FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do we sell direct to the public?
You can only purchase our products through our exclusive list of distributors. Our distributors are picked from a select group of professional installers, retailers and mail order companies throughout the world. These are people that understand the importance to automotive performance enthusiasts of quality axles, ring & pinions, installation kits and drivetrain accessories.
We don't sell to just anyone. Quick note, when buying our product through a third party when the product is being installed, make sure you ask for the box in which the product was shipped. There are some unscrupulous business people out there that will tell you they are installing the best but then during the actual installation they switch the product for an inferior one. Asking for the box will help to stop this process.
Please call toll-free (888) 522-2953 and ask for your nearest distributor.
Do we make custom axle shafts?
We manufacture axle shafts in production runs, usually 50 or more at a time. Many of our axle shafts are different than stock, larger diameter, more splines, different bolt circle etc. These could be considered "custom". We also custom manufacture front Dana 44 and Dana 60 axles as well as rear Dana 60 full float and double shafts. We do not, however make custom full float axles (ie., Ford 9”, Dana 35 rear). We suggest for a pair of custom axle shafts you try Currie Enterprises. Both companies finish an axle blank we make for them to your custom lengths. You get our material and heat treating, but get 2 axles custom finished quickly. The only thing they can not do is "roll" the splines, as the axle blank is already hardened. They must cut the splines.
Why do some brands of gears and axles cost so much less than others?
Many companies are importing inferior generic gears and axles from overseas. These products are made from inferior material, heat treated poorly, and are basically not worth the wood pallet that they're bulk shipped in. In the past, several well known companies have sold a no-name WELDED axle for the Model 20 Jeep. It isn't even forged from a solid piece of steel. Check out our plant tour to see how we engineer and build axles.
And even though we manufacture our own axles in our Los Angeles plant, we do import some axles under our PA series title. These PA (production axles) are built to our engineering specs and each axle checked for quality assurance. We will never knowingly ship an inferior product to our customers.
What is the proper way to set up gears?
The MOST often asked question! We agree with Dana Spicer, GM and all the major gear manufacturers regarding proper set-up. The GEAR PATTERN, or contact pattern, is the FINAL determination of proper set-up. Whether you use a pinion depth setting tool or start with the original shim (most high quality gears will set-up within .005 of the factory shim) or grab a shim from experience, you MUST read the contact pattern properly to determine whether you are too deep or too shallow on pinion depth.
What is the difference between "rolled" splines and "cut" splines?
The best way to make an axle is to forge,machine, spline and THEN heat treat. When done this way, the spline can be rolled, which is a process that cold forms the splines under tons of pressure. This results in superior grain structure as well as involute splines, which are the correct shape for factory side gears. The axle is then heat treated, resulting in splines that are up to 35% STRONGER than cut splines. Some applications require cutting or hobbing splines, 19 spline axles for instance. The best way to handle these situations is to hob the spline before heat treating, resulting in a spline almost as strong as rolled.
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