05/11/2018
Teraflex Full Float Upgrade
Want to run 37” or 40” tyres on a set of D44 axles reliably? Well here is the answer you are looking for. The Teraflex full float conversion.
The problem with larger tyres on a set of D44 axle come down to five main problem arears. There are a few others such as Ball Joints and steering linkage upgrades that ill go over under the upcoming steering upgrade post.
On the front axle it’s the wheel bearing play allowing the wheel to move in and out on the axle. The bending of the tube and C sections of the axle.
On the rear it’s the bearing assembly and fl**ge. The wheel bearing retaining ring moves allowing for float on the bearing. We all know lose bearings are a failure waiting to happen. The fl**ge bends leading to vibrations and brake squeaks.
Running 37” or larger tyres? Jack the one side of your jeeps rear axle and see if the wheel will move in and out of the axle even a small amount. If it does its time too look at this option! (insure your Jeep is on flat ground and safe to jack one wheel off the ground before you do this check. If you not confident on doing this check swing past the shop and ill help you check this.)
What this conversion will do is take the D44 axles and convert them in to a full float setup!
Why would you want to do this setup?
Lets start with the rear axle, the single wheel bearing is replaced by a hub which has two bearing set between a lock nut that places the correct amount of preload eliminating any float on the wheel and tyre. Keeping your Jeeps rear end rock solid on the road at hi speed. Taking all the side loads off road places on the hub that moves the retaining ring. Keeping the wheel and tyre where they meant to be. The new hub has the wheel fl**ge and not the side shaft as with the normal setup. This takes care of the fl**ge bending we see so often on factory, as well as aftermarket side shafts replacements including cromoly units. The separate side shaft now becomes a full floating unit and no longer carries any side stresses related to the bending of the fl**ge. The side shaft only takes care of the drive and carries no loads as in the standard setup which must deals with both.
The front axle is somewhat more complex when it comes to an upgrade. The reason for this is the axle tube and C section must be addressed as a separate upgrade, however the two go hand in hand and this is how and why. First off, the Teraflex full floating setup on the front axle takes care of the wheel bearing problems. How this is done is in much the same way as the rear with two bearings. The factory front wheel bearing is made up of two bearing but in one unit placed close together with on side preload. Meaning they work themselves apart allowing play on the wheel hub. The replacement unit uses a bolt in spindle that allows for the bearings to be placed further apart with preload. This take a much higher load preventing the wheel hub assembly from having any play that can hamper handling as well as be a contributing factor to “death wobble”. Been a full floating setup the means the side shaft is not permanently connected to the wheel. The advantages to this are while driving on paved roads you have the ability to disconnect the hubs from the drive train. This will lower fuel usage by the drive shaft, side shafts and centre carrier not rotating lowering drag. This will prolong the front drive shaft. Lower maintenance on after market drive shafts. JK Wranglers with play on the out put shaft of the transfer case that causes vibration at high speed can now run after market drive shafts with out vibrations. The second part to upgrading the axle are the tubes and C’s. This is done by using a proven inner tube and C gusset design. We will cover this product in greater depth in an upcoming product review. It is showing here in the pictures. In short this will improve the strength of the axle tubes and C’s of your D44 axle. Making the combination of the two an outstanding setup. There are options of upgraded D44 housings that can be used that are stronger than a factory housing. This is a much more expensive option. If the budget allows for it one of the three option are a good choice Teraflex, Dynatrac or the G2 housings. All 3 have been used in SA.
One important point over look is the braking power. Some will argue that the brakes on a JK are fine with larger tyres. This is true for most under slow undemanding driving conditions. However, have a heavy trailer behind your JK on a long downhill, or even a loaded JK and the fade will set in! It’s just the facts of engineering at play that can’t be argued with. Larger tyres equal higher leverage on the brake pad. This in turn needs a higher conversion rate of friction to heat to have the same stopping power as before the larger tyres. On the Teraflex Full Floating upgrade kit the front and rear rotors are increased in size. By doing this the leverage is moved out lowering the conversion rate needed for the stopping power, meaning it takes longer for fade to set in. This product comes with the Teraflex big brake upgrade as part of the kit!
The kit also changes the bolt pattern from 5 to 8 hole. This means you have a stronger wheel design to carry the extra weight of the wheel and tyre combo! If you had to upgrade to a set of D60s you will have the same setup. What is awesome about this kit is it comes with a set of 5 bead lock rims. Yes you read that correct.
So this is the answer to running 37”to 40” tyres on your D44 axles with confidence!
The cost of this conversion is R78000.00 including vat. Excluding fitment. Excluding Innertube or rear truss as some Jeeps have these upgrades done already, so each Jeep needs to be looked at for final quoting.
This cost includes the:
Full Floating Kit
Big Brake Upgrade
5 Dirty Life Bead Lock Wheels
The value of the upgrade is out standing if you take the cost of the following from other products available as upgrade and repair parts.
Brake upgrades +- R12000 to R30000
Rear Cromoly side shafts +- R11000 to R19000
Bead Lock wheels +- R18000
New wheel front wheel bearing R8000
New U joints R2300
Feel free to ask any questions about this are other setups you have in mind.
Photos are in the album.
