suicideking
New member
Unlike the factory front Dana 44 which is a Dana 44 in name only thanks to the differential (tubes and end forgings are the same as a Dana 30), the factory rear Dana 44 is a pretty tough axle with 3" tubes. It'll take the rocks just fine and so long as you keep your gear ratio to 5.13, will handle that as well. If you have a Sport 44, all the better as you can get upgrade it with 35 spline shafts. Where you will start to see problems with bending is with coil overs as they will allow you to drive so much faster. And, speed will break more stuff on your Jeep than rocks any day of the week. Having said that, between the two, your rear will go first. The PR44 is built to be better and stronger than a true Dana 44.
I don't currently plan on getting coil overs. Maybe eventually, but they're not even on the list yet. Plus, I figure if I did get them, it would be after both front and rear axles are replaced.
Thanks for the good info as always!