dana 44 out of 86 cj7

[bearsden]

I have a guy in town that is selling a Dana 44 axle out of his 86 cj. I currently have a 86 cj with an AMC20 .What do i need to look for if I were to purchase this?? I'm sure it wont be for sale long....

 

[wm69]

I have a guy in town that is selling a Dana 44 axle out of his 86 cj. I currently have a 86 cj with an AMC20 .What do i need to look for if I were to purchase this?? I'm sure it wont be for sale long....

If gear ratios are the same as what you have it should be plug and play. Any idea what your's are and what his are?

 

[bearsden]

mine are 3.73's and the kid i talked to on the phone didnt know..and was not at home at the time.He's got the front Dana 30 for sale as well. How much is a set of gears if i get there and they dont match? He took them both out of his 86 cj and i guess him and his dad are putting some one ton axles in. Not to sure what gears are good for what but i know these things are hard to find so i better jump on it !

 

[Torxhead]

I would say get it and ask questions later.

 

[Petescj]

Get the front Dana 30 "out of thier way" while your there. New U bolts for the Dana 44 axle and it should bolt right up.

 

[bearsden]

thanks again torxhead!!

 

[bearsden]

I did purchase that tonight and cleaned the tag up its saying 2.72 gears. I got the 3.73 now.Ive never done any axle stuff ever,any suggestions on where I should go from here?

 

[Tinman22]

Infideloffroad is doing a similar swap try a pm he might be some help. It's a first for him too.

 

[Petescj]

I did purchase that tonight and cleaned the tag up its saying 2.72 gears. I got the 3.73 now.Ive never done any axle stuff ever,any suggestions on where I should go from here?

First Id verify that they are 2.72 by counting teeth. You never know if someone swapped them out already or not. If they are then Id send the pm. If it seems more than youd like to do you will need the carriers and everything out of your old axles to swap into the new.

 

[bearsden]

First Id verify that they are 2.72 by counting teeth. You never know if someone swapped them out already or not. If they are then Id send the pm. If it seems more than youd like to do you will need the carriers and everything out of your old axles to swap into the new.

ok. I will open it up and see where I'm at with this Dana 44 .Thanks Petescj !

 

[tarry99]

ok. I will open it up and see where I'm at with this Dana 44 .Thanks Petescj !

So your upgrading to the Dana 44 over the AMC20 .........that's a good move. Now may also be the time to, if you ever wanted to improve it's off-road ability to re-gear them both......Just a thought.

As far as doing the re-gear yourself?........Do you have the correct or access to the correct tools needed?

 

[Lumpy Grits]

I did purchase that tonight and cleaned the tag up its saying 2.72 gears. I got the 3.73 now.Ive never done any axle stuff ever,any suggestions on where I should go from here?

All that tag sez is it left the factory with 2.72's.
Doesn't mean that what's in it now.........
Since you have never done R&P set-up before. Have a pro do it, and watch them.
Specialized tools are needed.
I say this as someone who has done R&P work for the best part of 30 years.
LG

 

[bearsden]

i agree but am not sure what gears will do what for me.Doing alot of reading right now. And hopefully will open it up this weekend.I will have someone else more than likely do the work while I watch and learn.

 

[bearsden]

All that tag sez is it left the factory with 2.72's.
Doesn't mean that what's in it now.........
Since you have never done R&P set-up before. Have a pro do it, and watch them.
Specialized tools are needed.
I say this as someone who has done R&P work for the best part of 30 years.
LG

I will have someone else do the work as I don't feel comfortable with any of that. But I will double check whats inside before I do anything.Wish you weren't so far away!!! Even though its been in the 40's and 50's here its hard to get cali guys here in january !!!! I did spend sometime in the mojave for desert training actually drove there from colorado 3 times ! i loved it there !! thanks for the help LG !

 

[Hedgehog]

Most of the time the gear ratio is stamped on the ring gear, if not then count.

2.72 gears were an attempt by AMC to increase the gas mileage for jeeps. They would be considered to be a road gear, allowing for a lower RPM for any given speed. 3.73 gears are a decent compromise and 4.11's are more of an off road gear. Allowing for higher RPM's for any given speed. Higher RPM's mean more torque or more of what we think of as power especially when crawling over obstacles like rocks. So when someone says that you can change gear ratios for better off road performance, they are talking about slower crawl speeds and more power.

I'd do a true evaluation of what you are using your jeep for. If you are a road warrior keep the 2.72's, if you are primarily interested in off road capability go for something in the 4.11 or 4.88 gear range.

This might be a deciding factor for you. Gear changes are not cheap. Not long ago I heard of someone paying $2800 for a gear change on his jeep. I don't know about you, but $2800 is a lot of money. Yes, it might be cheaper in other places and the $2800 job I'm referring to was a full on price, pull the axles, straighten the tubes, change the gears with new gears and putting everything back in.

 

[Petescj]

2.72 and 331 gears use what they call a small carrier. I think 3.54s have the small carrier as well but I definately know 3.73 and up is the large carrier. When I pulled the cover on mine it was easy to see the ratio. Its a crappy pic cause gear oil ran right down the numbers but they were 41 -11. thats 41 teeth on the ring gear and 11 on the pinion. 41 / 11 = 3.73.



Your going to want to open them up and take a good look anyway. Mine was full of some of the funkiest muddy gear oil. Open her up and see what you got.

 

[bearsden]

2.72 and 331 gears use what they call a small carrier. I think 3.54s have the small carrier as well but I definately know 3.73 and up is the large carrier. When I pulled the cover on mine it was easy to see the ratio. Its a crappy pic cause gear oil ran right down the numbers but they were 41 -11. thats 41 teeth on the ring gear and 11 on the pinion. 41 / 11 = 3.73.



Your going to want to open them up and take a good look anyway. Mine was full of some of the funkiest muddy gear oil. Open her up and see what you got.

first of all thanks for the help! it will be more road and trails,(I use it for scouting during hunt season) here in iowa not much to crawl, more north. And the guy still has the front axle off the jeep as well...looks like i better just buy it as well.Both axles are out of the same 86 jeep. Like you said earlier I shouldve just bought both, but the funds are a little tight right now.I'm sure he still has it so i'll give him a call.

 

[bearsden]

Most of the time the gear ratio is stamped on the ring gear, if not then count.

2.72 gears were an attempt by AMC to increase the gas mileage for jeeps. They would be considered to be a road gear, allowing for a lower RPM for any given speed. 3.73 gears are a decent compromise and 4.11's are more of an off road gear. Allowing for higher RPM's for any given speed. Higher RPM's mean more torque or more of what we think of as power especially when crawling over obstacles like rocks. So when someone says that you can change gear ratios for better off road performance, they are talking about slower crawl speeds and more power.

I'd do a true evaluation of what you are using your jeep for. If you are a road warrior keep the 2.72's, if you are primarily interested in off road capability go for something in the 4.11 or 4.88 gear range.

This might be a deciding factor for you. Gear changes are not cheap. Not long ago I heard of someone paying $2800 for a gear change on his jeep. I don't know about you, but $2800 is a lot of money. Yes, it might be cheaper in other places and the $2800 job I'm referring to was a full on price, pull the axles, straighten the tubes, change the gears with new gears and putting everything back in.

Will have to put some more thought into it.. and see what i'm going to do.thanks for the good info !!

 

[Petescj]

first of all thanks for the help! it will be more road and trails,(I use it for scouting during hunt season) here in iowa not much to crawl, more north. And the guy still has the front axle off the jeep as well...looks like i better just buy it as well.Both axles are out of the same 86 jeep. Like you said earlier I shouldve just bought both, but the funds are a little tight right now.I'm sure he still has it so i'll give him a call.

What size tires are you running?

 

[Hedgehog]

Peter has a good point, tire size is important in this discussion. Big tires take a higher (or is it lower) gear ratio to reduce stress on your drive line.