gears or hunt for a dana

[05dakotatrac]

well i had access to dana 44's front and rear from a 76 waggy. well that deal fell through so I'm back on the hunt for now a dana 30 ease of 5X4.5 bolt pattern and comparable width and easier to find. i also have gears for the factory 35 and 8.8 in 4.56.

so my issue is if i re-gear, body lift, and roll on 33's and and do god only knows what to beef up the IFS (uniball upper joints, timken hubs, premium moog bottom ball joints, and figure out something for the piss poor CV axles)

or

roll into the headache of finding an axle and fabbing the mounts debate between linked (3 or 4), radius armed, or leafed. and then building the 30 to take the heat of up to 35" tires so chromoly, warn hubs, gears

honestly i know that either route has its downfalls. with the stock setup i keep the larger brakes, and all the parts are matching to one truck. the solid axle is more durable but the headache of custom almost everything and smaller brakes might be a fearful issue if anything goes bad and with all racked steering setups like tracs, 2nd gens, and newer models is customizing first and 2nd/trac racks to match.

i personally dont rock crawl or go hard core in my truck its mainly a DD and the occasional logger trails to the small ponds and lakes in the hills nothing my stock IFS wont take.just tired of the constant wear and tear items failing.

 

[Rick]

You might as well build for the larger tires the first time, since you know you'll soon want them on there

I know that's how I am... When I built my truck I never thought I would want anything bigger than 33s. I'm on 36s now and would love 38s, but I don't want to over tax the Dana 44.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I agree with Rick, think about the long term goal of your rig. Do you want to be able to handle harder trails, have a stronger frontend that will last more then a year of wheelin'/ DD use?

I've been wanting to do a SAS for six years now and kept procrastinating about the cost/ trucks downtime and custom fab work needed to be done. I wish I had just done it years ago. I would've spent a chunk of change all at once to build a capable trail rig but I would've had a capable trail rig, instead I am rolling on 33's low and long with barely enough clearance to really get over some of the terrain we have here in Western Pa.. Replacing parts all the time.

Check out Stang5ltGT (sorry if I spelled it wrong) builds, he usually uses Dana 35's and either links them or uses radius arms. His rigs are more than capable and run 35's.

 

[2TimingTom]

I have 4.56 gears with 33s BUT I don't DD it. It's a pretty decent combo- ground clearance could be better. Rarely have I encountered stuff that I couldn't do- with the correct line, a good spotter and a little skinny pedal.... I have yet to be pulled or winched out. Sometimes it takes a couple tries but I get through.

Other than the lower ball joints that had 120k miles on them, I haven't replaced anything else up front and it's all good and tight. And I probably see more rock crawling than you do from the sound of it. How fast are you doing these logging trails?

IMO you gotta crawl before you walk. What fun would trails be if you had GIANT tires that you barely had to slow down for obstacles, let alone get out and think your line through? Sure there are some things that slow down rigs with big tires, but those are usually pretty gnarly and the price of screwing up those is usually pretty big. Here in CO, 33s are enough tire for a majority of the trails. And IFS, while not ideal, is still pretty good for most of what I've done out here (and I've done a bunch of trails out here). A rear locker is what I want next- and maybe some coilovers in the front.

But if you want to go big and go SAS then do it. stang5lgt builds some amazing stuff. He's only about 6.5 hours south of you. I bet you could get someone from the AFB you're at to take a couple road trips with you (one down to drop off the truck and another to pick it up a week or 2 later)..... it is ski season after all and the snow is already pretty good.

 

[05dakotatrac]

yeh honestly i keep dreaming of a sas'd trac but im debating between 44 and 30 since 30 saves butt pain with rims, and width issues. but the 44 is durable enough to toss under it and never worry. so I'm unsure. with the fact im a DD i think 30 is enough but if i make more money get a bigger "tow rig" and redirect the trac as a trail rig i might be craving the 44. GRRRRRR!!!!!!! if i knew of a way i can get the 30 as durable and running like a top i would not worry and go 30 but when i do off road i hit the logger trails at a max of 25-30 MPH and slow for dips and ruts i never take air. so i think a 30 would work im not out to break my truck or go over boulders the size of VW's im more into mudding not crawling and even though i go faster then some on trails i do read the trails and slow down when needed.

 

[jprentice94]

Are you going to want to rip it back. Apart when the 30 os not enough

 

[shooterdude199]

a dana 30 you can find in a junk yard any day of the week around here a 44 on the other hand, you're gonna have to make some phone calls, know some people, and do some things you wont be proud of to get one.

I would already go with a 44 if you were to sas though because you know it would support a 35" tire and handle whatever terrain you throw at it without having to dump any money into the internals (chromo shafts and etc.). for the money you're spending on a beefed up yet still not all that strong dana 30 or have an already stronger dana 44 under your truck.

if you're asking us whether to make the decision to go sas or not, the majority will tell you to go sas. i'm still IFS and have pondered on the idea of going sas. but i have already dumped so much money in ifs (king coilovers, shock hoops, boxed arms) there is no reason for me to reverse the process. you can make your ifs strong, just remember anything can break. a friend of mine broke a dana 60 shaft (which of course we all thought were unbreakable). imagine the money you would have to spend on a new shaft compared to a cv axle or a tie rod.

in the case of sas, i think you really have to pay to play. obviously this is opinionated and i'm sure it can open up some discussion, but i think if you were wanting to spend the money on an sas, you should probably go with a 44.

 

[jprentice94]

Se up here its very hard to get your hand on an early coiled ford and the radius arms so i got one out of a f250 which is cool because it is 8 lug but these are leafs and fairly easy to find

 

[OffTrac]

Just regear and ride 33s. It's easy, cheaper and parts are readily available and easy to swap. You'd have to change a lot of CVs to make a SAS make financial sense for the way you use the truck. Don't let the "badass-ness" of a SAS force you into a poor financial decision if you don't really need the SAS. The way you describe your use, I don't believe you need it. In fact, I might suggest you go with 35s on it and lock the rear. That'd be irresponsible of me though, wouldn't it. :d

 

[05dakotatrac]

well hugh you're one of the reasons i went add-a-leaf over shackles and i have always liked your trac and jerry's too, chads i beautiful but i feel a little overwhelmed with the process of SAS'ing my rig. forestry dept. roads and logger roads are not rock crawling by any means and like my avatar the most mud i see is farmingdale not pits with mud and water but just thick puddles. i figure a body lift and 315/75R16 is just under the 35" mark and would be more than i would need for my truck and my habits. but i have already replaced quite a bit on this front end and it gets old quick

 

[MidnightRebel07]

With 315's you'll need wider wheels, just a heads up. It's ultimately up to you which way you decide to go.

 

[shooterdude199]

I agree with Hugh aka mr logic xD

 

[05dakotatrac]

given my "mall crawl" status i think IFS with the gears i have is best bet. on jegs i can get the 883 BL and the master install kits for the gears for 320 USD. so i think that should do it then burn my current tires out till i can upgrade rims and tires to 315s

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Sounds like a good plan. The body lift kit you'll need is part# PA 70023, $274 from Summit Racing, not the 883. Just a heads up.

 

[2TimingTom]

IMO, IFS isn't nearly as bad as most people make it out to be. Sure it has its downfalls, but no trail rig is perfect. And when you're talking about a dual purpose rig..... compromises have to be made somewhere.

I wheel with guys with solid axles front and back and they are also locked front and back. They will go through a section of trail with no issues at all- they can more or less fall asleep at the wheel and get through that section. While I might need to stop and assess the trail and choose a smart line. In the end, who has more fun? I'm going to bet it's me.

And I probably see way more miles of trail and those miles are more difficult than what a lot of people on here see. Could be wrong though.

 

[05dakotatrac]

i know the complete bolt on kit for the trac is the 70023 from PA but the issue is cost 250 is the lowest price i have seen for the 70023 but i can get the 883 which the only parts list difference being the bumper brackets and the radiator supports are 2" diameter on the 70023 vs. the 3" diameter on the 883 i plan to cut the "grille" section out any way and fab cheerokee bumpers to mate up on the front. i like the smittybilt XRC XJ bumpers and the widths of the XJ bumpers are almost dead on match to the trac.

 

[OffTrac]

i like the smittybilt XRC XJ bumpers and the widths of the XJ bumpers are almost dead on match to the trac.

I've had my eye on the OR-Fab HD bumper for the XJ to keep the winch tucked. I'm just afraid to get it and it not fit or look like I want. If I get anything at all done to the truck next year it will be bumper/winch. Go ahead and get it so I can know how well it fits.

 

[05dakotatrac]

Yeh Hugh glad I can save you money and pain if they don't fit