Dana 44 in my 75 CJ-5 doesn't line up.

[dschwab]

Ok so after pulling the body off I noticed my rear diff is a little offset to the passenger side. I know that I am supposed to have a centered diff and am just curious if this slight misalignment could have been cause by the axle being flipped upside down to improve clearance for the pumpkin. Or is this slight angle of my driveshaft completely normal and I am just losing my mind.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Scooter402]

If your axle was flipped upside down, your jeep would drive backwards. It's a good possibility that it's either a swapped-in differential, or a different driveline (Transmission /xfer case). The offset wouldn't bother me any.

 

[csuengr]

Flipping an axle upside down is a big no no. You can't turn a low pinion into a high pinion.

That being said, the pinion gear is almost never centered on an axle. You will also notice that the engine is offset to the drivers side.

 

[dschwab]

If your axle was flipped upside down, your jeep would drive backwards. It's a good possibility that it's either a swapped-in differential, or a different driveline (Transmission /xfer case). The offset wouldn't bother me any.

The Transmission and xfer case are both the stock setup so then I would assume that the diff was swapped out at one point in time. If this offset is not going to cause me problems down the road I will just leave it as.

 

[Scooter402]

I see a few things there that aren't factory. The driveshaft is a dual cardan, or CV-style shaft. You also have a u-bolt style rear axle yoke, instead of the u-joint straps. The yoke is stronger being u-bolt style rather than straps.

anyway, with the CV shaft, you don't need to worry about any misalignment.

 

[dschwab]

Yes I guess I should have mentioned when my rear output shaft on my xfer case broke I upgraded it with the advanced adapter rear output and installed a Tom Woods customs double cv driveshaft. as for the yoke on the diff I did not touch that. Is there a way to tell what vehicle the rear end came off. There is a number stamped on the housing but no ID tag.

 

[jasonmark1993]

This is normal.

Your engine is offset to the drivers side from the factory.

You should have a Dana 44 . The pinion is centered, the pumpkin is just larger on one side making it look like its offset.

When I got my first jeep, 73, I saw that and was like WTF? Its even worse now with a 9" and the HD output and still no problems.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

The first thing I would look at is the mounts (motor, Transmission ) and make sure everything is in proper order; the rubber is in good shape, bolts tight. Then make sure all of the other connections to the frame are good such as the Transmission cross member but most importantly the springs. Make sure the shackles are straight, axle U-bolts are properly lined up to the spring plates, spring plates are lined up to the pin in the springs; even check the springs to make sure they aren’t bent. 6” of lift puts a lot of torque on the connections and components; a combination of small misalignments can start to add up.

Next is the frame. Depending upon how the PO(s) treated the rig it could be bent or twisted in many different ways; who knows. A 1975 CJ frame is just a U-channel, really not that strong and noted for cracking and such. It is possible in your case that the frame is no longer square so one side of the frame rails sits further forward than the other. It also is possible the front part of the frame is out of align with the back. Short of a frame machine, it is kind of hard to assess the frame with the motor or body in place but what you can do is park it on a level, flat surface like a garage or parking lot then take a plumb bob and mark the floor at key points, the corners, motor mounts, cross member, spring hangers, the more the better. Then you can use a measuring tape on the floor to check for square. You might also measure the distance from the floor to the frame from one side to the other, corner to corner, too. I’m not saying this is going to answer all the questions but it might give you a clue. Just remember if you do have a frame shop to straighten the frame be sure to put the body back on first because when the frame moves the tub goes with it for the most part and if you don’t you might have a tough time getting everything back together.

 

[73CJ]

You also have a u-bolt style rear axle yoke, instead of the u-joint straps. The yoke is stronger being u-bolt style rather than straps.

D44s in an Intermediate came with U-bolts.

 

[BusaDave9]

Are you sure it's the diff that is off center? make some careful measurements. Either way I wouldn't worry. I've seen an offset diff used with a centered tcase. But yours isn't that bad.

 

[Scooter402]

D44s in an Intermediate came with U-bolts.

Well dang, learn something new every day!

 

[dschwab]

Ok so the frame on this jeep is by no means straight. The front cross member is cracked bad enough on the passenger side that is no longer actually connected to the frame rail. I just noticed the reason being because the PO was in an accident was hit on the passenger side so the frame bends in towards center there and the front shackle hangars are cracked... But I think that is my doing. So I am going to start building a new frame in a few weeks and I will make sure that I ensure everything is where it needs to be and see where I am at after that.

 

[johnnyreb]

maybe someone swapped in a QuadraTrac diff at some point and time. I believe those were offset.

 

[dschwab]

Ok so just to close out this thread I wanted to give and update to my findings. So I got the new frame built and installed the axles. My finding with the new frame is that the axle was not a original jeep axle and someone found one that worked because when i mounted it under a straight frame it was way off. I replaced it with a original 75 CJ5 axle and it looks worlds better. The axle actually appears to be center. So moral of this story for me is never trust what the PO tells you is factory.

 

[Hedgehog]

Hmmmmm how interesting. My '75 looks exactly like your first picture with things offset to the left......