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rear end swap...? need advice....


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...just grenaded the rear end in the old "Sgt. Rock" Sportruk. :mad: Have a rear lined up from a salvage yard ($125 complete drum to drum, no wheels/tires) from a recently running truck. :D I have no clue as to which rear it is. :nuts:

 

I have the wimpy rear diff. Will the entire rear end, no matter which version (Dana,etc...), swap right into the truck....or are there little differences like U-Joints, brake lines and cables and other harware ?

 

All the locals that have Jeep Comanche rears want $400 plus :headpop: , most of these are for 4x4 applications. I would like to tell the guy to go ahead and pull this one tomorrow for me to pick up Sat. What ya'll think? :popcorn:

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The pinion snout on a D44 (if you should be so lucky as to be getting a D44) is about 3/4" to 1" longer than the D35, which means that the driveshaft should be cut down by a commensurate dimension if upgrading from a D35 to a D44.

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...sorry, just assumed everyone knew I was talking about a donor Comanche. This is the "Comanche Club Tech" forum, right? I'm not a total goob, wondering if a '75 Ford F-350 Dually rear will just bolt up to existing mounts under my pile ! :nanner:

 

I don't know the year or if 4x4. The scrap yard dude knows even less ! Parts truck is a Comanche truk and not a Cherokee suv. Main question is, will all Comanche rears swap (entire rear axle housing assembly,drum to drum, complete)? I don't care about ratios or lockers or any of that, unimportant. This is my rainy weather ride to work and I throw the flatbottom in it occasionally or for Camping. Doesn't do anything heavy work related and isn't used for serious 4x4ing.

 

I'm not sure what rear mine has either....hey, its a $200 dollar truck saved from exile in a chicken shed, looking for the absolute fastest/cheapest fix so that I can pull the Pop-Up to the campsite with the kids over spring break weekend in 2 weeks.

 

This is what I get for slamming second and laying rubber, showing out leaving work. What a lousy rear end !

 

Hey, BTW, that :nanner: was meant in a fun way, not in a negative way. Just in case anyone took it wrong ! :D

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....thanks Eagle! So there is a D35 and a D44 and there are others that came under these trucks?

 

On the D44, other that the length of the "snout", all other items will interchange?(ie, ujoints, leaf mounts and such?). Will the driveshaft HAVE to be cut down (no problem, just asking about tolerances) or is there enough play in the yoke/spline to let it ride? Are the drive shaft yokes different or are the driveshaft lengths different in these different applications? I might get him to throw those in, too, on the deal.

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86 MJs also came with the AMC-20 rear, bolt in also. Any MJ rear end you swap in will probably require driveshaft and/or brakeline mods if you are not replacing exactly what you have now. I think you are in or near Huntsville? Have you tried Complete Auto in Brownboro? Many many MJs there, lots of choices.

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....wow Thanks for the pic, didn't know there were that many styles used under the Comanche.

 

As for the gear ratio, since I'm not messing with internals and this is just a 2wd truck, what difference (other than general performance or milage) does the gear ratio matter? I have swapped 2.79's for 3.25's and 3.9's in older Fords with only a little "performance" change.

 

I agree on the $125 is high, but as I said , the salvage dealer that knows and deals in Jeeps wanted $400 for that rear and higher for the better ones.

Anyways, $125 is a fair "Stupid Tax" to pay for asking an 80's ChryCo/AMC vehicle to do something extra-ordinary just once. Something that my '72 Corolla (just to name one of the vehicles I had fun with thru the years) did thousands of times over a great many years.. That 1600 Hemi head Yoda would do sideways Posi burnouts thru 3 gears, slamshifting with no clutch, Never once broke anything except a u-joint. I turn the tires over in the Comanche and then pop 2nd and BLAM, clunking junk in the rear.

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hornbrod, you hit the nail on the head, thats the guys that want $400 for the D35. I'll keep them in mind when I can't find another complete junker laying around to buy outright. I've got several 2wd trucks around the area that could be bought for $200-400 bucks , just trying not to have to deal with a hulk here in the city limits.....

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Not all the axles in the pic were offered. I believe the only ones available stock were the AMC 20 (86 only) D35, and D44. Going to lower gears (3.55, 3.73, or 4.10) Will make your truck quicker and affect your mileage, but it will also throw off your speedometer, so you'd have to get the correct speedo gear.

 

I don't know how much it would be to ship an axle but you can HAVE my 88 XJ D35(3.07 ratio, probably what you have) for shipping. You'd need to weld new perches on it though.

 

Maybe you should also check to see what exactly broke. Might be cheaper to just replace that part instead of the whole axle.

 

I'll also soonishly have an MJ D35 (3.07) up for grabs as soon as I get my 8.25 in the blue truck.

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