summerinmaine

I wouldn't want someone to go that far, but if there were someone in the near neighborhood, it'd be worth a whole pile of frosties to me to have this checked out, and see if a reasonable deal (including shipping) could be done. In truth, SoCal is the pits when it comes to Jeep parts. Every yard around here seems to think they're made of unobtanium.

if ya had any relatives in the area they maybe able to help ya out or wait for it to go on sell on ebay :brows: No relatives, but the problem is, it would still involve shipping cost, and that seems to be another 30-40% on top of a fair price. :mad:

This is really unfair! Why are these ads never from SoCal? If they were, I'd be on this like white on . . . well . . . white! :brows:

Same here. I would interpret "case" as "housing" not "carrier." That's why I got confused.

I thought that might be the "case" but was confused as they also have price listings for carriers as well as cases.

As part of my investigation on re-gearing my D44 & D30, I ran across this site: http://www.drivetrain.com/dana44.html and it contains listings for different size cases for each of the D44 and the D30 (3.73 appears to be the break point). I've never heard or read of any different size cases for a particular model diff, so I'm a bit confused. Is there such a thing? If so, how do you re-gear a 3.07 into a 4.10? I thought it was a standard size for the ring gear in each particular model (8.5" for the D44 IIRC), which shouldn't involve a different size case. They have two different prices, depending on whether the case is empty or loaded. Anyone know what they're talking about?

Agreed, so the OP should stay away from those. All XJ/MJ D44s are 30 spline IIRC, but once you branch out (e.g. six lug) all D44s are not created equal.

I've also seen listings for 19 spline vs. 27 spline vs. 30 spline D44s.

Thanks for the link. But isn't that $140 just for the clutch kit? The Powr-Lok LSD is @$400, correct? Or am I missing something? :dunno:

Thanks. I did a bit of reading up last night, so I now understand the diff ( :D ) between an open carrier and a carrier as part of an LSD. I think that a Trac-Loc would be more than sufficient for the kind of traveling I do (carrying a camper into remote locations in the desert and Baja), so I'll also investigate that route.

Someone is offering me a Spicer/Dana open carrier for the D44. Would this be compatible with the True-Trac LSD? Thanks. Of course, I just looked at the price of a True-Trac, and it's over $400. :eek: That would double the cost of my D44 re-gear ($180 gearset, $35 carrier, $75 master rebuild, $150 labor). Maybe I don't need LSD after-all. :brows:

Okay, so here's what I've distilled so far (and thanks for ALL the great advice): Front: Best bet seems to be reson46's suggestion, a "'97 to '99 XJ D30 with 4.10 gears for the front axle." Without the CAD I might lose a bit of fuel economy, but the improvements (high pinion, 297x U-joints) sound like they're worth it. Of course, the LLC is not as rich in Jeep yards, or parts, so availability will be a factor. Fallback would be to rebuild what I've got. Rear: Re-gear the D44. I'll need a fresh gearset with identical offsets (I'm convinced that used doesn't make sense), a new carrier, a master rebuild kit and, if I want to get fancy, a True-Trac LSD. I'm not sure I'd try to do the re-build myself (sounds do-able, but the consequences of doing it wrong would be substantial). Obviously more expensive than a gearset/rebuild kit, so I'll price an LSD to see what this will add to the package. Have I missed anything? Also, I suppose I could do this in two stages, if I rebuilt the D44 and then just didn't use 4WD until I handled the front. Next major Baja trip is mid-November.

Based on the advise from the "minimalist stroker" thread, I'm considering a re-gear instead. I have D30/D44 axles, and 3.07 ratios. I want to go 4.10 (though some call them 4.09 and others 4.11). Should I look for used gearsets? The prices I've seen for new are ~$250/axle, so unless used are quite a bit cheaper, it doesn't seem to make sense. Should I look to swap axles? D30s appear relatively available, D44s not so much. Can I use a D30 off of an XJ or any other model Jeep? Should I consider swapping a different axle for the D30? I'm assuming that the D44 is well worth keeping. If I re-gear instead of swapping an axle, what should I expect to pay to have the gears set properly? Keep in mind that out here in the LLC, used MJ parts are not easily found, and tend to be pricey. XJ are more readily available, but still pricey for some reason.

I will do that, but even with the stock 235/75 tires 5th gear was pretty useless. I'd be amazed if they aren't 3.07s.

3.07 Fixing that would most definitely take priority if it were me. 3.07s bring on the suck. Even 3.55s would feel superior. 4.10s would be better. I had thought of re-gearing at one point, but was given to understand that the cost of two new gear sets (D30 and D44), plus the skilled labor to install, was too pricey to be worthwhile. Any idea what the gears would cost? Does it make sense to get used? Can they come from XJ or other Jeeps (or other makes)?

3.07

My 4.0L has about 300K miles on it, and the compression is about 155-160# in all cylinders (pretty good, right?), but the oil pressure sinks from 40-45# when cold down to 10# or less when hot on idle. It runs at about 20-25# at running speeds. Also, I suspect my rear main is TU, as I lose oil out the back (not a lot, but noticeable). If I'm going to do any kind of rebuild to address the oil pressure/rear main, I'd like a bit more power as well (as 5th gear is virtually useless with my camper rig). My grand scheme at some point is a stroker built for torque, but that would mean a new gearbox and transfer case to handle the increased power. However, for ease of troubleshooting/repair, I don't mind staying with the Renix system, since all my wheeling is down in Baja. It occurred to me that I might be able to get some benefits while staying on the cheap side, by installing a stroker crank/new bearings/rear main. This should increase the torque without stressing the gearbox too much, right? My question: Can I do a crank swap without changing the conrods, and thus do it as a mini bottom end rebuild? If so, what gains (if any) should I expect in the torque/power department?

I went out to measure my rig after the info was posted, just to confirm the lift, and realized it wouldn't do much good since I have a 1000# camper mounted in the bed! :oops:

So that's center of hub to lower edge of flare, right?

Ditto.

Hence the name "Gorilla Snot."

Cool bike. I've been riding for years, and have a nice mix of vintage stuff and modern. One of my more modern bikes that I dearly love:

With that much drama, I was fearing a different outcome. A little while back, some woman out here had a similar paperwork "snafu" on a 60s Mustang she had owned since the early 70s, and when the VIN was corrected, it turned out the car had been stolen, and was confiscated and returned to the original owner (once they tracked him down). :eek: In a monumental display of magnanimity, he gave the car back to the woman! :bowdown:

Cable or electronic? Aren't the 91-92s electronic? If so, bad ground? :dunno:

My daughter will be back at Sonoma State (Rohnert Park) in the fall, and we plan to sell her 4Runner down here and buy her an XJ to use at school. We'll probably buy off of CL or some such, and I won't be up there, so we'd be looking for someone knowledgeable to check it over. Any recommendations for a shop that could do a comprehensive inspection? Any thoughts on the dealership in Santa Rosa (Lithia Jeep according to Google)?