Is a Currie hi pinion scrap metal or do folks still run these

fourjeepin · Apr 21, 2021

So I bought a Currie Ford 9" hi-pinion probably 12 years ago with the intention of building a 609 front axle for my CJ. Life got in the way and this never happened so I am curious if these are still viable for the front axle or not. I know people that tried to run them in the rear and the gears rather quickly came apart but will they hold for the front? Does anyone still run one of these?

Here is what I have:

Currie hi pinion case
Professionally installed 4.10 gears
35 spline ARB

The gears are new but I do not recall the brand. The chunk and ARB were purchased used. Asking for guidance on how to price this for resale. If the case is worthless, then I can price this as a used ARB otherwise I will still sell complete, but would like to try to get a few extra dollars for the case and gears.

Bebop · Apr 21, 2021

They take 8.8 hp gears.
It's always worth something, especially for someone who wants to build a lightweight vehicle with better axles than yota. Think samurai or single seater crew.

TBItoy · Apr 21, 2021

If I already owned one setup like that, I'd probably build a a front axle with 99-04 unit bearing outers converted to 6 lug for the front of my Tacoma, to match the 6 lug stock rear.

fourjeepin · Apr 21, 2021

Bebop said:
They take 8.8 hp gears.
It's always worth something, especially for someone who wants to build a lightweight vehicle with better axles than yota. Think samurai or single seater crew.

Yes, 8.8 gears in the 9" dropout case. I bought this setup from a guy that ran it in the rear of his Jeep (TJ I think it was). They were not designed to be run in the rear and it causes the teeth to chip. I had the gears replaced by a professional mechanic in the Renegades, a former 4WD club in the Atlanta area. I have a copy of the build sheet somewhere.

If this was yours, what would you try to get for it? If it wasn't 35 spline, I would build a 449 around it, but my Jeep rarely sees dirt these days, much less rocks.