Upgrading our Dana44 axles to RCV Peformance’s Ultimate Dana44 CV Axle set on our 5.11 Tactical JKU

5.11 Tactical JEEP RCV PERFORMANCE AXLE UPGRADE by CASTLE FABRICATION
Don’t want to spend 9-15k on a full axle set? Neither did we! We’ll guide you through how we beefed up our front axle housings and made our Dana 44 axles twice as strong!
We went ahead and gusseted out our inner-C, added skid plates and welded in axle housing sleeves before we swapped out our stock U-Joint axles.
Work performed by Jon Roohk at Castle Fabrication - Castlefab.net
RCV PERFORMANCE part:
Ultimate Dana 44 CV Axle Set for Jeep JK Rubicon ('07 and up)
Part #: CVJ44-JK
$1,249.00
JK Sleeves and gussets can be found at EVOMFG.com

[@robertsmith103]

The sleeve went in nicely, looks like a nice straight axle. I’ve heard a lot of people freeze them first to help with this. Hopefully mine does the same! Nice video.

[@kickinitoutdoors5782]

Ty so much for this vid this process is so much easier than a 1 ton swap, will be making my order soon!

[@FixBreakRepeat]

That is so great to hear! Tell them Kate the Jeep sent you!

[@MrPsh-xs7ul]

@@FixBreakRepeat idk if you’ll get this message but I have a Toyota with half ton Chevy axles underneath it. Are RCV axles equivalent to 1 ton?

[@donmontalvo1]

"but my knees don't"

[@mwp597]

Good video but you left out some important information, I'm assuming you drained the axle lube out the axle before you started and you cleaned sediment from the axle housing on both side's before you drilled the holes and how did you de-bur holes before inserting the sleeves. That would have been good information to have. This was a how to video but you left out a lot of how too. Unless it wasn't a how too. Then good job.

[@chitun3275]

Superb.

[@spencercupit]

Awsome...

[@pacecoffman8856]

Did u clean the shavings out before installing the tube?

[@pauljordan756]

Great video and product... may be my next upgrade. How long did the step at 13:24 take in reality?

[@moejr14]

In the plug weld do you start in the middle and work your way out or the opposite

[@mwp597]

How did you de-bur the inside of the axle after drilling? I've de-burring tools before but never for holes that large.

[@danialphaomega]

@ 2:47 This method could damage your steering box internals causing leaks later down the road.

[@jakehartberger453]

Do rubicon lockers work with these after install?

[@greeneyes76lkn]

Inner axle seal oem ? Did you have to change it?

[@edzimdahl1158]

What year is that?my 98zj came with cv shafts and a 5.2, even after lifting, bigger tires, and beating it haven't had any problems,, yet,,,,

[@cavman250]

Once you do this... torque it to spec. Which is???

[@Crystal-jr7lp]

How did it hold up ?

[@nicholaskominski3746]

Twice as strong my ass. And big tires no worry lol. Are you driving down a gravel road?

[@jamesmoore1124]

Old video but are the sleeves the magnum 44 kit? I asked evo if rcv shafts would work with this sleeve and they said not if they are 35 splines.

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Not sure on that sorry, my sleeves weren’t EVO. Actually can’t remember who I got those from. I remember buying them from Revel Offroad with the gussets. Wasn’t too expensive.

[@OffRoadOverlandCamping]

Hi Ali, since you've done this upgrade, what have you noticed difference from the stock axles? How do you like the RCV joints?

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Honestly I’ve noticed no binding at full lock. Also I’ve noticed my own confidence is a lot higher that without them. That peace of mind knowing I’m 2xs stronger than stock allows me to focus on crawling on tougher trails than being worried about getting home. Now the rears on the other hand are a different story.

[@OffRoadOverlandCamping]

@@FixBreakRepeat Nice. I'm also replacing my tie rods, drag link and upgrading my ball joints to Dynatrac. I replaced my rear axle to G2 chromoly because I bend my stock one.

[@angelmvniz]

Do you have to regear when doing rcv’s?

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Not at all, it's like replacing your regular axles, they have no bearing on your gear ratio.

[@casey197930]

Holy stretch your brake lines batman..

[@dpoverland7273]

should have changed the ball joints too

[@gibson5056]

ARE THERE ADVANTAGES WITH THE DRILL/WELD IN SLEEVES VERSUS THE HAMMER-IN SLEEVES?

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Not that I’m aware of. All i know is that these aren’t going anywhere.

[@AndrewBrowner]

less chance of running into a situation where there was too must crud in the axle that didnt get cleaned out or the axle wasnt dead straight to start with and you hammer the sleeve in half way and it ends up stuck where it wont move either directions

[@AndrewBrowner]

imo just buy some 3/16" plate and make your own truss and gussets be 3x as strong as the sleeves at 1/3 the price

[@gibson5056]

Andrew Browner I’ve actually thought about that, these companies charge $150+ for truss kits and anyone can make them with a torch and time

[@AndrewBrowner]

@@gibson5056 cutting torch, angle grinder, plasma cutter, hole saw, recip saw, band saw, they even make steel blades for circ saws.. 100 ways to cut metal and make a unique truss to fit your build.. get a full sheet of steel for 160$ canadian enough to do both axles make two bumpers and enough left over for skid plates.. or pay 220$ plus shipping for a precut truss for one axle

[@jimlayhey1965]

do you need wheel alignment after this

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Jim Layey always a good idea to have things checked after you disassemble and reassemble you’re whole assembly.

[@edzimdahl1158]

Always do alignment after front-end work, unless you're of ability to do your own, I do my own

[@kenskens69]

Wear you guys did all that and still have OEM suspension

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Frankenstain 4x4 i can see how it looks that way. But we actually filmed this install and then did the suspension install afterwards.

[@kenskens69]

@@FixBreakRepeat ok

[@AndrewBrowner]

@@kenskens69 if you get creative you can fit 35s or even 37s on stock or really close to stock suspension and maintain factory like highway driving, at which point a reinforced axle and axle shafts are necessary, fitted 35s on my 05 LJ with just an angle grinder and wheel spacers, factory shafts lasted 3-4 years just broke yesterday

[@AndrewBrowner]

jeeps been tested upto 160kph with 35" mud terrains and drives like a boat

[@DanMcD80]

Have y'all made a set of these axles to work with the teraflex full float front locking hubs?

[@andrewkoroluk6863]

RCV makes the axles, not them

[@DanMcD80]

@@andrewkoroluk6863 really????? I would have never known RCV makes the RCV axles..... Is this something new?!?! Lol smdh

[@andrewkoroluk6863]

@@DanMcD80 then why did you ask....

[@franciscotavarez4138]

Not need tube seal ,,,,l tinking the garbaje and wather coming inside axle shafts ,,,,,tell me this

[@AndrewBrowner]

thats how it works on the factory unit, doesnt really effect anything until you goto fix something and get dirt onto the seal, theres a seal in side the housing near the ring and pinion that holds the oil in and dirt out, for 80$ theyre a nice addition to the jeep to make future mods less of a headache

[@supersportimpalass]

$15k for an aftermarket axle? You're smoking some good *ss weed!!! 😂

[@hoaquy9818]

Omg.

[@SandhillGuitar]

I would think 37s and a supercharger would break both dana 44s? if yes, this was a waste of money

[@FixBreakRepeat]

SandhillGuitar not at all. I’ve done major trails in Moab (including gatekeepers that had my massive jeep hopping up and slamming down ) and long washboard roads and even more recently, the John Bull trail. My axle setup has held up fantastically. Supercharger and all (mind that the RIPP system “only” adds about 100 more HP which helps make all that added weight and gear feel like stock again.

[@AndrewBrowner]

with trusses and aftermarket shafts and ring/pinions i dont see an issue with 37s on 44s, the ujoints are really the weak point up front and the rcvs fix that issue, supercharger is really beside the point its more about the traction the tires are getting and how roughly the driver treats them, clapping the clutch out at redline with factory shafts and aired down 37s on dry rock will break in a second, rcvs with a steady foot and automatic trans will last years

[@dwizl7213]

15k for a Dana 60? Who in the blue hell are you getting that quote from? You can get a King Pin 60/Full Float 80 combo for that and if you think that 30 spline CV shafts and gussets is a budget friendly solution comparable to a D60, overstatement to say the least. Even if you upgraded to 35 splines, gussets, Reid knuckles, trussed and sleeved, your ring & pinion is now the weak link. A busted axle shaft is an easier fix, especially on the Trail.

[@FixBreakRepeat]

dwizl7213 totally open to being spot checked but if you’re going to go through all that trouble you might as well start listing prices of 60 comparable axle sets.

[@lonredmon2496]

@@FixBreakRepeat I figured you meant the whole set of one tons. 15k is about right.

[@edzimdahl1158]

That's insane, just buy your parts,components, and do it yourself, many of these utube self proclaimed expert professionals also have shops and when throwing outs costs it's usually what it would cost for complete job, from the time dropped off till they give you back the keys saying pay now, done, and chuckle all the way to the bar or bank

[@whytebredd]

jesus, do you need more sponsors in your intro bro? cuz i think the only sponsor you left out is jesus.

[@apostolosthegreat]

that tattoo on his arm is actually a bible verse. "I am always in power with Christ". so Jesus sponsors him too :)

[@dannhu2391]

Maaf ya allah hamba liat ini.

[@FishingFlip]

15k on 1tons no way more like 3k or less buy the axles in pairs run normally 1.2k max include truss swap kits another $600/700 and rebuild kits and gears your looking around $3,000 or so for one tons not bashing good video just the price point you said was way off

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Rizon Gaming if (and I’m assuming they are) your numbers are right that’s a valid point. But I really was speaking to the name brand brand new complete options that can run into higher 10’s installed at a shop.

[@FixBreakRepeat]

Rizon Gaming sounds like a good video in itself.

[@JsGarage]

Start to finish building junk yard tons with selectable lockers costs more than 3K for a JK that’s for sure. It’s certainly cheaper than buying new tons though.

[@FishingFlip]

@@JsGarage unless your doing drive slugs tons have manual hubs why would you need to drop money on selectable locker's when you can full spool a front and either LSD rear or go with a locker still cheaper though

[@JsGarage]

FloGrown Customs I wouldn’t full spool a JK unless it was a full competitive vehicle. I also wouldn’t bother with an LSD on a Jeep 1 ton swap what’s the point? Even if you go full time lockers front and rear there’s a grand. I’d rather at minimum a selectable rear and full time front. So there is $1500. Gears with master kits are like $1000 ish for D60 and 14 bolt. Artec trusses $800-900. $800 for front unit bearing to convert SD Dana 60 to 8x6.5. However much for the axles themselves maybe $1000+. Diff covers, brakes and miscellaneous things to complete the job. It adds up quick but I certainly agree it’s a cheaper alternative to buying tons.