring gear bolt holes will have to be enlarged to the JK size. Anyone with a good drill press can knock this out....fifteen minutes tops. Although you will not have a selectable locker in the rear, now you will have a bullitproof locker, you will just need to be careful and remember it's there when towing, and don't be a dumbass and drive it on ice. Other than that, it should work well, and if you can install it yourself, you'll save on the Rubicon rear, and end up with a stronger unit, because those Moser axles are way stronger than stock.

Now, if that answer is no, or even "probably not", I would just get the Detroit locker for the 30 spline D44 drill out the ring gear bolt holes, install it and call it a day.

 

I believe the D60 will have a different bolt pattern than your stock setup, so you will need to think about your wheels if you keep your front end as they will be different patterns.

 

let me say this first, I do not know much about a D44. If I understand this thread correctly it addresses axle strength in a dana 30 vs a dana 44. If I'm not confused you are debating the difference in running a 30 spline axle vs a 32 spline axle. I'm thinking the fewer the splines the better due to the fact that on a shaft the same diameter the splines must get smaller when one increases their number. The smaller the piece of metal the easier it would be to break it. therefore why would anyone want to increase the number of splines on the axle?

 

Nope. It would kinda seem like that, but that ain't how it works in reality. More splines=more area of engagement.

 

Because the less splines you have, the more torque your putting on fewer splines. Add more splines and your lessening the torque load per spline. Thereby making it stronger. Hope that makes sense.

 

chaching!!!

 

Are you sure about the shaft diameter being the same? I thought the 32 spline shafts were larger. Here is a pic of a 32 spline Rubi shaft compared to a 30 spline TJ 44 shaft and the 32 spline shaft definately looks larger:


Another problem to keep in mind when considering swapping from a standard 44 shaft to a Rubi 44 shaft is length. The standard 44 uses equal length shafts and the Rubi doesn't, as verified by Piginajeep. THis could cause fitment issues when mixing and matching components.

 

So on a 30-spline vs. a 32-spline axle.. if more splines means the load is distributed amongst more splines (thus each spline receives less stress..) then are the 2 extra really worth it?

Mathematically speaking, if you take a number, say 1000 and divide it by 30, we're talking a 33 1/3 amount of theoretical "load" on each spline (in this imaginary example)

Load would be Newtons of force ultimately.

At any rate, if you do this again but divide by 32, we're talking 31 1/4 amount of theoretical "load" on each spline.

It's a ratio of 1:1.07

The difference between 33 1/3 and 31 1/4 is so small that the only time you should notice a difference is when applying MASSIVE amounts of force on them.

Really worth it?

 

Thanks for all the input so far guys! Like I said before, I'll definitely be upgrading the front to a rubi 44, and with most people agreeing there isn't a huge difference between the rubi and non rear ends, I think I'll just save some bucks and go with a chromoly set for my rear.

Thanks again!

 

With a X or Sahara D44(REAR) you can put a 35 splines cromos with an ARB locker This option is not available for D44 Rubicon.