D44 rear in a 78 renegade

[bly257]

I'm curious if a Dana 44 rear from a 74 CJ5 will bolt under a 78 CJ5 without any modifying?

 

[Posi]

I'm curious if a Dana 44 rear from a 74 CJ5 will bolt under a 78 CJ5 without any modifying?

No, you will need wider spring pads, the 74 has 1 3/4" pads the 78 has 2.5". Also, the 78 would have to be a manual not auto.

 

[Wertman94]

As a newb, wondering what makes the Dana 44 so much better?

 

[Torxhead]

Corporate 20 vs Dana 44 Axle - Jp Magazine

 

[bly257]

That's not to bad of a fix ok one more question if I have a AMC 304 engine a T-150 Transmission .and a Dana 20 transfer does the axle housing need to be a center pinion or an offset? See all I have is a frame and I'm trying to figure out what axles I need with that Transmission and Transfer Case

 

[Posi]

centered

 

[bly257]

centered

Excellent now all I need to do is find some axles

 

[mtnwhlr]

https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/pts/6104189161.html

Her you go

 

[bly257]

https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/pts/6104189161.html

Her you go

Yes thank you!!!!

 

[Hedgehog]

Read the article, interesting, they seem to be pushing the AMC20 over the Dana 44 . Why do I say that? Well, where did they get the price of an open differential Dana 44 ? OMG $1200 and didn't most of them come with ato least a Limited Slip carrier! I bought mine (my original Dana 44 was trashed) for about $300. Rebuilding it and adding an unused Craigslist Eaton E-locker was far less expensive. The article mentioned the smaller bearings on the AMC20 , but never addressed any kind of fix which in my book is the AMC20 's fatal flaw. For the AMC20 I can understand the benefit of adding 1 piece axles to fix the 2 piece axles many sins and welding on an axle truss to make up for the relatively weak and thin axle tubes, but non of those "Fixes" address the undersized bearing issue. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't believe I am though.

 

[bly257]

Well I'm headed to Colorado on sunday

 

[mtnwhlr]

I hope this works out for you.

 

[bly257]

I do too

 

[007]

Read the article, interesting, they seem to be pushing the AMC20 over the Dana 44 . Why do I say that? Well, where did they get the price of an open differential Dana 44 ? OMG $1200 and didn't most of them come with ato least a Limited Slip carrier! I bought mine (my original Dana 44 was trashed) for about $300. Rebuilding it and adding an unused Craigslist Eaton E-locker was far less expensive. The article mentioned the smaller bearings on the AMC20 , but never addressed any kind of fix which in my book is the AMC20 's fatal flaw. For the AMC20 I can understand the benefit of adding 1 piece axles to fix the 2 piece axles many sins and welding on an axle truss to make up for the relatively weak and thin axle tubes, but non of those "Fixes" address the undersized bearing issue. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't believe I am though.

One thing to remember is that the article was written in 1999...that doesn't change engineering, but it does change prices and availability issues. I personally think every situation is different, and thus every answer is. If I was building something I was that worried about, I'd probably put 60's in anyway. But for me, a welded and trussed one-piece 20 is just fine, and I've only done the welding part on mine so far.

 

[Belizean]

I would like to do the truss on my 20 in the future also. Hope to see yours in a picture 007

 

[Hedgehog]

I'm not going to get into an argument about a 44 VS an AMC20 . Did that when I didn't really know I was in an argument. Got spanked for it. Never again!

I do believe if you can do the work yourself the upgrade on a 20 is well worth it. But to have it professionally done the cost would be more than swapping over to a 44, at least more than the $300 replacement on my CJ. But if the 44 is more expensive it's not really worth it. I suppose if your 4 wheeling style is fairly aggressive, then as was said, go with cut down 60's.

 

[007]

Oh me either Hedge. Coke or Pepsi for me. I certainly did not intend to lead anyone to believe I wanted to start argument over this again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hedgehog]

Hmmmm. I was trying to write in a way that didn't have a negative meaning at all. Possibly poorly written, sorry for sounding less than positive. It's best to avoid unintended controversy. I ran an AMC20 for years, that jeep was ground through the desert, up mining trails, in washes and snow, never had trouble, didn't even know there was a problem until years later. Can't say as I'm a devoted fan, but I'm no enemy of the AMC20 either. I can't blame anybody for keeping their jeep close to a stock drivetrain.