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Stock MJ with Dana 44?


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hey guys, I have a guy that claims to be selling a Dana 44 that came stock in his comanche (says he replaced it with a GM corporate 12 bolt). Says he believes his truck is a metric ton version but his build sheet says his payload is only 1800 pounds. Also he says the stock Dana 44 that he is selling out of his Comanche has 3.07 gears.

 

I don't think this guy is lying to me but at the same time I don't know this guy from Adam and just wanted to see what you guys think before I lay down any money. Does this sound right? I thought the D44's came with 3.54 gears, and I also thought the metric ton comanches had a higher payload than 1800 lbs??? When I go and check this stuff out how do I know if this stuff is the real deal??

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I'd like a $125 MJ D44 :yes:

 

For atleast 1987 (other years too, but I'd have to look at the info to say for sure),

The D44 was part of the 'Tow Prep Package', part of the 'Metric Ton Package', part of the 'Off Road Package', and available as a stand alone 'Heavy Duty Rear Axle' package,

so there was more than just one way for it to end up under an MJ.

 

 

& I'd guess 3.07's & 3.54's were the most common ratio's.

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:agree:

 

 

jpnjim is spot on :thumbsup:

 

The D44 is somewhat rare, and to find one, in that price range is a steal :brows:

 

I see D35's w/ 3.07 selling local for that price range :ack:

 

You better be posting tonight with pictures of it sitting in your garage :yes:

 

The only thing sweeter would be to find the 5 pack leaf springs to go with it :brows:

 

But, I have seen D44's with the 4 pack leafs.

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Its out of a 89 Comanche. I am definatley going to have to re-gear it, I have no use for 3.07 gears. Oh well that will give me an excuse for 4.56's and lockers in front and rear (think it should be the perfect combo for my 32's) :D I just hope that the price of installing gears doesnt overshadow the great deal I'm getting on the axle :dunno:

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In my opinion the best thing to do on a deal like this is to disregard anything said about it's past history. Take it for what it is. A unit sitting on the floor , or ground, for sale. Remove the cover, inspect everything, and see if it's what you want or not.

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I'd like a $125 MJ D44 :yes:

 

For atleast 1987 (other years too, but I'd have to look at the info to say for sure),

The D44 was part of the 'Tow Prep Package', part of the 'Metric Ton Package', part of the 'Off Road Package', and available as a stand alone 'Heavy Duty Rear Axle' package,

so there was more than just one way for it to end up under an MJ.

 

 

& I'd guess 3.07's & 3.54's were the most common ratio's.

But it doesn't always have it with those packages, mine has the tow package and the Off Road package, and came with the Up Country package, and it still had a 35. This has been leading me to believe the 44 was swapped out of it, especially since the PO built and wheeled XJ's and the MJ was just his DD.

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I'd like a $125 MJ D44 :yes:

 

For atleast 1987 (other years too, but I'd have to look at the info to say for sure),

The D44 was part of the 'Tow Prep Package', part of the 'Metric Ton Package', part of the 'Off Road Package', and available as a stand alone 'Heavy Duty Rear Axle' package,

so there was more than just one way for it to end up under an MJ.

 

 

& I'd guess 3.07's & 3.54's were the most common ratio's.

But it doesn't always have it with those packages, mine has the tow package and the Off Road package, and came with the Up Country package, and it still had a 35. This has been leading me to believe the 44 was swapped out of it, especially since the PO built and wheeled XJ's and the MJ was just his DD.

 

Mine was NO Tow, NO Metric Ton, NO Off Road Package, and just a D44 Option with no other packages, with 5 Spd (AX15) and 3.07's from the Factory....Rhyme or Reason was pretty much out the Window @ AMC/Jeep from 86-92 on our trucks.

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Agree with that. I was cruising around town today on my bike and spotted an MJ Laredo sitting up on blocks in the low rent district. Naturally I slid in and an old gent came out. After about an hour of yakking I found out the guy was the original owner who ordered the 88 Laredo from the local dealer w. no additional options except the D44 rear and 4.09 gears as he did some towing back in the day. He also had some nice (all unfinished) J trucks that I suspect will never get finished. Point is, you could order any MJ w. any options and AMC/Mopar would build it.

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I'd like a $125 MJ D44 :yes:

 

For atleast 1987 (other years too, but I'd have to look at the info to say for sure),

The D44 was part of the 'Tow Prep Package', part of the 'Metric Ton Package', part of the 'Off Road Package', and available as a stand alone 'Heavy Duty Rear Axle' package,

so there was more than just one way for it to end up under an MJ.

 

 

& I'd guess 3.07's & 3.54's were the most common ratio's.

But it doesn't always have it with those packages, mine has the tow package and the Off Road package, and came with the Up Country package, and it still had a 35. This has been leading me to believe the 44 was swapped out of it, especially since the PO built and wheeled XJ's and the MJ was just his DD.

 

sure hope you're talking about an xj with that up country package...as that was xj only, from 91 on up.

 

 

 

anyways, I've had 3.07, 3.55, and 4.10 factory gears. the rear end in my wheeling jeep has the 4.10's in it. that truck was a 1987 4.0/auto/2wd shortbed with no tow package, not metric tonne, and it had 3.54 geared dana 44 in the back.

 

my 1989 that I sold to TNT on the club here, was a 4.0/5 speed/4x4 with higher rate (equivelant of metric tonne, but not factory) rear springs, factory dana 44 with 3.07's.

 

don't know what engine/trans/wheelbase the 4.10 dana 44 was out of, I bought it from TNT after he traded the 3.07 d44 for this one. it was a comanche original, though.

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Ya I plan on starting a build thread once I get things going, don't really got anything to post right now. I'm still kinda new to a lot of this stuff so I'm doing a lot of research before I buy stuff. Right now I'm looking into whether or not I should rebuild both the front and rear ends when I have the new gears installed. Also looking into whether or not I should upgrade axles to some aftermarket stronger ones. If anybody has advice please feel free to let me know.

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