8.25 or 44?

[btm24]

not to beat the ford drum too much, but the 8.8 gives you disk brakes right off the bat. I would plan on buying some quality wheel spacers and just factor that into the budget.

 

yeah but i just don't care about the brakes lol i don't mind drum brakes. any ways so from what i have read in this thread has completely flipped what i thought before. over the past 7 or so months as i was building up my "list" it allways seemed in the back of my head that the dana 44 axle was the gold at the end of the rainbow. but now it seems that its ok at best and i rly should look into a 8.8 or 8.25. so have i just been reading it all wrong over the past months or what? I thought that when it came up to it this would be easy to do and find but now its just :dunno: every where :ack:

 

Thanks

 

Brandon

[wannabeMJ]

the main prob with the 44 is the availability its not that its a bad axle

most peps do the conversion to the 8.8 for the disc brakes (they still brake when full of mud)

and its still ''minor fab'' to get one under your truck

if your looking for a 44 from an MJ its like you trying to date megan fox: unlikely to happen

espacialy with the right gear ratio

if you find one you'll have to change the gearing and then its $$$$

so a lot easyer and cheaper to go for a 8.8

[Pete M]

Having a Dana 44 is sweet, don't get me wrong. I've got one in the 3.55 flavor (pushing 31s). but it will cost some decent money to do it right. If you can find one with 4.10 gears, the 8.25 will probably be your cheapest route and the 8.8 having the easier to find. both will require the same fabbing (clean off the old mounts and burn on MJ mounts) but the 8.8 will need you to buy spacers and either the proper U-joint flange or one of the combo U-joints (I've got two of them adapting my 78 ford axles to my 88 MJ, got them from NAPA).

 

you haven't spent a penny yet though, so keep your options open. you might get lucky in a junkyard or on a local classifieds. don't settle for 3.55s though. you'll be much happier with 4.10s. your engine will feel much stronger and that equates to a bigger smile on your face. :D

[btm24]

ok thank you for clearing that up for me. so now i have another and i know ive kinda brought this up b4 but where do locker's come in the mix? are they for the for 8.8 to? or even the 8.25? and do you put them in the front also? Thanks

 

Brandon

 

Edit: i just remembered if i do go with a ford 8.8 how would the gears match up with the front dana 30?

[wannabeMJ]

I run 2 44 FSJ under my YJ and both are locked

 

dunno about an MJ 44 with a locker I'm sure someone can input on that

but many 8.25 or 8.8 came with lockers

posi-lock I think or some like that

I for myself swears by hydrolock (detroit) and full spool in the front

some peps realy like the air lockers for the choice of front or rear or both loked

[Pete M]

anything that came from the factory would be a positraction (which is not a true "locker") and they are not the greatest things in the world. good for the street, but the clutches inside will give up offroading, leaving you spinning one tire. they can be ok if you have a front locker in the mix. If you want a locker out back, try to get an axle with an open differential. That way you can spend 2-3 hundred on a "lunchbox" style locker which replaces the spider gears inside an open diff, but will not work inside a posi diff.

 

factory posi would be the cheapest (since it comes with the axle)

a "lunchbox" locker would be an affordable but good and effective choice

Detroits or other selectable lockers that replace the carrier are very expensive to do but the best thing out there.

[mvusse]

since it can cost up to 600 smackers just to change the gear ratio in an axle, the ratio is generally the most important factor in choosing your axles.

 

A few years ago maybe. Try $1k.

In Explorers, you really need to check the tag on the diff or the code in the door to know for sure. 3.73 was very common in Explorers, but don't buy one til you can find a matching Jeep front axle. 3.73 was very rare in the Jeep front axles you'll want to find.

 

I believe (all) ZJs with the 318/5.2l came with 3.73 gears, and the front axle should be a direct swap, although they are low pinion axles.

[Pete M]

although they are low pinion axles.

 

yup. some TJs had them too, but also suffer from the low pinion issue. :ack:

[Geonovast]

although they are low pinion axles.

 

yup. some TJs had them too, but also suffer from the low pinion issue. :ack:

 

As do 00 - 01 XJs. :ack:

[jimmy21669]

thats a fast way to tell the two apart maybe one day but for now a dana 44 will be of my choosing :yes: who knows if i can find it a dana 60 would beat them all :brows:

 

Brandon

 

Unless you are going to run huge tires, the D60 is so big it will act like an anchor every time it gets hung up on a rock.

 

Jimmy is in love with the 8.8 for reasons unknown to me. Yes, it is a good axle. No it is not the holy grail. I vote for a 97+ (some 96 as well, but not all) 8.25". They are easy to find, inexpensive, correct width, correct wheel bolt pattern, correct yoke and correct parking brake hook up, and plenty strong enough.

 

 

 

Of course it is not the holy grail...but it IS good for the money. That sir, is why I am in love with it. The holy grail would be rock jocks on 37's...but who can afford that....

[jpnjim]

thats a fast way to tell the two apart maybe one day but for now a dana 44 will be of my choosing :yes: who knows if i can find it a dana 60 would beat them all :brows:

 

Brandon

 

1960's-70's Hemi & 440 4spd Mopars had D60's, in the right widths, and bolt pattern:

 

 

This 69' B-body 60 was $495 with 4.56's, 1.5" axle shafts & a 'good' Powerlock....

15 years ago.

 

 

 

Unless you are going to run huge tires, the D60 is so big it will act like an anchor every time it gets hung up on a rock.

 

Uncut it had 11" of clearance on 35's (it's on 255/85-16's now):

 

The majority of time I ran this axle was with 33" Boggers (pretty much 32" tall), and 33" TSL's (almost 34").

I did get hung up, but the bottom is ramped, so more often than not it would grind/slide up and over rocks & stumps.

 

Honestly, I got hung up more with my XJ's 8.25" & 31's/32's.

For me, hitting a flat surface with the flat face of an uncut 8.25 was like hitting the STOP button :ack:

 

The worst thing about running a 5 on 4.5" D60 rear is there isn't an easy 5 on 4.5" ft axle that can balance it's strength up front.

 

 

 

 

Jimmy is in love with the 8.8 for reasons unknown to me. Yes, it is a good axle. No it is not the holy grail. I vote for a 97+ (some 96 as well, but not all) 8.25". They are easy to find, inexpensive, correct width, correct wheel bolt pattern, correct yoke and correct parking brake hook up, and plenty strong enough.

 

I like 8.25's for 31-35's,

but I would really want to do something about the flat face if it was in a wheeling rig.

 

 

Personally,

I would take an XJ/MJ D44 over an 8.8".

 

The edge for strength may go to an 8.8", but since we're talking about Jeeps running HP30 ft's,

there are advantages that 44's have (to me anyway) that outweigh the xx% strength advantage for a 8.8.

[btm24]

ok well now i think i got it, tell me if you think so to. i will be looking for a part out xj year 87-96 with good gears and not so much the rear axle. i will still look for a dana 44 rear axle and a 8.25 (only year 96+). but if i can not find either then i will start looking for a out for a ford 8.8 or jeep 8.25 or dana 44 for the rear. but for now i will just part the hell out of a jeep and keep the dana 35 :( out back till its time to update. i will get "lunchbox Lockers" for the front dana 30 axle and one when i get the newer rear end. my last ? is is there a right up for the ford 8.8 in the mj? Thank you all i hope that my mj will turn out half as good as some other "mj Gods" around hear. Thanks :cheers:

 

Brandon

[wannabeMJ]

ok well now i think i got it, tell me if you think so to. i will be looking for a part out xj year 87-96 with good gears and not so much the rear axle. i will still look for a dana 44 rear axle and a 8.25 (only year 96+). but if i can not find either then i will start looking for a out for a ford 8.8 or jeep 8.25 or dana 44 for the rear. but for now i will just part the hell out of a jeep and keep the dana 35 :( out back till its time to update. i will get "lunchbox Lockers" for the front dana 30 axle and one when i get the newer rear end. my last ? is is there a right up for the ford 8.8 in the mj? Thank you all i hope that my mj will turn out half as good as some other "mj Gods" around hear. Thanks :cheers:

 

Brandon

 

yeah keep that 35 and if you got a spear for it beat the crap out of it and just change the parts you broke after

then you will also know how bad you are wheeling your rig

if you don't wheel to hardcore you might not need a much bigger diff and keep swaping 35's there cheap and easy to find lollll

until you find the exact diff your looking for instead of having your truck on blocks

[Pete M]

if you're dead set on parting out a rig, look for 2.5/5-speed/4wd (double check the gear ratios), then swap both axles over to your Jeep. that'll give you a pair of 4.10 axles and then you can work on upgrading the rearend later on with something that'll last.

[88pioneer]

might interest you some

 

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=26026

[btm24]

thank you guys and thanks i pm'ed that guy with that add. if we could meet half way that would be just great!!! 8)

 

Brandon