Dana 44 axle off center

[808Manche]

I have tried searching for days now but can’t find anything about this subject. I bought new tires the other day and had them installed professionally and after sitting back and looking at the new look of the truck I noticed my axle seemed off center. I’ve never noticed it before so it very well could have been there prior. The tires stick out of the flares on the drivers side and sits right under the flares on passenger. It favors the drivers side about 3/4” or so. I talked with a couple people about it and they had two different responses. One mechanic said I need to get new leaf springs and change bushings and the other said since my drive shaft is straight I shouldn’t worry about it and maybe change springs(since they’re original and 31yrs old) within the year but doing that isn’t going to change the way the axle sits under the truck. 

 

Has anyone else who has a manche with d44 in rear noticed this? Is it normal or is there a fix? 

 

I see it now every time I look at the rear and is frustrating not knowing it this is normal or not. 

[Eagle]

It is not normal.

[808Manche]

1 hour ago, Eagle said:

It is not normal.

What are some possible causes or what should I be looking for that would cause the axle to scoot over to the drivers side? 

 

The truck has never been in an accident and has never be wheeled exept for a few gravel roads. 

[Jeep Driver]

I had the same problem. 

 

Your springs and shackles are worn out, has nothing to do with the axle itself. 

 

I highly recommend the military wrap spring from General Spring, made in USA.

 

Now you are going to find out just how worn out your front springs are too.

[Pete M]

was this dana 44 from another MJ or some other vehicle? 

 

If you get a chance, you should add some specs of your truck to your signature  

[mjeff87]

The center section of a D44 is not perfectly centered, it's offset by a small amount.  When installed correctly, the driveshaft will not be parallel to the frame rails, it'll be angled toward the passenger side a tiny, negligible amount (the u-joints compensate for it).  Is your rear axle original to the truck, or did someone swap it in?  If it was swapped in, whoever installed it might have welded the leaf perches differently to make up for the difference.  If it's the stock/original axle, though, I would wager your rear spring bushings (at least) are toast.

 

Here's a shot of my old MJ.  It's hard to see, but the driveshaft is not parallel.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by mjeff87
add pic

[808Manche]

5 hours ago, Jeep Driver said:

I had the same problem. 

 

Your springs and shackles are worn out, has nothing to do with the axle itself. 

 

I highly recommend the military wrap spring from General Spring, made in USA.

 

Now you are going to find out just how worn out your front springs are too.

Thank you for the info. How does the truck ride with the MT’s? Are they stiffer than the regular ones? Is there a big difference in ride quality? Was looking at General Springs and saw they have both regular ones and MTs.

 

 

3 hours ago, Pete M said:

was this dana 44 from another MJ or some other vehicle? 

 

If you get a chance, you should add some specs of your truck to your signature  

Its the original springs and axle. I’ll get around to adding them specs soon. 

 

 

3 hours ago, mjeff87 said:

The center section of a D44 is not perfectly centered, it's offset by a small amount.  When installed correctly, the driveshaft will not be parallel to the frame rails, it'll be angled toward the passenger side a tiny, negligible amount (the u-joints compensate for it).  Is your rear axle original to the truck, or did someone swap it in?  If it was swapped in, whoever installed it might have welded the leaf perches differently to make up for the difference.  If it's the stock/original axle, though, I would wager your rear spring bushings (at least) are toast.

 

Here's a shot of my old MJ.  It's hard to see, but the driveshaft is not parallel.

 

 

Thanks for the info and picture. Really appreciate it. 

[mjeff87]

No problem, trying to help.

 

I just realized, when I took that pic (long ago) that my MJ was pretty much dead center in my driveway.  I didn't plan it that way, that's just the way I parked it that day.  If you look at the relief cut in the concrete below the center section of the axle in the pic, it's pretty much dead center and perfectly aligned with the rear output of the TC (and the true centerline of the axle housing).  Compare that line to the actual driveshaft, and you can see how the front yoke on the axle is offset (the driveshaft is not parallel).

[808Manche]

1 hour ago, mjeff87 said:

No problem, trying to help.

 

I just realized, when I took that pic (long ago) that my MJ was pretty much dead center in my driveway.  I didn't plan it that way, that's just the way I parked it that day.  If you look at the relief cut in the concrete below the center section of the axle in the pic, it's pretty much dead center and perfectly aligned with the rear output of the TC (and the true centerline of the axle housing).  Compare that line to the actual driveshaft, and you can see how the front yoke on the axle is offset (the driveshaft is not parallel).

 

I see now exactly what your talking about. My drive shaft is dead straight. I figured if I'm removing the hardware I figure I might as well just get some new springs in there. I was looking at General Springs and see they have two different options (4/1 and 3/2 military wrap/metric pack) which one will give a smoother ride? I’d prefer a smoother less stiff ride over strength.  This is my DD and will rarely get taken off road and when I do it’s on a mellow dirt trail with some bumps and hills. 

[Pete M]

you could also replace the bushings in the leafs/shackles.   

[808Manche]

Thank you guys for your responses and advice. I looked under the truck today and noticed my bushings are going bad(I think. Theyre dry and cracking as well as the holes are more of an oval than a circle) same with leafs. The leafs in the leaf pack aren’t exactly parallel with each other, the shims are super worn out and the overload leaf is flush with the rest of the springs and last but not least my drivers side shackle seems to be a little bit bent and leaning towards drivers side. So I figure if I replace all of that and go with the 4/1’s(budget is a priority for this job) what front coils should I get to match? Oe spring, oe spring and spacer or aftermarket spring ? I really don’t want the truck to have rake after doing the leaf swap and really don't want a rough ride. 

[mjeff87]

Your best bet would probably be to install the new packs and then measure before buying anything for the front.  If you do end up with a rake, I'd be inclined to leave it if it's a small one.  If you do use your MJ to haul anything it would probably level out nicely with a load in the bed.  Depending on the height difference (if any) there's a couple different ways to make it up in the front....small spacers, new OE springs, ACOS, ZJ V8 coils (to an extent).  I'd bet, if anything, you could manage with a small coil spacer.

 

Get the new springpacks and hardware installed in the rear and go from there.  I would opt for the 4/1 packs....no sense in paying for a military wrap if you're not wheeling it.

[Eagle]

6 hours ago, 808Manche said:

The leafs in the leaf pack aren’t exactly parallel with each other, the shims are super worn out and the overload leaf is flush with the rest of the springs and last but not least my drivers side shackle seems to be a little bit bent and leaning towards drivers side. So I figure if I replace all of that and go with the 4/1’s(budget is a priority for this job) what front coils should I get to match? Oe spring, oe spring and spacer or aftermarket spring ? I really don’t want the truck to have rake after doing the leaf swap and really don't want a rough ride. 

 

Your truck is supposed to have a rake when unloaded. If your overload leaf is in contact with the rest of the leaf pack, your springs are seriously sagged. Check the ride height measurement against factory specs to see how badly.

 

[desertmike]

I bought this truck new so I know it has stock factory parts. My driveshaft is angled a little towards the passenger side. Maybe to clear the fuel tank?  Just looking at it the tires seems to be centered in the wells.

[Swampy]

My guess would be the leaf spring perches were welded offset and thus the drive shaft is straight but the axle itself is offset.

 

It happened to my rear axle unknowingly. A buddy was helping me weld and neither of us looked at anything else other than the pinion angle and that the driveshaft was straight. 

 

so my driver side tire is out about 1/4-1/2" more than my passenger side or the other way around can't remember rn it's late. But All in all if everything is right it shouldn't adversely affect you. I have no driveline vibes and have had my jeep up to 60mph. I do plan to fix this eventually but rn it's hardly noticeable unless I point it out like I just did