Given the choice between D44's and D60's, both sitting there at hand, I would use the D60's also, but maybe that's just me. I know how I drive and how I like to drive. I currently have two Jeeps with radically different build states. The '68 CJ-5 has a D44 rear with tapered, 2-piece axles and a Lock-Rite, and D27's in the front with open diffs. The Buick V-6 makes a great deal of torque for so light a vehicle, and on difficult trails, this car has to be driven carefully to avoid breakage. It will still get me there and back, and will cover some tough terrain, but nevertheless it has to be driven with vehicle limits in mind. I have to alter my acquired driving style to protect both myself and my vehicle in difficult terrain. Most of the time I don't mind. There are times when I would like to drive harder, but can't due to vehicle limits.
The CJ-7 on the other hand has Currie Ford 9's, 31 spline axles, ARB's and so on, one-ton drive shafts, and a '91 Mustang 5.0L HO with aluminum top end, JBA headers, and a long list of other refinements. It, too, makes a great deal of torque, but is built such that I can, when I want to, beat on it without fear of instant breakage. It was built for that purpose. Is it overbuilt for expo. Sure, but what of it. That's not all it does.
Both cars will go similar places. How I get there and the amount of fun I want to have getting there differs between the two. If I had only one car and needed it to do whatever I wanted it to do, mild to wild, I would build toward the higher standard mostly because I don't like fixing things on the trail, and I know how I like to drive.
I find nothing wrong with choosing to build to a higher standard of break resistance for expo use or any other. Whether it is necessary to do so depends on personal perspective. Here, we are talking about an experienced driver who knows his own style and has many years behind the wheel on which to base his judgments of himself and his needs in a vehicle. None of us need to second guess those needs or the decision making process behind the choices made.
Personally, I have never believed that the D44 is a heavy duty axle. Even Dana Corp does not think so. The D44 is a light to medium duty axle assembly depending on which parts go into it. It can, with sufficient money, be beefed up, but will never achieve the strength of the D60, and there is just no way to compare any D44 with a purpose built D60. Are they overkill in an expo vehicle? If you drive forest roads exclusively, always drive with conservative groups, do the camping thing exclusively, never overload, and never challenge your vehicle, perhaps they would be overkill. But Moab and similar trails are not exactly expo territory. Such trails lean toward hard core off-roading. They can be done with a stock vehicle, but the challenge is entirely different. Since the builder intends to do BOTH expo and hard trails, I fully understand the desire to use the heavier axles. I would, too. The fact that I could get a stock vehicle over Moab is neither here nor there. What I can do and what I want to regularly do might be different things.
But start with the very first post if you will. It was stated up front that the D60's were already on hand, and that their investment cost could not be recovered if sold. If you have never bought or sold custom axles, it might not be apparent, but such axles cost $4k give or take, but if sold used, will only get you $1K or perhaps $2K in return. Who would want to sell a pair of axles for $2K that originally cost $8K, and then turn around and spend a few thousand more to make the D44's do the job at hand. Arguments about overbuilding aside, I would see the choice as one of protecting an investment if nothing else.
The CJ-7 on the other hand has Currie Ford 9's, 31 spline axles, ARB's and so on, one-ton drive shafts, and a '91 Mustang 5.0L HO with aluminum top end, JBA headers, and a long list of other refinements. It, too, makes a great deal of torque, but is built such that I can, when I want to, beat on it without fear of instant breakage. It was built for that purpose. Is it overbuilt for expo. Sure, but what of it. That's not all it does.
Both cars will go similar places. How I get there and the amount of fun I want to have getting there differs between the two. If I had only one car and needed it to do whatever I wanted it to do, mild to wild, I would build toward the higher standard mostly because I don't like fixing things on the trail, and I know how I like to drive.
I find nothing wrong with choosing to build to a higher standard of break resistance for expo use or any other. Whether it is necessary to do so depends on personal perspective. Here, we are talking about an experienced driver who knows his own style and has many years behind the wheel on which to base his judgments of himself and his needs in a vehicle. None of us need to second guess those needs or the decision making process behind the choices made.
Personally, I have never believed that the D44 is a heavy duty axle. Even Dana Corp does not think so. The D44 is a light to medium duty axle assembly depending on which parts go into it. It can, with sufficient money, be beefed up, but will never achieve the strength of the D60, and there is just no way to compare any D44 with a purpose built D60. Are they overkill in an expo vehicle? If you drive forest roads exclusively, always drive with conservative groups, do the camping thing exclusively, never overload, and never challenge your vehicle, perhaps they would be overkill. But Moab and similar trails are not exactly expo territory. Such trails lean toward hard core off-roading. They can be done with a stock vehicle, but the challenge is entirely different. Since the builder intends to do BOTH expo and hard trails, I fully understand the desire to use the heavier axles. I would, too. The fact that I could get a stock vehicle over Moab is neither here nor there. What I can do and what I want to regularly do might be different things.
But start with the very first post if you will. It was stated up front that the D60's were already on hand, and that their investment cost could not be recovered if sold. If you have never bought or sold custom axles, it might not be apparent, but such axles cost $4k give or take, but if sold used, will only get you $1K or perhaps $2K in return. Who would want to sell a pair of axles for $2K that originally cost $8K, and then turn around and spend a few thousand more to make the D44's do the job at hand. Arguments about overbuilding aside, I would see the choice as one of protecting an investment if nothing else.
