Alloy Axles

Is there really much difference in various manufacturers of alloy axles? Anyone have good/bad results?

 

I've been to ARB's destructive test facility in Melbourne when they were doing testing on the then-newly updated 9-inch ARB. They wanted to make sure the locker would always be the last thing to fail. Long story short, the strength was all over the place. Several high zoot aftermarket shafts were even bested by the stock piece. Problems usually lie in the induction hardening. If a shaft is through-hardened it'll be way more brittle even if it's made of 4340 or other chrome moly alloy. Companies like Superior and Alloy USA understand how to strike a balane between strength and flexability when induction hardening their shafts. The hardening only extends so far into the shaft's surface so it's still able to have some torsional twist to soak up shock loads and resist snapping. There's a lot to it, actually. It's a recipe.

Recently we tagged along with some more destructive testing at Randy's Ring & Pinion up in WA for some D44 front shaft testing. You'll be pretty happy with Alloy USA's stuff. Superior's is up there too.

 

Take all this with a grain of salt....

I put in Warn replacement shafts about three years ago based on internet reviews. It's been three years, so I don't think I could find them again, but the driving factor that made me get them wasn't so much whether the axle would break (stock 360, NP435, 33" tires, and a gentle right foot), but the damage resulting from a front axle u-joint failure, which is much more likely.

Stock axles and (according to the reviews I found 3-years ago) Superior axles were likely to be damaged in the event of a u-joint failure. Now even if the axle didn't actually break, if the yokes were buggered up (technical term) then you might not be able to reassemble the axle and drive out. At the time I bought axles, the Warn axles seemed to have a reputation for always coming through without damage to the yokes.

After three years of not nearly as much wheeling as I wanted to do, I have never had a problem with the Warn axles. I go pretty easy on the throttle, and probably would have been fine stock. I did the upgrade for peace of mind, and it has given me that.

A little off topic, but related...The great D30 vs D44 debate!

I don't worry about breaking a front shaft on a D30. 90% of the time an open-knuckle front axle fails its the u-joint. (closed-knuckles like D25's and D27's are a different story.) Wrangler D30's and all of the aftermarket D30 shafts that I'm aware of, use the same u-joint as a D44. (CJ's used slightly smaller.) So you really don't gain any practical strength going to a 44 front end over just getting aftemarket shafts. You can get some of the super strong u-joints, but then the weak link becomes the axle/yoke instead of the u-joint. U-joints are cheaper and much easier to carry in your tool box. Mostly a D44 front end is just heavier and more likely to confuse everyone at FLAPS.

 

This is true but the 44 has a much stronger ring gear, pinion gear and carrier when compared to the 30.

I currently run a 1981 Dana 30 with the 4340 inners and outers, and the 44 size U-joints. I will run it until I maanage to break the ring and pinion. Then I will probalby upgrade to a 44 or larger.

I did manage to destroy the inner and outer 1541 passenger side shafts when the u-joint spit a cap and wallowed out the ears of both shafts. This happened on the trail and I was able to finish the day without actually breaking the shafts.

 

I am going to install high performance u-joints, and I want high performance shafts. I keep hearing good things about the Alloy USA brand. I may go that way if they do custom lengths.