I was wondering what the relative axle strength is in a 463. That is, are the front and rear shafts equal to D35s? D44s? Ford 9"? etc... What about the shaft diameter and/or spline count?
Also, how weak or strong is the front CV? Is it in the same ballpark as a D90 or FJ80? Any upgrade options such as Superior Axle or Longfields? My reason for asking is I'd like to run 35's on moderate trails without having to baby it too much. Is the driveline is up to the task or is this asking for a lot of trailside grief? Thanks for your help!
I think it is a hard thing to directly compare. The G-wagen axles are pretty strong though. Harald P. ran a couple of 460 G's over the Rubicon for a few years on 35's. I do not recall hearing about a failure. Mike S. has also been running 35's on a couple of different 460's for a few years without any reported failure. My 280GE needed a CV replacement at 105k miles but that I think was just wear and tear over 20 years. I am now going to run 35's and have no concerns over the axle or CV strength. The CV's are pretty huge for a 150hp truck, the ring and pinion while a smaller diameter look easily as beefy as a Dana 60 and are reportedly made from much higher quality steel. There are no aftermarket upgrades, I don't think any are needed. I have never heard of a G-wagen driveline failure, not even a broken u-joint from hard trail use. The only problem with the 463 is a lack of lower gearing. The combination of big tires, stock gears and low engine power (unless you have a G500) make wheeling at altitude a little tricky. I have had 33's on my G320 for a couple of summers now with no ill effects. It has been going off-road at least 3 times a week now this summer. I did have the front axle service done almost two years ago though. It is a good idea to make sure you start with something healthy. The CV's just needed repacking at the time. So far no problems even with a fair amount of locker use.
I counted 31 splines on my 460 CV joint. (where the axle shafet enters the back side) I think that 463 axles are actually a little stronger than 460's as well.
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