Dana 44 differences?

[Phoenix of Fury]

I am trying to get set up with disks for my Dana 44 rear, MJ style. Called up TSM today, and they told me that there are two different Dana 44s, depending on the year.

 

Now, I thought that all Dana 44s that came behind the MJ/XJ were the same, but I was told that they have two different backing plates, and the bolt spacing is the difference. Can anyone provide the two different possible measurements, if this is indeed true? Are the any other differences I need to potentially be aware of? I do not know the year of my axle, just want to make sure I won't have any more problems.

[CWLONGSHOT]

FYI, there are more than two different versions of the D44's. BUT, to the best of my knowledge, only one was ever offered in the XJ/MJ platform.

Maybe they are thinking the metric ton had different brakes shoes/drumsm than the STD D44? They where all 10"X2.5" as far I can remember? Eagle......

 

CW

[ejndssn]

here is some info http://www.jeeptech.com/convaxle/d44.html

for start and you may want to do a search for the axle you are looking for :hmm: the only difference that i know of is that the perch placement are different between XJ SOA and MJ SUA. I could be wrong and if that is the case there is someone one here that will have the correct info :brows:

[Motion Offroad]

I would assume they are talking FSJ Cherokee vs. XJ Cherokee. I could be wrong but that is just an assumption.

 

To the best of my knowledge all XJ and MJ D44's were created equal.

 

You do know you can use the disc brake setup off a a ZJ Dana 35 with a TJ Rubicon D44 backing plate for essentially a "bolt-on" setup on the D44's correct? If you can't get the TJ D44 adaptor, you can make a spacer shim with just a bit of work to get them to fit on.

[Phoenix of Fury]

I would assume they are talking FSJ Cherokee vs. XJ Cherokee. I could be wrong but that is just an assumption.

 

To the best of my knowledge all XJ and MJ D44's were created equal.

 

You do know you can use the disc brake setup off a a ZJ Dana 35 with a TJ Rubicon D44 backing plate for essentially a "bolt-on" setup on the D44's correct? If you can't get the TJ D44 adaptor, you can make a spacer shim with just a bit of work to get them to fit on.

 

How "essentially" bolt-on is it? I don't really have the tools for any sort of fabrication work. Last time someone told me I could just swap over the stuff from my 35 to my 44, but I don't think that works.

 

for start and you may want to do a search for the axle you are looking for hmm the only difference that i know of is that the perch placement are different between XJ SOA and MJ SUA. I could be wrong and if that is the case there is someone one here that will have the correct info trust me

 

Yep, I know. I got an MJ 44, perches where they're supposed to be... on the bottom! Unfortunately, I was too excited about finding an MJ 44 for $250 locally to notice the brakes were non-existant until I got it home.

[Pete M]

Doesn't matter if it had brakes or not, they are still just drums. Go find some ZJ disks in the junkyard and put them on. :D

 

 

And just because you don't have any fab tools now, doesn't mean you shouldn't go get some basics stuff. A decent corded drill and an angle grinder can go a long way toward making yourself self-sufficient. :thumbsup:

[pingpong]

I just did a disc brake swap on the Turd's D44. Basically you need a TJ rubicon/d44 backing plates, and a stock xj backing plate. What I did was I took the brake caliper mounts and backing plates down to a machine shop and had them redrill the caliper mounts and retainer plates, as well as machine out the center hole.

 

Here is a pic of the retainer plates.

 

I also had issues with lack of braking, so I ended up getting a ZJ prop valve and swapping over the proportioning valve spring, and there is a big difference.

 

 

You also can go to my webshots page and see the whole build up. The pages with the d44 stuff on it are 6 and 7. Also Alloy USA has Chromo axle shaft kits for under 300 bucks for 30 spline, not sure what the 33 spline kits cost. If you go this route get the TJ kit with disc brakes, it will save you a few bucks for retainer plates.

 

For e-brake cables, Terraflex(or whatever they are called now) has longer brake line reasonable, or you can do a line lock from summit/jegs