Roxor front axle info (for CJ5 swap)

[T.M.]

I'm new to this forum, and I'm currently here with the express purpose of learning about the Mahindra Roxor front axles and their options, variations, and usability in early CJ5s.

I have a '66 Jeep CJ5A with a Dana 27 front axle, and I've learned that a Roxor D44 front axle should be a bolt-in swap for my Jeep, which is why I'm here to learn. ‘59 Cj W/ Roxor Front Axle & Steering Linkage Upgrade

I'll look into these questions on my own, but:
What gear ratios can I order a Roxor D44 with?
Will 15" wheels fit over the Roxor disk brakes?
What standard Dana 44 parts interchange with Roxor D44 parts?
How is parts availability for these axles?
If there are any, what are the weak points of these axles?
What other factors and options should I be aware of when considering ordering a Roxor axle?

I'm building my Jeep in the hopes of doing the Rubicon trail, so strength and parts availability are of utmost importance to me.

Thank you.

 

[txroadkill]

15s fit fine over the brakes. I run them on mine. All Dana 44 carriers will bolt right in so any gear for a Dana 44 on a Dana 44 carrier will work. The carriers for the 3.73s need a spacer if you’re gonna regear and use that carrier. Unsure on the 5.38 models. Most just put a locker when they regear. shaft upgrades are available from on the Rox fabrication. Mahindra ROXOR Parts & Accessories - On The Rox
also you can get all sorts of drivetrain parts from torqueking 4x4. 4x4 Truck Parts | Shop 4x4 Parts & Tools for Offroad & Pickup Trucks - Torque King 4x4. Jesse has imported lots of parts. He might be able to help you import the complete axle assembly. i haven’t had any issue with my axles geared to 4.88 with ox lockers and chrome Molly’s and full floater kit in the rear. I’m on 33s right now with mine.

 

[T.M.]

15s fit fine over the brakes. I run them on mine. All Dana 44 carriers will bolt right in so any gear for a Dana 44 on a Dana 44 carrier will work. The carriers for the 3.73s need a spacer if you’re gonna regear and use that carrier. Unsure on the 5.38 models. Most just put a locker when they regear. shaft upgrades are available from on the Rox fabrication. Mahindra ROXOR Parts & Accessories - On The Rox
also you can get all sorts of drivetrain parts from torqueking 4x4. 4x4 Truck Parts | Shop 4x4 Parts & Tools for Offroad & Pickup Trucks - Torque King 4x4. Jesse has imported lots of parts. He might be able to help you import the complete axle assembly. i haven’t had any issue with my axles geared to 4.88 with ox lockers and chrome Molly’s and full floater kit in the rear. I’m on 33s right now with mine.

Thank you.

I'll probably throw a locker or another Powr Lok (if compatible) in it with a regear.

Would there be any cost benefit to buying parts and building the axle myself (not paying for a gearset and open carrier that I don't need) and going directly to a locker, 4.88s, lockout hubs, and possibly better axle shafts? Since this is a long-term upgrade, I'm not opposed to "doing it right the first time" and buying expensive, good quality parts to stuff in the axle from the get go. My idea is to swap this axle in and leave it as is for the life of the Jeep, and I don't want to be pulling it apart for upgrades or repairs often.

Does Mahindra sell axle assemblies and parts, or do I need to contact other carriers?

I assume Jesse is affiliated with Torque Kind 4x4?

 

[txroadkill]

@Jesse Torque King 4x4 in your plethora of Roxor parts do you happen to have an axle assembly this guy can utilize for his needs?

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

I prefer to exchange cores, but probably have enough used stuff to put together a housing and leave out shafts and gear stuff, or I can put whatever you want in there.

OTR is down the road from me and can supply RCVs, which is the best shaft for these currently. I've got just about every factory part for these axles except bearings and seals, which I only sell the good stuff. If you want a good ring and pinion I have Spicer gear sets, but the imported Yukon varieties seem to hold up ok and are cheaper.

The worst thing in the entire vehicle is factory bearings and seals. Gears and shafts hold up pretty good when they don't have a poo bearing throwing them out of whack. Components doctored up with my stuff last significantly longer.

 

[T.M.]

I prefer to exchange cores, but probably have enough used stuff to put together a housing and leave out shafts and gear stuff, or I can put whatever you want in there.

OTR is down the road from me and can supply RCVs, which is the best shaft for these currently. I've got just about every factory part for these axles except bearings and seals, which I only sell the good stuff. If you want a good ring and pinion I have Spicer gear sets, but the imported Yukon varieties seem to hold up ok and are cheaper.

The worst thing in the entire vehicle is factory bearings and seals. Gears and shafts hold up pretty good when they don't have a poo bearing throwing them out of whack. Components doctored up with my stuff last significantly longer.

Thanks for the reply.

I'd probably be looking at buying these parts next summer at the earliest, but I'll definitely keep you in mind and do some research of my own, pitting these axles vs the popular and also bolt-in D30 swap from a later CJ.

If you could, can you give me a ballpark cost on the price of a complete axle and a "fully built" one. "Fully built" being more or less what you would build; with good parts where necessary bar the carrier and gears (I'll figure those out on my own). I'd probably build it myself and order parts only.

Again, I just want a ballpark, so don't go out too of your way here. I'm just trying to get a starting point here and figure out if a Roxor 44 is comparably priced to a later CJ's D30. I'll do the part-by-part research and pricing on my own time.

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

Thanks for the reply.

I'd probably be looking at buying these parts next summer at the earliest, but I'll definitely keep you in mind and do some research of my own, pitting these axles vs the popular and also bolt-in D30 swap from a later CJ.

If you could, can you give me a ballpark cost on the price of a complete axle and a "fully built" one. "Fully built" being more or less what you would build; with good parts where necessary bar the carrier and gears (I'll figure those out on my own). I'd probably build it myself and order parts only.

Again, I just want a ballpark, so don't go out too of your way here. I'm just trying to get a starting point here and figure out if a Roxor 44 is comparably priced to a later CJ's D30. I'll do the part-by-part research and pricing on my own time.

complete factory one with new wear items I'd say maybe a couple thousand, a bult one with better parts less gears and carrier would be about the same.

there is some wiggle room either way. what I would do is RCVs, Spicer gearset, and name brand (eaton, detroit, arb) if it was mine. good joints in factory axle shafts and USA standard gearsets work OK though.

 

[T.M.]

complete factory one with new wear items I'd say maybe a couple thousand, a bult one with better parts less gears and carrier would be about the same.

there is some wiggle room either way. what I would do is RCVs, Spicer gearset, and name brand (eaton, detroit, arb) if it was mine. good joints in factory axle shafts and USA standard gearsets work OK though.

Thank you. That seems competitively priced with a D30 swap from what I've heard. You'll likely hear from me if I go with a Roxor axle in my build.

 

[T.M.]

Couple more questions here:

The Roxor front axleshafts are 19-spline from the factory, correct?
Do all D44 carriers fit in a Roxor axle? I was thinking about getting a Ox Locker or Powr Lok, which both require new carriers, and I was wondering if they would fit.

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

Couple more questions here:

The Roxor front axleshafts are 19-spline from the factory, correct?
Do all D44 carriers fit in a Roxor axle? I was thinking about getting a Ox Locker or Powr Lok, which both require new carriers, and I was wondering if they would fit.

The late 60s-current D44 carriers all fit, they use a larger ID bearing (same bearing race) and are 30 spline, so inner shafts need to change as well.

If you have a factory 5.38, you can use the factory gearset. If you have an earlier 3.73 you MUST change the gearset when changing carrier.

 

[T.M.]

The late 60s-current D44 carriers all fit, they use a larger ID bearing (same bearing race) and are 30 spline, so inner shafts need to change as well.

If you have a factory 5.38, you can use the factory gearset. If you have an earlier 3.73 you MUST change the gearset when changing carrier.

Okay. So earlier carriers don’t fit.
Which brings my options down to Roxor-specific parts or an axle shaft change as well. Thank you.

I’m running 4.88s, so a gearset change is planned for with a Roxor axle, but I understand that it can only be done with a factory Roxor 5.38 carrier.

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

Okay. So earlier carriers don’t fit.
Which brings my options down to Roxor-specific parts or an axle shaft change as well. Thank you.

I’m running 4.88s, so a gearset change is planned for with a Roxor axle, but I understand that it can only be done with a factory Roxor 5.38 carrier.

Earlier carriers will fit, they use the same diff bearings as Roxor. Just everything made today uses a different bearing than original Roxor but it's all interchangeable in either direction.

Yes the factory Roxor 5.38 will accept slow ratio gear sets, the 3.73 carrier is a weird offset however you can go slower with a spacer kit. I have those available as well as Brennans Garage. I personally am not a fan of this for highway applications but ring gear spacers work fine for low speed applications.

Ideally, you would want to upgrade the front axle shafts as the 1310 u joint is a weak point. I also upgraded the rear axle to a full float kit, much easier to service than the Jeep style tapered axle shafts. I believe both of these upgrades will require 30 spline diff carriers unless someone makes 19 spline inner shafts now. Going 30 spline also opens the door for more locker options, if desired. Outer splines would still remain at 10 or 27, same as jeep and factory Roxor shafts for drive flanges or locking hubs.

If you don't wish to go down the never ending road of bolt-ons, the factory axles work just fine but I would recommend changing front axle shaft joints to a USA cold forged part.

As far as factory axle part availability, that is of no concern. I have about 30k lbs of parts on the shelf, and there are other companies also importing stuff from India. Some of the old Jeep stuff is interchangeable, but most is not. your 4.88 stuff should drop right in the Roxor housing itself.

You can always call me at Torque King, might be easier to answer questions that way.

 

[txroadkill]

30k pounds of parts is most definitely a plethora of parts.

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

30k pounds of parts is most definitely a plethora of parts.

 

[T.M.]

Earlier carriers will fit, they use the same diff bearings as Roxor. Just everything made today uses a different bearing than original Roxor but it's all interchangeable in either direction.

Yes the factory Roxor 5.38 will accept slow ratio gear sets, the 3.73 carrier is a weird offset however you can go slower with a spacer kit. I have those available as well as Brennans Garage. I personally am not a fan of this for highway applications but ring gear spacers work fine for low speed applications.

Ideally, you would want to upgrade the front axle shafts as the 1310 u joint is a weak point. I also upgraded the rear axle to a full float kit, much easier to service than the Jeep style tapered axle shafts. I believe both of these upgrades will require 30 spline diff carriers unless someone makes 19 spline inner shafts now. Going 30 spline also opens the door for more locker options, if desired. Outer splines would still remain at 10 or 27, same as jeep and factory Roxor shafts for drive flanges or locking hubs.

If you don't wish to go down the never ending road of bolt-ons, the factory axles work just fine but I would recommend changing front axle shaft joints to a USA cold forged part.

As far as factory axle part availability, that is of no concern. I have about 30k lbs of parts on the shelf, and there are other companies also importing stuff from India. Some of the old Jeep stuff is interchangeable, but most is not. your 4.88 stuff should drop right in the Roxor housing itself.

Ok, thanks for clearing that up.

My Jeep is used as a daily mostly, so I'll just source the correct carrier and avoid a spacer.

I won't have money for a bit for this swap, since I'm trans swapping my Jeep this winter, but I'd like to keep the amount of mods to a minimum. So far, a gearset change, axle shaft u-joints, and lunchbox locker (or a Powr Lok if I can find one) are on the list.

Just for clarity, I have a Dana 27 up front, and a D44 in the rear, both with Powr Loks. So I'll have to get a new gearset for the Roxor front axle. The D44 in the rear is going to stay as is for a while, but I have been thinking about a full-floater kit and looking at the rare flanged 19-spline axleshafts that are much better than the tapered axleshafts.

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

Ok, thanks for clearing that up.

My Jeep is used as a daily mostly, so I'll just source the correct carrier and avoid a spacer.

I won't have money for a bit for this swap, since I'm trans swapping my Jeep this winter, but I'd like to keep the amount of mods to a minimum. So far, a gearset change, axle shaft u-joints, and lunchbox locker (or a Powr Lok if I can find one) are on the list.

Just for clarity, I have a Dana 27 up front, and a D44 in the rear, both with Powr Loks. So I'll have to get a new gearset for the Roxor front axle. The D44 in the rear is going to stay as is for a while, but I have been thinking about a full-floater kit and looking at the rare flanged 19-spline axleshafts that are much better than the tapered axleshafts.

On The Rox Fab does carry the rear full float kit for Roxor, they come with 27 spline flanges but I put locking hubs on mine for fun.

Keeping the build that simple should keep costs in check. I prefer Spicer and other OE name brands, but USA Standard Gear/ Yukon I find are pretty decent items for the $$ on a budget build. I believe there is also a current production Yukon copy for the PowrLok (or maybe it's the TracLoc, I forget)...

 

[T.M.]

I'm currently building up a parts list since I'm SM420-swapping my Jeep this winter, and on that list is driveshafts. However, I've realized that (if possible to do without causing damage) I want to buy a driveshaft that is the correct length for the Roxor axle, so I don't have to buy a new one when I do the swap. I'm probably using the wrong terminology here, but the question is this:

What is the distance between the center of the axle tube and the edge of the yoke on a Roxor 44 axle? I assume it is the same as a regular D44, but I can't find those measurements either at the moment. I'll keep looking into it. I can measure the D27 myself.

 

[Jesse Torque King 4x4]

I'm currently building up a parts list since I'm SM420-swapping my Jeep this winter, and on that list is driveshafts. However, I've realized that (if possible to do without causing damage) I want to buy a driveshaft that is the correct length for the Roxor axle, so I don't have to buy a new one when I do the swap. I'm probably using the wrong terminology here, but the question is this:

What is the distance between the center of the axle tube and the edge of the yoke on a Roxor 44 axle? I assume it is the same as a regular D44, but I can't find those measurements either at the moment. I'll keep looking into it. I can measure the D27 myself.

center of tube to center of joint would be approximately 12.5", end of yoke is pretty close to center of joint.

 

[T.M.]

center of tube to center of joint would be approximately 12.5", end of yoke is pretty close to center of joint.

Ok. Thank you.