We completed a feature you'll be seeing soon in the magazine about installing new Rubicon Dana 44 JK front and rearends in a YJ Wrangler. The swap was straightforward, but we didn’t talk about what you need to do to make the frontend strong enough for backcountry use.
Once the Rubicon frontends hit the dirt, some problems became evident. The inner knuckle Cs need to be gusseted, as they might bend under hard use. There have been cases of the axle tube bending or actually breaking apart. DOM tubing pressed into both long and short tubes cures this problem and strengthens the frontend tremendously. Hardened axles are available from Alloy USA now and are coming (we hear) from other companies. These would be a smart investment, too. Gussets, tubing, and hardened axles – not much is required to make the inexpensive JK Rubicon Dana 44 frontend become as strong as it should be when used off-road.