Dana 44 ID - Open or LS and other questions

[Dzimm]

8 hours ago, Dammerung said:

Good to know. I thought the seals wouldn’t need anything super special, but I figured if I needed to do bearings I could leave the pinion one alone if it’s still good because of the whole resetting the gears issue. On the carrier itself and the axles, it wouldn’t be too bad because I already have an old hydraulic press from my grandfather. But I didn’t know if redoing bearings on something like the carrier would require me to re-shim it with new shims.

Both of these axles have been sitting for the past 10 years doing nothing, so they may not be so bad (except for the ugly surface rust). And speaking of that rust, how should I go about dealing with it? I have a sandblaster, so could I just blast the rust away first, paint, and then redo seals?


1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

You can definitely sand blast it and that would be easiest.  The route I'd probably go in your case is to pull the axle shafts and do a quick inspection of the internals to be sure there aren't any crazy glaring issue, put the diff cover back on and tighten it up then stuff some paper towels in the axle tubes.  Sand blast away.  Wipe down with some mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol to get it clean then paint.  After the paint is set I'd then do seals. 

 

You can do the axle shaft bearings without worrying about the gear setup and as ghetdjc320 mentioned you can get away with carrier bearings usually but there can be differences with bearing thickness and such that could change your setup a bit so if you do those I'd recommend to get some gear paint and just check your pattern to be sure nothing changed.  Any bearing you replace be sure to replace the race as well.  The races are matched to the bearings so keep them together.

[ghetdjc320]

52 minutes ago, cruiser54 said:

My 90 is. Has limited slip also.

 

On 5/17/2021 at 5:49 AM, ghetdjc320 said:

Good to know, I was thinking all metric tons were 2wd but I got it confused with being a long bed. All MT’s were long beds iirc right?

 

Just flew for the last 25 hrs and am a bit jet lagged lol.

 

[cruiser54]

Rest up. IIRC metric tons had the AMC 20 for the most part. 

[Tex06]

10 hours ago, Dammerung said:

Both of these axles have been sitting for the past 10 years doing nothing, so they may not be so bad (except for the ugly surface rust). And speaking of that rust, how should I go about dealing with it? I have a sandblaster, so could I just blast the rust away first, paint, and then redo seals?

Personal opinion: Wire wheel the outside after changing the fluid and run as-is. Unless the axles have been leaking fluid already chances are really good the seals and bearings are fine. If you introduce sand to the equation, you have to make damn sure you get it all out....which is easiest when there's no cracks/crevices like bearings and races to hide in.

Basically, if you think the axles may be good, change fluid, wire wheel, and paint. If you think they're suspect, full teardown, sandblast (protect any machined surfaces), redo your gears, and new bearings/seals, then paint. Rebuilding either of these axles isn't that bad, but it will cost more in both time and money....and if the axles are fine as they currently are, you're not really gaining much other than peace of mind.  

[Dammerung]

And now yet another question for the D44! Disc brakes: which swap should I do? I know the Ford Explorer swap is a popular and easy one, but I plan on running the stock alloy wheels and have heard there is a potential for rubbing with the Ford swap. So would the ZJ swap be better for different caliper placement or would that leave me in the same predicament?


1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

[Eagle]

On 5/16/2021 at 5:26 PM, ghetdjc320 said:

iirc no dana 44 equipped MJ was 4wd

 

My '87 MJ has a Dana 44 and 4WD. From the factory.

[Eagle]

On 5/19/2021 at 10:14 AM, cruiser54 said:

Rest up. IIRC metric tons had the AMC 20 for the most part. 

 

Only for '84 thru '96. Starting in '87, the heavy duty axle was the Dana 44.

[Pete M]

7 hours ago, Dammerung said:

And now yet another question for the D44! Disc brakes: which swap should I do? I know the Ford Explorer swap is a popular and easy one, but I plan on running the stock alloy wheels and have heard there is a potential for rubbing with the Ford swap. So would the ZJ swap be better for different caliper placement or would that leave me in the same predicament?


1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

 

I don't remember anyone mentioning interference with the ZJ swap.    which makes sense to me since ZJs essentially use the "same" rims as MJs.

[cruiser54]

Unfortunately, the Dana 44 swap involves more work with bearing/seal spacers etc.

 

Not as simple as a 35 or 8.25.

[ghetdjc320]

10 hours ago, Eagle said:

 

My '87 MJ has a Dana 44 and 4WD. From the factory.

Holly cow! Lol, please read the rest of the thread and my subsequent comments

[Dammerung]

For the breather tube hole in the 44, is it possible to thread it and put a nipple on or is there a specific type of breather nozzle that can go on there?


1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

[ghetdjc320]

3 hours ago, Dammerung said:

For the breather tube hole in the 44, is it possible to thread it and put a nipple on or is there a specific type of breather nozzle that can go on there?


1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

That’s what I’ve done before. Drill and tap the axle tube on top. 

[Caish]

On 5/16/2021 at 3:18 PM, Pete M said:

no way to get a cheap posi.  that requires replacing the carrier and re-setting up the gears.  might be a grand per axle.  but you can add lunchbox lockers into both for probably under 300 each.   

THings are mass produced, I've swapped out lots of carriers, and gearsets just using the same shims it had... Not a black art or voodoo. 

The crush sleeve can be an issue if it uses one, HP D30 doesn't LP d30 does. 
Glad I got a couple LSD D44 carriers in the shop. 
Well one is a clutch type LSD, the other is a geared Torgusen LSD. 
Was thinking about putting the Torgusen on my JK, just have to drill out the ring gear holes. 
 

[cruiser54]

What is a Torgusen? Got a pic?

[derf]

He probably means torsion...

[cruiser54]

We'll see. Torsion isn't a differential either. 

[zomeizter]

Torsen...

[cruiser54]

I know. I used to work for them.

My friend's dad invented the original Torsen. Originally called the Dual Drive Differential.

They made me a pair for my Nissan Patrol about 40 years ago.

My demo vehicle for the diffs was a 76 Cherokee Chief with Quadratrac. 

 

I'd like to see a pic because they started using the Torsen name on other diffs as years went by.

 

[phatton]

If your axles just have surface rust - card them with a wire wheel to get the light stuff off - then apply 2 coats of Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator.  I prefer the quart can over the spray can.  You can use a brush, roller or sprayer to apply.  This is a quality product which is very durable, blocks out the rust and can be painted over or left as is.

[Dammerung]

Well, I’m gonna turn this into a Dana 44 build thread because I’ve decided to regear it. There’s a guy in town who’ll do a regear for about 600 if we bring him the parts.
This picture is after I took it into a sandblaster, who blasted the whole axle and the axle hubs for 60 bucks.



1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

[Dammerung]

Yukon LS just arrived today, got it for 275, including shipping


1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

[Pete M]

regearing takes a lot of pennies, but it's worth every single one  

[Dammerung]

Just got the rear axle back from regearing. Also finished fully painting the thing. Now we just need to test the lines as well as find a ZJ distribution block.

Also, does anyone know how many inches of lift I’ll need to be able to make this thing fit without cutting the drive shaft?




1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer
4.0 Liter w/ AW4 2WD

[cruiser54]

On 5/16/2021 at 2:26 PM, ghetdjc320 said:

iirc no dana 44 equipped MJ was 4wd

Mine is 4WD

[cruiser54]