Worlds Fastest Comanche Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 There has been some discussion in the pub about rear axles in the "Worlds Fastest Comanche" thread. the need for a land spped car are different than for a street or trail truck. I though here i would share my experience with rearends and what i think would work best and cost the least. Many years ago I called up Randys ring an pinion trying to buy gears for a D35. The tech guy said "don't waist your money on that axle, i wouldn't put a nickel into it" Ovet the years, i would have to aggree with him. I think everybody knows the the best swap for a MJ is the D44 out of the metric ton package, These are hard to find, next choice, D44 out of a Cherokee with a tow package. Number 3 in my mind would be the Chrysler corporate rear used in the later cherokees. All of Cherokee axles will require welding on new spring perches. Number 4 is the Explorer rear used after 95 with disc brakes ( Ford 8.8 ). you can get these for about $300. You will have to do some work cutting off all the brackets and stuff, then welding on the spring perches. Try and get the drive shaft, this rear has a flange, so you need the part for the U joint. They are usually 3.55 or 3.73, you can find a 4.10 but they are rare. Next would be a ford 9". you can find them out of old Mustangs or Broncos. you will end up with way more money in it than if you used the Explorer axle. The ones for sale are usually drum brakes and it's big dollars to switch to Discs. Probably the bolt pattern will be wrong too. I think anything bigger, like a D60 is just overkill for an MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 It depends entirely what you want to do with the truck. I can think of a lot more axles that are worth swapping, given the right cirumstances. Often for the 4wd guys, the front end gives up the ghost too, and there's NO real upgrades that run the 5x4.5 bolt pattern. So, now all those 5x4.5 rear ends are not logical swap choices. 60s have their place. My current build will have 60s. I will not accept failure. For a 2wd street truck (not what you're doing) I'd probably use an isuzu 12B for a 'bang for the buck' setup. Given you can get them for about $100 easily enough, and they have disk brakes, 4.56 gears, 1.32" shafts, and a 8.66" ring gear with some nice pinion bearings all packaged in a 58.5" width with a fairly light housing. IMHO, with 2wd the bolt patterns don't need to match, since I wouldn't carry a spare, I have BCAA (I guess it's AAA in the states) for a reason. For a mild 4x4 which will be keeping the D30 front, the XJ/MJ D44s work decent, and the 8.8s can be had. Having owned an 8.8, I'd probably never run one again, unless it was super cheap (the good ones aren't here). 9"s are cool, but at 35 splines the side gears start to get small in a lot of applications. I don't know if it has created a real world problem (there has been some failures with the ARBs, but it's hard to say what they were doing to them). The ultra low pinion is a drawback to me, and I'm reluctant to use them because of that. However, for the big bucks truehi9 can fix that. Anyways, there's lots of crap out there that works. Mogs, Volvos, 2.5T Rockwells, yeah, some guys like 'em too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project88mj Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 okay i would like to put a 4.5 or 4.6 stroker in my jeep so what do i need to look for (i also want to get 4wd) i think twin d44's with 4.10 or 4.56 would be sweet :chillin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Well, what tire size? That matters more than power... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejndssn Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 okay i would like to put a 4.5 or 4.6 stroker in my jeep so what do i need to look for (i also want to get 4wd) i think twin d44's with 4.10 or 4.56 would be sweet :chillin: first do the search on this site and you may get a few hits and i think one on the will provide you with the like to the yahoo strokers web site and here is dino'shttp://www.jeep4.0performance.4mg.com that will start you with researching for additional data :brows: sorry for the hyjack btw have you looked at http://www.car-parts.com they may have what your looking for in the rear end dept :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project88mj Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 i want to run 33-35s but i want to power to em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I know I have said this before but the post 1965 Chrysler 8 3/4 rear ends seem like a good choice for "the world's fastest comanche". They are very strong and relatively inexpensive. Oh yeah 5x4.5 bolt pattern too. Good aftermarket support also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 i want to run 33-35s but i want to power to em D44 would work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
project88mj Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 how much power can i put to them w/o snaping them on 35inch tires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 how much power can i put to them w/o snaping them on 35inch tires? Lots. A friend of mine ran D44s with 37s and a modded LT1, and he has a creative driving style. He twisted a few rear shafts, but he only ever ran the stockers, no 4340. Oh, he grenaded a bunch of front outers before he wised up and bought chromos. Once he had chromos, he didn't break 'em. But, the way he drives is such that you rarely see replicated. And, honestly, a 37" is a fair amount more tire than a 35". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 D44 front and rear with a decent set of Chromo's can put up with a lot. If you got a nasty v-8 I would go d60's just cause to build a d44 to handle the abuse it would cost almost as much as a d60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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