Summit Machine – A company known for it’s pride, craftsmenship and perfection with their in-house machined parts.
Last year Summit Machine gave me the chance to run their brand new Dana 44 drive gears. I know what you’re thinking… Dana 44? Foolishly, over the years I have spent more on my front axle than it would cost to buy and build a proper D60. But we will leave my stubbornness behind for this article. 
Prior to the switch, I needed something to solve my exploding hub fiasco. I was going through Warn premium hubs every other trail outing. Binding my tires between rocks, making full throttle climbs, and basically just pushing the complete limits of my front axle had caused too much carnage. The people at the parts store start looking at you funny when you come in that often for warranty exchanges. It got tiring and I decided I needed a solution. That’s when Mike at Summit Machine told me that they were coming out with new Dana 44 drive gears.
They already have an excellent reputation for Dana 60 drive gears so I was interested to see what they could provide in a smaller package. Holding the d44 gears in one hand and the 60 gears in the other is pretty laughable. The difference is quite amusing. That said, these little Dana 44 slugs were looking really promising.
Summit Machine has thought of it all when it comes to these drive gears. They are made out of chromoly 8620 heat treated steel. “What’s that?” you say; That is balls out strength and they are made right here in the good old USA. No Chinese steal in these drive gears.
The gears come with all the hardware you need, a 6061 aluminum to protect the hub internals, and a really neat extra retaining ring that allows you to run the caps without the gear (for protection). This is particularly handy in case you break a shaft or just don’t need 4wd for a long period of time. The retaining ring also properly spaces the gear on the axle shaft for the best spline contact.
Installing the gears couldn’t have been easier. The snap rings are really nice full circle rings that are much more manageable for field repair & removal. You push the gear in, add the axle shaft snap ring, add the spacing / retaining ring, put the cap on and throw the bolts in. There are even seals around the cap and bolts to keep the water & dust out. If you really needed to pull the gears and run and empty hub, you would not be out of very much time.
How do they perform? So far so good! I can’t break them after a year of hard 4 wheeling and I’m willing to bet that you cannot either. I am positive that these gears will outlast the axle and then some. I have thrown everything at them. The previous destroyers of my Warn premium hubs have the Summit Machine drive gears laughing. Ledge climbs, sharp twisty crawling, Coyote Canyon axle twisting boulders, you name it they’ve taken it. Without any maintenance, they are ready for another year of 4 wheeling. Updates will follow.
Check out SummitMachine.com for more information.
