1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ - Project Teal-J II, Part 6

Next, the new Superior 44 was slid into position under the Teal-J.

With the Superior 44 slung underneath the Jeep, it was a simple matter of bolting the control arms to the new axle.

Along with the controls arms, the springs and shocks from our Fabtech suspension system were put back into position. The track bar was also bolted back up to finish off the axle install.

The Superior 44 uses the stock spindle from the Dana 30, next to go into place. We decided to upgrade to the Evolution Series Super Alloy front axleshafts from Superior to gain even more strength. These shafts feature dual heat-treating for strength, along with rolled splines. They also do not neck down like the stock units do, and are said to be 35 percent stronger than stock.

Another nice feature of the Evolution Series Super Alloy shafts is that they are machined to accept full circle clips that do a much better job of retaining the U-joint. Stock clips can walk out of position under pressure, causing the U-joint to wobble and then break, usually taking part of the shaft with it. We also used the 5-760X U-joint, which is the replacement for the 297X.

To finish off the axle, it is a simple matter of taking the brakes, rotors, and hubs off of your Dana 30 and putting them on the Superior Dana 44. With that done, your new front axle is complete.

If your original driveshaft comes equipped with a front CV at the axle, it must be replaced with a normal U-joint style, which is a good idea anyway, since it is a much stronger setup. Superior provides the yoke with the axle, and luckily, the folks at Coast Driveline and Gear also build high-quality driveshafts. They built this nice new front unit with a CV joint at the transfer case and a slipshaft with plenty of travel, along with 1310 U-joints.

Coast's technicians then turned their driveshaft expertise onto our rear driveshaft. It was thrashed and required three new 1310 U-joints, along with a new CV ball cage.