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I’ve done a lot of wheeling with a d44 up front. It really depends on what you are doing and if you are going to run a limited slip or locker in it.

38” tires are pushing it too.

I beat the snot out of the 6 lug 44 in my ‘75 K5 but it had a wheezy 350, but it was with a manual trans. So there was a lot of shock load hammering on and off the throttle. It was open and I can say that’s probably what kept it alive.

Fast forward to my ‘91. 8 lug 44 with a Detroit Tru-trac helical limited slip. It stated out with a stock 5.3L ls swap and a 700r4. Managed to break two right side shafts and a single left side shaft. The shafts broke on three different trips to Utah over three different years. All were not getting hammered on either. Got stuck or hung up on something and was literally just going into reverse when they broke. Each time.

I’ve had the 8.1L in with a 5 speed for over a year now. Same 44 up front. A handful of off road trips under its belt, including crawling in Moab. No break. But the manual allows a different amount of finesse that I didn’t have with the auto.

I’m really cautious to not give it the beans with the wheels cranked to one side or the other. I carry spares too.

It comes back to what the plan is and how you plan on using it. Chrome-moly shafts for the 44 are an option to add strength where it’s needed too. But they don’t expect them to survive long term with 37” tires or larger. The will warranty them if you are running 35’s or smaller.
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