Detailed Dana 44 Front Swap?

[aglinks]

Are there any threads hiding that detail a wagoneer Dana 44 swap? I have the factory Dana 30 and with a lift, ls swap, and 33's I am worried that its only a matter of time before it breaks. Also, how silly would a CJ7 look with factory WT AMC20 rear and NT wagoneer Dana 44 front? From what I have read the simplest way to perform the swap is to use a spring outboarding kit in the front and leave the axle stock width (rather than shortening it) and swap over the Dana 30 knuckles. I am clearly in the planning stages so any info or direction pointing would help. Nothing I found in searches was very detailed.

 

[jay59l]

You are in luck. I have a ‘74 waggy in my CJ. You will need to outboard the springs and convert the lug pattern to match the rear. With 33”, I think your Dana 30 front will be fine with some good aftermarket shafts and good hubs. Let me know if you have any specific questions or need pics.

 

[aglinks]

You are in luck. I have a ‘74 waggy in my CJ. You will need to outboard the springs and convert the lug pattern to match the rear. With 33” I think the front will be fine with some good aftermarket shafts and good hubs. Let me know if you have any specific questions or need pics.

Are you running the stock rear axle? What was the hardest part of the swap? And pictures would be awesome!

 

[Posi]

As another option you could cut down the long side and skip the outboarding.



I did this 10 years ago.


I removed the outers and shafts and just need to pop out the gears. I will cut about 4” give or take. If I can find a scout shaft to match the cut I’ll use it or have the waggy shaft cut and re-splined.






A quick review of the procedures I used in stripping the front 44.

Remove the two calibers pins and caliber.

I removed the rotor hub cap screws and used a rubber mallet to pop off the cap. I then removed the two snap rings, one is on the end of the axle shaft and the other is recessed in the hub. You will need some type of pick set to pry up the hub ring. If your dental hygienist is digging you she would be more then happy to give you a couple.

Next removed would be the drive gear, pressure spring, and spring retainer. You can use the screws from the outer cap to aide in removing the drive gear. The axle is 30 years old so I had to lube and work the drive gear to persuade it to come out, typically they should come out with ease as the other side did for me.

There will be two lock nuts that you will need a special socket with prongs to remove they are inexpensive and you can find then at any FLAPS. There is a washer that’s best removed using a magnet as well. You can now slide off the hub.

To remove the spindle I re-installed the lock nut and tapped it on all side to loosen the spindle. When I had a gap between the spindle and knuckle I then used a screw driver and worked it around the spindle until it came off. The shafts can now be removed.

Next were the knuckles, there is a cotter pin in the castle nut but most times in these old axles their rusted and break off. I don’t fool with then much I just bend then over and use a gun to loosen the nut. Leave the castle nut flush with the top of the ball stub. Remove the jam nut on the lower ball joint. With the castle nut flash you now have a good base to give it a good wack with a 3 pound hammer and the knuckle will pop off. This may take more then a few wacks but it should come off.

To remove the diff gears loosen the bearing cap bolts but don’t take them completely off that way they will hold the diff case from accidentally falling to the ground. I used two pry bars to remove the case I also used some sheet metal under the bar as not to nick the machined surface. Once you pop the case loose then remove the bearing caps. If your reusing the bearings make sure you mark the bearing caps because they need to go back in the same place.

With sheet metal already removed.


Next removed the pinion nut, using a puller makes short work of the yoke. Using a rubber mallet give the pinion a light blow and the pinion should pop out. Re-installing the diff cover is a good idea so the pinion doesn't land on the ground.

I removed the bearing cups with an awl by tapping around the cup. One cup will need to be removed from the diff cover side and the other from the pinion side.

 

[Posi]

Most websites have the front NT waggy width between 59”-60” I measured mine out at 61” wms to wms. Instead of cutting to match my rear 44 exactly I cut the front more so to balance it out. I measured from the middle of the spring pad on the short side to the right wms and then measured both center spring pads on a WT Dana 30 to get a balanced front end. I ended up cutting 4 1/8 off the long side.

I removed the long side spring pad and shock mount.








No turning back now!





I cut the inner knuckle first and made the cut close to the weld to aide in the tube removal.











I ground down the weld until I could see the separation between the tube and inner knuckle. You will see a definite separation I just wasn’t there yet when I took this pic.






I made two 90 degree cuts then punched out one half at a time.

 

[Posi]

I cleaned the axle using a degreaser then chased all the threads. I wire wheeled the bolts as well to remove the rust and years of RVT that had built up on the base of the threads.






Shot some Rusty Metal primer

 

[Posi]

Here is an axle shaft u-joint that has been inactive for about 13 years and seldom if ever used in 4 wheel drive. As you can see it’s rusted and will need a bit more patients to remove.





I first removed the 4 rusted C-clips that were located on the inside of the ears. Hitting the cap with a hammer loosen up the clips enough to remove with a screw driver.

Note: above is the waggy shaft below is the Chevy shaft (spare)





To remove the caps I used a vice opened enough to support two of the ears. Then I used a hammer on the thick part of the shaft to back out the caps. When the caps were out enough I used pliers to work them out the rest of the way.






I will sub out the shafts to be cut down.





I had the waggy long side shaft cut down 4 1/8” and the extra chevy shaft spare cut to match.












The stock 44s are 52 rockwell on the outside and inward a ¼”, the inside is 20 rockwell. Because the stock shafts are not as strong as alloys they need the flexibility. IMO, having them cryoed can make them brittle “if” not performed properly.

Both 44 shafts were free so I’ll run them as is and upgrade if they break.

 

[Posi]

I finished welding the driver side inner knuckle, spring perch, and shock mount. Primed and ready for top coat.

 

[aglinks]

Wow that is a lot of work! I wonder if I am better off sticking with the 30 and leaving it open.

 

[Posi]

The wagon front axle I’m using in this project has a 6 lug 5.5 bolt pattern, to match my rear 5 lug 5.5 I plan to use ford hubs and small bearing spindles (the ford hubs won’t fit the large bearing spindles). You can buy new small bearing spindles Spicer PN 706528X or can be had on any '74-'76 FSJ or '73-'76 Chevy.

 

[Posi]

I installed the steering box to mock up the steering linkage. Particulars: YJ springs (moves axle up about and inch or so), wagon axle cut down 4 1/8”, after market diff cover.

I first drilled out the Dana 30 knuckles to 5/8” to see if the aftermarket TR and drag link flip (over steering arms) would work. I wasn’t able to get full swing with the steering box before the TR hit the diff cover.

I mocked up the thinner stock CJ TR and drag link over the steering arms, although it gave me more room between the TR and diff cover it also hit the cover on full swing.

I tried the Dana 44 knuckles with it's longer steering arms and the wagon inverted “T” steering. I was able to get full swing with the box without hitting the diff cover. I need to cut down the TR and drag link and re-thread both along with reaming out the pitman arm. Over all the wagon linkage is stronger with solid TR and drag link with beefy TRE’s.

The Dana 44 on the left has longer steering arms then a Dana 30 the TR is moved further away from the diff cover. The Dana 44 knuckles have one hole in each knuckle with inverted T steering while the Dana 30 has one hole in the driver side knuckle and two holes in the passenger side (TR/drag link) for cross over steering.

 

[Posi]

The 44 knuckle TRE arm hole is 1 1/2” longer then the 30 knuckle TRE arm hole, with yj springs the axle is moved forward an 1” this puts the steering linkage 2 1/2" closer to the steering box then stock. I also had an aftermarket diff cover that’s a bit thicker then stock. With using the 44 knuckles my concern was binding of the drag link and TR because the steering linkage being that much closer to the steering box.

Having cut down my axle to widetrack Dana 30 width I thought I could use a heavier TR and DL made for a Dana 30 along with heim joints so I drilled out the 30 knuckles to 5/8”. We now know the 30 knuckles with stock and aftermarket TR and DL won’t work in my situation because of binding on the diff cover whether the TR is under or over the steering arm.

Short of going flat top knuckles I made up 1 1/2” by going with a CJ dropped pitman arm. The wagon pitman arm is about 7” hole to hole and the stock CJ is about 6”, and the CJ dropped pitman arm is 5 1/2” ( because of the drop its shorter for added strength).

I’ll be swapping the new ball joints over to the 44 as well being the 30 and 44 uses the same joints.

Cut and re-thread my TR and DL he also reamed out the pitman arm for a larger drag link end joint.

 

[Posi]

I pressed new ball joints in the Dana 44 knuckles. Before the knuckles went onto the yokes I first installed the split ring flush with the top of the yoke. I used a jack with a receiver tube to press the lower joint into the yoke while I tightened the jam nut to 75 ft lbs. If you don't press in the joint it will spin and you won't be able to tighten the jam nut.





I installed the TR and there was plenty of clearance.

 

[Posi]

The wagon front 44 is a 6 lug 5.5 and to match my rear 44 5 lug 5.5 I have to switch to the ford hubs (5 lug 5.5). I found a set 91 ford hubs at the pick & pull I swapped for a few pieces of small scrape.

The ford disc was toast so I had to separate the hub and disc. I used my press to press out the lugs.









My thoughts were to inspect the bearing and replace as needed. I removed the inner oil seal. The first one I used an oil seal removal tool, the oil seal on the second hub I used a putty knife to get separation between the oil seal and hub then used a screwdriver and lightly tapped it off with a hammer. The screwdriver worked much better in this circumstance.





I put the bearing in a can of mineral spirits with a wire attached to it and let it soak for awhile then used the wire to agitate the bearing until it was clean. The outer bearings were replacement Timkens and were in great shape the inner bearings were Japan originals and had scoring.

 

[Posi]

I bought some 760x u-joints. I used a press to install the u-joints and used a hammer to tap the yoke of the shaft to set the caps. I also replaced the axle shaft seal (dust seal) and added grease around the thrust face of the shaft, seal area of spindle, and valley of the seal.






greased the inner splines before installing the axle shaft being careful not to dislodge the inner axle seal. I kept the shaft centered until the shaft splines engaged the side gears then pushed the shaft in.

I replaced the needle bearings in both spindles and greased them before installing. I used loctite and torque the spindle nuts to 30 ft lbs









I decided to use the Jeep bracket/dust shield and save the chevy plate for another project.

I ground down the two spot welds from the brackets and mounted them. Before installing the hub the bracket will get another coat of paint.






I installed new inner cups and bearings into the ford hubs I used a brass punch to install the cups by tapping around the top until it seated. I made sure to clean up any small splinters of brass that tend to come of the drift.

 

[Posi]

After filling the bearing with grease I installed a new inner seal I made sure to coat the outside edge with Super 300 I used a block of wood and hammer to tap the seal in.





After mounting the hub and rotor I installed the bearing adjuster inner locking nut making sure the peg (located on one side) was facing away from the bearing. I mounted the wheel and rotated it while I tightened the locknut to 50 ft lbs (rotating the wheel helps seat the bearings uniformly). Once the bearings were seated I loosened the locknut and retighten to 35 ft lbs then backed off about 1/3 turn.

I then installed the retaining washer making sure to engage the peg on the inner locking nut into one of several holes on the washer. I tightened the outer locking nut to 55 ft lbs. The hub will see another coat of paint as well.

 

[Posi]

The installation is straight forward and simple. I first slid in the locking hub body assembly.









I used a screwdriver to pry the shaft outbound a bit to give me enough clearance to installed the axle retaining ring.








I turned the cap to the free position and used anti-seize on the screws then installed the cap.





I hope this helps

 

[jay59l]

I had ford rotors for the conversion and have a ford 5x5.5 D60 semi floater in the back. The conversion was much easier than cutting down a full width and getting custom shafts etc. I’ll try to find some better pics.

 

[aglinks]

I had ford rotors for the conversion and have a ford 5x5.5 D60 semi floater in the back. The conversion was much easier than cutting down a full width and getting custom shafts etc. I’ll try to find some better pics.

Did you use an outboarding kit or make your own? That looks pretty damn good.

 

[aglinks]

The installation is straight forward and simple. I first slid in the locking hub body assembly.









I used a screwdriver to pry the shaft outbound a bit to give me enough clearance to installed the axle retaining ring.








I turned the cap to the free position and used anti-seize on the screws then installed the cap.





I hope this helps

You sir, are far more talented than I am. I think I would go the outboard route just due to my own technical limitations. But seriously, excellent work!