OK, so I have been toying with a front axle upgrade, and swinging on what I want. I had came to the conclusion that a Ruby 44 front, would be the best....WRONG!! I just saw a guy grenade the DS axle u-joint on Saturday on a very mild looking stick. He was high centered, and was kinda trying to get a bite and get off of the rock he was on. I suggested a strap from the back, but he was not having it, and BANG!! So now, when I do this swap, I'll be going with a true D44, and not the Ruby version with the D30 outters. At that point, it will be worth the extra work of narrowing it, to have the peace of mind knowing that I have a real D44 under the front of my rig.

The biggest problem with the Rubi axle is the cracked nut behind the steering wheel. More often that not the Rubi-carnage is caused by driver error and not the hardware.

"Hey, it's a Rubicon and it go anywhere!"

Yes the tubes are smaller than a true D44, but adding a truss fixes that, and it's a lot less expensive than narrowing a full width axle.

Ask me how I know.

I really couldn't believe how easy it broke!! BTW, the guy behind the wheel, wasn't all that, IMHO, and it was a stick shift!! He was trying to guide me up some things, and I just went the way I liked. His lines were, UHM, not so nice!! It was just a guy on the trail, IDK who he was, and I don't need to know, honestly!!

yeah in my opinion the rubi d44 is a beefed up d30......not a true d44 at all!!!! seen em snap with 31's. i have run 40's on my fw hpd44 and didnt break. now have 37's and still no breaky