Straight from the Crate - Bolt-on Crate Axles

Story & photos by Budd Stanley, additional photos courtesy of the manufacturers

Save time and frustration with bolt-on crate axles

It’s like knocking over a string of dominoes, once you’ve modified something on your rig to make it a more capable off-road, or give it a little more power, you will undoubtedly discover the next weakness. As you work your way through the whole vehicle, sooner or later you’ll arrive the axles.

Whether it’s reinforcing them to withstand harder hits, beefing up axle shafts to handle the heavy loads of power enhancers or bigger tires, or putting together a complete performance upgrade, there are three ways you can put higher performance axles under your Jeep Wrangler. You can build off the stock axles with lots of weld-on armour and bolt on parts, upgrade to a larger OEM axle that might match the performance specs and hardware you are looking for, or you can order a crate axle.

Crate axles might be a more expensive option, and even take a little bit of the romance out of setting every little parameter up on your own, but they also have a benefits as well. With the popularity of the JK Wrangler, there are a heap of bolt-in crate axles out there. These will save you some bloody knuckles and more importantly, give you more trail time by getting your rig up and running with axles that mean business. You will find that just about every crate axle manufacturer has a lot more than four or five part numbers. Available options on modern day crate axles are through the roof, with choices of lockers, gear ratio’s, full floating or semi floating axles, axle shaft material and spline count; the list is endless.

With that, we give you a small sampling of the crate axle options the Jeep Wrangler owner has on the market today:

TeraFlex Tera44

The Details: TeraFlex JK heavy-duty replacement axles are the perfect solution for bent, broken or damaged front axles in JK Wrangler and Rubicon vehicles. The Tera30 and Tera44 offer a direct bolt-in upgrade for Jeep JK owners looking to beef up the weak areas of their front axle. These axles have been engineered for extreme use and feature 3.250-in OD x .25-in wall DOM tubing for superior strength. Forged inner knuckles increase section strength to eliminate ball joint separation.

The replacement housing includes a heavy-duty housing, tubes, axle brackets, and forged inner knuckles. Pre-installed inner seals and upper control arm bushings make the upgrade seamless. Simply transfer your existing internal components, outer knuckle assembly, and brakes to the new housing.

What We Like: An excellent budget minded option for upgrading your axles. Axle shafts and other internals can be upgraded down the line

By the Numbers: JK Tera44: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $2,233.99 US - www.teraflex.com

TeraFlex Tera CRD60

The Details: The JK Tera CRD60 is built and assembled with specific components, brackets, and features to make the axle perfectly integrate with the JK Wrangler. This includes JK specific heavy duty bearing pockets designed for use of the factory JK rear brake system including backing plate, parking brake assembly, speed sensor, rotor and calipers. All brackets are CAD designed and CNC laser cut and formed, jig aligned and welded. Triple Stage UV powder coat protects the axle from rust and corrosion. Tera CRD60 rear axles are available in 5x5-in semi float, or 8x6.5-in full float. Full float axles can be ordered with the larger Dana Super 60 ring and pinion gear sets for extreme duty applications. Front JK Tera60 applications are also available.

What We Like: A cost efficient way to upgrade to a beefier armoured axle. Multiple mounting locations for OEM suspension arms allow this axle to be realigned when further modifications are made to your JK.

By the Numbers: JK CRD60: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $3,630.99 US - www.teraflex.com

Currie RockJock 60

The Details: The RockJock III high pinion axle assemblies for the 2007 and up Jeep JK feature heavy-duty suspension brackets with multiple mounting holes for control arms, shocks and track bar. The axles are fabricated with a 65-45-12 ductile iron housing centre, and AR400 heat-treated bottom skid plate. Two 3-in x .375-in wall DOM steel tubes, heavy duty steel diff cover, and billet steel full floating housing ends that allow for all of the factory JK disc brake hardware and ABS and ESP sensors to bolt back on. Full floating 4340 chromoly, 35 spline axle shafts connect to your choice of six lockers and ten gear ratio’s.

What We Like: High pinion and tilted pumpkin that places the strongest part of the axle in the danger zone and moves the weak parts up out of the way.

By the Numbers: RockJock60: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $5,549.95 US Front; $2,180.00 US Rear - www.currieenterprises.com

Dynatrac Trail Series 60

The Details: The Dynatrac Trail Series 60 provides features big 1-1/2-in, 35-spline, 1-ton semi-float axle shafts stuffed inside of 3-1/8-in diameter, 5/16-wall axle tubes. The axle also makes use of Dual-sump/High-Volume, High-pinion Angle Oil Mod and will make use of several OEM JK components to keep costs down.

What We Like: Obvious strength and performance abilities aside, the Dynatrac family is a large one, allowing JK owners to upgrade to several different axle options, be it ProRock 80’s, ProRock IFS/IRS or even ProRock Portal.

By the Numbers: Trail Series 60: Rear Applications - Starting Price: $4,084.99 US Rear - www.dynatrac.com

Dana/Spicer Ultimate 60

The Details: The Ultimate Dana 60 starts with a 3.5-in tube diameter, .390-in wall thickness axle tubes mated to a high clearance and ribbed carrier. Spicer 35-spline 4340 nickel chromoly steel axle shafts are connected to selectable electronic locker and SPL-70 u-joints for added strength. Features also include Warn hub locks, heavy-duty brakes with plug and play ABS as well as mounts ready for OEM suspension arms for an easy bolt-in package.

What We Like: Dana paid particular attention to not building only an incredible amount of strength into the axles, but also upgrading brakes. Of course, there is a whole family of Dana products to graduate into once you’ve out grown your current setup, from Dana 30 all the way to 80.

By the Numbers: Trail Series 60: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $4,084.99 US Rear - www.crateaxle.com

Mopar D60

The Details: Front and rear Dana 60 axles come equipped with electric lockers, standard one-ton truck disc brakes with dual-piston calipers, 1550 size u-joints, 35 spline chromoly axles, Warn locking hubs and heavy-duty mounting brackets. Axle tubes are 3.5-in in diameter with .390-in wall thickness. Both axles are offered in 4.88 or 5.38 gearing and are engineered to work in lockstep with production steering and braking systems.

What We Like: It is nice to know when it comes time to do some drastic upgrades to your 4WD; the company that built that vehicle has you covered. Axles available from your local Jeep dealership.

By the Numbers:

Dana 60: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $4,000.00 US Front; $7,000.00 US Rear - www.mopar.com

Torq Super14

The Details: The Torq Motorsports crate axle line is designed to work with either the Super-14 or Torq-14 differential case. Axles are built around a CNC cut and formed fabricated axle housing in 3.5-in, and now 4-in axle tube options; the housings are manufactured from your choice of steel or chrome alloy material. MIG and TIG welded housings are also available as options with MIG welding being the standard. The front Torq JK axle is currently the biggest bolt-in front axle available for the JK. This gives JK Wrangler owners the ability to bolt-in a serious Hammers proven race axle platform with fairly limited overall vehicle modification. 40 Spline axle shaft and locker packages are available as well as a brake options of up to 16-in.

What We Like: The sheer amount of tunable options available from the factory. Seven different gear ratios, five different lockers, four different shaft and hub packages and two different brake packages; you can design the perfect bolt-in application for your driving and terrain requirements.

By the Numbers:

JK Torq-14: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $9,395.95 USD Front, $6,495.95 USD Rear - www.torqaxle.com

G2 Axle & Gear CORE 44

The Details: Built for the 2007+ Jeep JK, the CORE 44 housings are engineered to be a direct replacement for the stock Dana 30 or Dana 44, and will accept stock Dana 44 ring and pinions, stock Dana 44 axle shafts, and aftermarket lockers. They include heavy duty forged inner C ends and 3-in x .250-in thick wall tubing. All brackets are designed around stock mounting points, and are laser cut and CNC formed from 3/8-in steel for added strength. They have also gusseted and reinforced any weak points to prevent damage to the brackets.

What We Like: The CORE 44 is another axle kit that offers a ton of options; from five different lockers to four different drive ratios. G2’s G-Lock adjustable spanner nut allows for easier backlash and preload setting. They also look damn good for a reasonable price.

By the Numbers:

Core 44: Front and Rear Applications - Starting Price: $4,299.99 USD Front; $3,699.99 USD Rear - www.g2axle.com