afew questions about sas vs dana 35

[midnite runner]

ok so im gettin sick of my dana 28 and my 7.5, so my questin is which is better i can weld and do fab work so thats not a problem. i have the option of a fw d44 and a 9inch, but i want to know the pros and cons of full width? its my daily driver/beater. thanks j

 

[509lifted]

well the difference between a 44 and 35 is very marginal but to each his own i myself if i had a choice would go with a 35 cause i wanna build a ttb lifted rig. now for the 9 inch i havent heard to much good about them i keep hearing to not use a 9 inch so i cant really help u on that but i heard its cause of the pinion but not sure. also do a search cause there are alot of threads on here pertaining to this.

 

[4.0B2]

my thread was about d35 vs d30 sas, but... still some good info for d35 tech brought up here.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74418

 

[Hagan]

The cons of a full width is getting pulled over for your tires sticking out to far...happened to me today actually.

I wouldn't SAS your daily driver...

 

[midnite runner]

anyone else?

 

[birddog321]

Full width looks badass but on the trails I think you will not be able to go places you could with something similar to what you have now. I would go with a D35 since it's a direct swap. And it's basically the same as a D44. Do the D35 and swap in some D44 knuckles and a 8.8 from an Explorer and you got a full size setup with RBV manuverability.

 

[Shran]

well the difference between a 44 and 35 is very marginal but to each his own i myself if i had a choice would go with a 35 cause i wanna build a ttb lifted rig. now for the 9 inch i havent heard to much good about them i keep hearing to not use a 9 inch so i cant really help u on that but i heard its cause of the pinion but not sure. also do a search cause there are alot of threads on here pertaining to this.

The difference is that the D44 has a LOT of aftermarket support, IE hardened shafts, lockers, hubs, etc and the D35 has close to zero. The D35 is also physically huge because of all the TTB parts.

The Ford 9" is THE single best Ford factory axle to swap in. It's small, lightweight, bulletproof, has excellent aftermarket support, and is cheap. Anyone who will argue otherwise has no idea what they're talking about.

Full width looks badass but on the trails I think you will not be able to go places you could with something similar to what you have now. I would go with a D35 since it's a direct swap. And it's basically the same as a D44. Do the D35 and swap in some D44 knuckles and a 8.8 from an Explorer and you got a full size setup with RBV manuverability.

The D35 is great but it depends what you use it for. TTB stuff just has so many pieces that get hung up on rocks, tree roots, ruts etc where a solid axle would just slide through or over. As I said above, it also has very little aftermarket support...so if you spend a bunch of money buying the axle, gears, locker, brake parts, etc and end up breaking it all the time...it's still a waste of time.

This has been covered so many times it makes my brain bleed.

D35 = great daily driver axle
D44 and larger = great wheeling rig axle(s)

Period!

 

[kryptonitecb]

I've argued before that a ttb can be good on the trails BUT sas is stronger. Some states you have to worry bout full width axles sticking out, know the laws of your state before you try to DD full width axles. Be prepared to spend alot on an sas, where as 35 ttb and 8.8 can be done on the cheap.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

 

[4.0B2]

an SAS will nickel and dime you to death.. you think about the major stuff, that small stuff you don't think about will kill you

 

[4x4junkie]

This has been covered so many times it makes my brain bleed.

Maybe so, though it would appear someone didn't pay much attention all those times.

You should go have a look at what is out there for the D35. The only thing really missing are affordable alloy axle shafts (RCVs are $1995. Ouch). It enjoys just as much support as the D44 you speak of when it comes to lockers and gear ratios. Plus you got the Warn Jeep hubs which though not directly marketed for the axle, do fit and are about as good of an upgrade anyone could ask for while keeping the stock lug pattern. You can greatly increase the strength of the stock shafts just by dropping in a set of Spicer 5-760X u-joints and modding the yokes for full-round snapring clips (putting you about halfway toward the equivalent of typical alloy shafts, for about 1/10th the cost).

My opinion is if you do find the true limits of the D35, you're usually better off skipping past the D44 entirely and going straight to something like a D60. It'll be money much better-spent when you start with a stronger-than-what-you-have-now axle from the beginning. Up until that point, I would say stick with the D35. It's performed rather well for me for quite a long time now.

 

[Shran]

It's truly just relative to what you actually wheel. I ran some trails open/open with a D28 and 7.5 on 33's and never broke a single thing, except my lift brackets and one radius arm got really mangled. I did the SAS and went to 35's and ran the same trails again and was destroying u-joints and shafts (although I was also under V8 power at this point.)

For a wheeling rig, the SAS is the only option that makes sense from a durability standpoint as well as ground clearance. A daily driver/weekend wheeler with a D35 is a great combo.