Blaine.D Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I was thinking about maybe doing a Dana 44 swap in the rear of my Comanche just something, I'm on the fence about. (I just trying to find out info on a Dana 44 swap and i do know you can do an 8.25) I got a 1988 pioneer Long Bed with a 4.0L 5 Speed 4x4 with a Dana 35 Rear Axle at stock height currently. I wanted to see what parts are required to swap over the Dana 44. I know if I do an xj axle I had to weld new spring arches. I got no problem cutting and welding to do the swap. Also what other vehicles would have a Dana 44 that could be swapped? What Parts do I need to get or modify to fit the axle? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 You would have to shorten your drive shaft approximately 1 inch if you don't do a lift at the same time. Same applies if you do the Chrysler 8-1/4" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaine.D Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, Eagle said: You would have to shorten your drive shaft approximately 1 inch if you don't do a lift at the same time. Same applies if you do the Chrysler 8-1/4" how much of a lift would you say I would need to keep the drive shaft at the current length? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 4.5" to match your current rear axle you'll need the right width, bolt pattern, and ratio. without using spacers to change the pattern or paying for regearing you're more or less limited to the: MJ/XJ 44 (rare and mostly 3.07, 3.55) TJ Rubicon 44 (rare and expensive and only came in 4.10 but had an e-locker) 97+ XJ 8.25 (3.07, 3.55, some 4.10) 03-07 KJ 8.25 (3.55, 3.73, 4.10 and disks) 96-01 Explorer 8.8 (3.55, 3.73, 4.10 and disks) did I miss anything? I prefer the 03-07 Liberty because it's a couple inches wider than the stock MJ axle (as opposed to the 8.8 which is narrower) and that works well with the MJ's wide butt (the bed is wider than an XJ body which is why the tires looked so tucked-in back there). you'll still need perches welded on and to shorten the driveshaft, but that's the case with any upgrade axle. dana 35s have a bit of a short snout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Pete M said: I prefer the 03-07 Liberty because it's a couple inches wider than the stock MJ axle (as opposed to the 8.8 which is narrower) and that works well with the MJ's wide butt (the bed is wider than an XJ body which is why the tires looked so tucked-in back there). you'll still need perches welded on and to shorten the driveshaft, but that's the case with any upgrade axle. I was fortunate enough to locate an MJ D44 axle, but it took over two years and I had to have it regeared. My second choice was the Libby axle if I couldn't find an MJ axle because it's the perfect width for an MJ. Pete, how common was the 4.10 ratio D44 Libby axle? Rare animal? I have no clue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 it's the rarer one for sure, but car-part.com shows some. long live the internet edit: you have to search for a few different years. and 4.10s were phased out by 05. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Is it actually a D44 under the KJ, or just the c8.25? Pretty sure 4.10 was the standard ratio for a 4-banger KJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 8.25. I totally glossed over that in Don's post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 7 minutes ago, Pete M said: 8.25. I totally glossed over that in Don's post. My fault - I'm totally ignorant on KJ axles. So anyone know what was the last Jeep model to have the non-alloy rear D44 axles? I'm guessing the TJ's.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 technically the jks have a 44 rear and it's a decent axle, but it's both a different width and bolt pattern. and of course the grand cherokees had the weird 44a with its aluminum diff that seems to like to eat bearings. I didn't include them in my first post because I'd rate them below a dana 44 in reliability. The last rear 44 that is an easy swap would be the TJ 44. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, Pete M said: technically the jks have a 44 rear and it's a decent axle, but it's both a different width and bolt pattern. and of course the grand cherokees had the weird 44a with its aluminum diff that seems to like to eat bearings. I didn't include them in my first post because I'd rate them below a dana 44 in reliability. The last rear 44 that is an easy swap would be the TJ 44. Thanks for the TJ verification Pete - knew about the JKs since I've had/have a couple and crawled around under them measuring. Would be a ton of mods required for an MJ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 9 hours ago, Pete M said: technically the jks have a 44 rear and it's a decent axle, but it's both a different width and bolt pattern. and of course the grand cherokees had the weird 44a with its aluminum diff that seems to like to eat bearings. I didn't include them in my first post because I'd rate them below a dana 44 in reliability. The last rear 44 that is an easy swap would be the TJ 44. I would rate the aluminum "Dana 44" below the Dana 35. My '88 Cherokee has over 287,000 miles on the Dana 35, and it has been wheeling at Paragon in PA, on some trails in Rhode Island, and several trips to the Mohawk Trail area if Massachusetts. My '99 Grand Cherokee had to have the rear differential rebuilt around 5,000 miles, and it was whining again when Chrysler bought the turd back from me before I had it a full year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I've kinda been looking at the d44a. Seems like the ZJ guys lean pretty heavily towards it being a better axle than the d35. Couple mentions of it consuming bearings a bit more quickly but that's it. My ZJ's d35 is howling and I made the mistake of crawling under and wiggling the pinion back and forth. Whether it's from towing 5500+ lbs over the Sunwapta pass or a couple creek crossings with a slight weep to the pinion seal, or just plain old wear and tear, failure is imminent. Not quite a 1/16" radial play in the pinion bearing, although there's not as much axial play so hopefully not so imminent I won't make it 1000 miles home... But at any rate I've been to a couple yards and haven't seen a 44a under a ZJ yet. Whatever that means. I also haven't found a d35 with both drums and 3.55's. The few the one yard had listed on car-part.com were either v8's with 3.73's or else no one could find the Jeep in the yard. The d35's with discs and 3.55's were all higher mileage than mine, and the few that were convenient to investigate were as badly trashed as mine. While normally I wouldn't be opposed to the disc brake upgrade, I just put new shoes and drums on this one, and effectively the side of the road isn't somewhere I really want to be doing that upgrade, especially not when I actually need the parking brake functional, and I'm paying full retail on new parts. And I wasn't so keen on the $300/axle I got quoted when they'd been sitting on/in the ground for many years. Especially not a d35. But I'm getting pretty off-topic here. Probably the takeaway is that ZJ axles aren't what you should be looking at for an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Rob went through 2 dana-44a's before he eventually swapped in a dana 35 to stop the incessant bearing noise under his Grand cherokee. there are people that defend the dana 35 too. I just don't understand. I mean, there are a plethora of proven tough axles out there in the junkyards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 The d35 was also the only axle available under the early ZJ, including the tow package that was rated for 6500lbs. Although it occured to me just now that the full-time-only transfer cases meant some of that load is distributed to the front axle, which likely makes a huge difference in longevity. It also follows that the people most likely to be doing Jeep things are more likely to swap out the full-time tcase for something like a 231, which again would accelerate wear on the rear axle over one where the front is also taking load. Especially if they're towing with it like this idiot. I guess if I want to continue using my ZJ as a tow pig the 3.73 axles would make more sense, and swapping in a 242. But that kinda takes away from what makes a factory ax15/231 ZJ special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaine.D Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 On 10/30/2018 at 7:25 PM, Eagle said: You would have to shorten your drive shaft approximately 1 inch if you don't do a lift at the same time. Same applies if you do the Chrysler 8-1/4" Just thought about this. Would installing a slip yoke eliminator be another good option to do instead of cutting the driving shaft or a 4.5 in lift kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 you'll need a whole new driveshaft to go with the SYE. but a SYE is a good strength upgrade if you have the cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 7 hours ago, Pete M said: Rob went through 2 dana-44a's before he eventually swapped in a dana 35 to stop the incessant bearing noise under his Grand cherokee. there are people that defend the dana 35 too. I just don't understand. What I don't understand is why anyone would buy a ZJ? Only kidding.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longview Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Had a 1998 5.2 zj with a 44a in the rear in college. That 44 was noisy as all hell. Really surprised it never broke with the beatings it took. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 2 hours ago, HOrnbrod said: What I don't understand is why anyone would buy a ZJ? Only kidding.. Realistically I would never have got one if a factory five-speed hadn't popped up at the right time. It's a much better daily than the POS Jimmy I'd been driving. It's a nice feeling driving something that's "special" but that still flies completely under the radar. 0.06% of ZJs came with an ax15. Even someone who knows what they're looking at really needs to be paying attention to notice. No one randomly walks up to ask about it at gas stations then straight up ignores everything I tell them, no one stares as I drive by, no one's taking pictures of it/me, but I'm still driving something no one else has. It's awesome. And honestly without all the "luxuries" (like power locks ) it feels a lot like what a second-gen XJ might have been. But I'm really getting waaaay off-topic. To drag us back in a roundabout way, about a year ago someone was asking about some odd factory Jeep alloy wheels that were on the early XJs.They're all there, inside an '86(?) Waggy, which IIRC is sitting on a Dana44, at Wesman Salvage in Brandon, MB. I was going to verify that rear axle but since I was last there a ground squirrel dug a hole under the bumper and piled all the excavated material up against the diff, and I didn't quite care enough to dig it out when I've already got a photo of it somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75sv1 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 'They're all there, inside an '86(?) Waggy, which IIRC is sitting on a Dana44, at Wesman Salvage in' I take it this is a FS, so the bolt pattern should be 6 on 5.5 (???). Also, Isuzu Rodeos have Dana 44 under them, but same deal 6 on 5.5. Also, don't the Rubicon Wranglers have Dana 44s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 55 minutes ago, 75sv1 said: 'They're all there, inside an '86(?) Waggy, which IIRC is sitting on a Dana44, at Wesman Salvage in' I take it this is a FS, so the bolt pattern should be 6 on 5.5 (???). Also, Isuzu Rodeos have Dana 44 under them, but same deal 6 on 5.5. Also, don't the Rubicon Wranglers have Dana 44s? Those wheels were used on the '84 - '86 XJ Wagoneer, not the full-size Grand Wagoneer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I've always liked those slotted wheels. They are only 6" wide though... http://colorado4wheel.com/images/jeepwheels/xjwheels.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Yeah. It's an XK Waggy. It'll be a 5x4.5 lug pattern, standard XJ width. Unfortunately that lovely grill has been torn out of it since I took that photo four years ago. When I say torn out, I mean there are pieces of it still screwed down. Some people are animals I tell you. This also is the clearest photo of the axle I've got, and now I'm not quite so positively convinced it's a D44 as I was four years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8valvehero Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now