Herm Full Floater Kit - Yay Or Nay?

he sells both 19 and 30 spline.

 

I'm surprised I did not see the number one reason for a full float. When you break a tapered 44 or 20 in the dead center of the Rubicon, your tire falls off, takes the brakes with it, and you are in the middle of the trail, and are done moving. There is no one to call, as there is no cell service. You will need a spare axle, with the bearing already pressed on, brake parts, tools, and a way to get the broken stub out. sometimes this involves pulling the other side, in the middle of the trail, because you are not being towed anywhere. This is all easily avoidable with a full float. and the fact that the shaft is now not holding the weight of the jeep, only supplying rotational force, and with 2 bearings instead of 1 to spread the load out, and serviceability of the bearings (not needing a puller), and brakes, makes it the reason jeepers have been converting for decades.

 

yeah, you braek your lockou/drive flange instead of the whole shaft, and can still get out of there. (if you have a locker)

 

That’s right.
Herm’s are both 19 and 30 but they are both reduced down to 27 spline outlers.
That means it’s reduced to a meager 1.1625.
So you don’t really get full advantage of a 1.285 diameter flanged shaft.
In fact your tapered shaft at 1.250 is thicker than the 27 spline outer ends.
So why even bother buying the 30 spline inners if it’s reduced down so much .
The only reason to go 30 spline inners is really for differential selection and has nothing to do with strength.

 

Right. The 30 spline inners make things like ARB or OX lockers or similar available easily. Thats it pretty much.

I think the answer to this is to try and fit larger OD spindles to allow a larger ID and keep the OD of the axle shaft larger. So Ford, Chevy, Dodge or other spindles? Then what hubs to fit the stock Jeep lug pattern?

I would love to build one if I had the time and someone else supplied the part numbers.

 

They are doing it....a long read but worth it towards the end.

Sanity Check, D44 Full Floater

 

I haven't tried this myself yet, but if you don't mind internal hubs, this combo of off-the-shelf parts should work: Internal hub conversion

Chevy spindles with Ford hubs. You can get 30 spline outers and locking hubs for this setup. You can also get 30 spline pills. I'm assuming you could machine the Chevy spindles to work on a Jeep 44 rear. The only real downside is that the hubs stick out pretty far and won't look great with narrow tires.

 

I have done this set up, is commonly used for fronts, and the spindle will fit up to 19 spline. So it does not appear to help those that want 30 splines.

 

That as a long read, but nothing compared to the effort those guys took to make spindles. I like the weirdness and custom aspect of these ideas, but i much rather have less machining and off the shelf stuff with minimal custom aspects.

To go though all that effort for a tapered D44, why not jus make a custom ford 9" or another axle that's more beefy to begin with? The later D44 axle tubs are larger etc.. or even toyota stuff?

 

Ahh, that's good info. I was under the impression 30 spline outers would fit but haven't found info one way or the other.

 

They cover that somewhere int he 17 pages of that thread https://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/sanity-check-d44-full-floater_topic46710_page1.html

 

Roxor rear axles are wider between the springs like a 76+

The front axle is what I figure people will drool over

 

30 spline outers.. Who makes drive pucks or pates or locking hubs?

 

Ruffstuff
Yukon hardcore drive flange kit for Dana 44, 30 spline outer stubs. Non-engraved caps.

 

$300 for a flange, woof

 

Man, it's sooo close. 1.31" dia for a 30 spline shaft and the Chevy small bearing spindle ID ia 1.30" : Dana Spicer 706528X SPINDLE SMALL Bearing style fits 1973 to 1976-1/2 Chevy 1/2 ton K5, K10, Suburban and GMC 1/2 ton Jimmy, K15 with DANA 44 Front axle

I wonder how hard it would be to hone it out 30-40 thou?

 

Warn Premium Locking Hubs 30-Spline Outer for use with Dana 44

 

OK you made me go out and look. I have 30 spline front inners and small bearing spindles sitting on the bench to go in my front soon. The shaft at the spline (1.28") actually does fit in the spindle (1.29"), but very close, and there is a step up in diameter after the seal surface to 1.34", so it stops there. I think you could take .010 out of the spindle no problem. Then when you have Moser cut your custom shafts, have them keep it at 1.28" the entire length. I ran M30 spindles bored out .010" with 19 spline 1-piece floater axles for 15 years through the Rubicon with no issue. 33 inch tires though.

 

A flanged FF D44 has been on my wishlist for well over 2 years. I have a few parts saved for this but need the spindles machined, axle shafts, and seals.

 

Definitely the way to go. This is the 19 spline one coming out of my build. If you don't want to flat tow, there is less stuff to break, and a narrower stick out.