Which Dana 44 axles?

[Dano12771]

Weighing out my options. I'm trying to figure out if I don't end up using my donar vehicle with Dana 60/ gm 14 bolt full width axles which Dana 44s should I look for? I'm just not sure of having such a wide axle under my jeep. I believe the 44s would be narrower from what I've read. The thing is I'm not sure how much 4 wheeling I'd be doing to justify such a large axle as the d60 and the 14bolt. But still would like something stronger then the stock cj axles. By the way my jeep is a 1985 CJ7 . I figured that might be something you would need to know in order to figure out which d44s will work. Thanks for reading:xj:

 

[CJim7]

Ok, heres the way I see it and keep in mind this is my opinion only.

I feel if stock CJ axles are not strong enough and that you need to upgrade, that you should go all out.

To me Dana 44 's are a "middle of the road" axle: Good for tires up to 37" but not much beyond. Stock axles can handle almost up that that size relatively speaking, and depending on driving style. So my thought is just skip the middle-man and go with one-tons.

With the money you are spending on 44's to get a "little" more strength over stock, you can upgrade further and get better strength and options to go bigger if needed.

 

[Dano12771]

I agree but I seem to be having this mental battle in my mind about having such a wide axle. I've been going back and forth w/this decision since the end of last summer. I already have a truck w/ those axles and a GM Turbo 400 Transmission a np205 Transfer Case and a 454ci bb. Maybe I'm feeling a little overwhelmed w this. Lots to think about.

 

[Fifesjeep]

Find a Ford 9" for the rear... it's strong with plenty of upgrades available... plus these are cheap and plentiful at any junkyard for around $AMC 150 ... And they're strong enough to do what you want.
Find the correct Dana 44 for your application.... Just start searching axle widths, gearing, perch widths, how easy/hard they are to find, what parts swap from the various other ones, spline counts and the cost of these in your area etc.

 

[fzsk4p]

Check my post in your other thread.

 

[gert]

I am going to narrow my Dana 44 front for use in my CJ7 and a its expensive if you decide to replace axle shafts lockers gears diff cover rebuild brakes blah blah blah......You have got to define what you want to do with your jeep because if you spend the money to upgrade your stock axle and hen decide/break it and want to upgrade to a diffrent axle altogether you will have a few thousand dollars invested in just front axles alone My jeep I decided I want to do everything with and am not willing to cut up the new body sides I just welded in so I am going to stay at a 34" tire and since I have a lead foot and a 360 V8 and plan to drive to where I wheel I got a Dana 44 out of my 82 Dodge and will narrow it to the width of the original Dana 30 and I will replace the shafts with aftermarket to make sure I dont break it. The D60 will handle anything you can throw at it but its mega heavy

 

[Dano12771]

Got it. Checking out article on pirate now. Thanks fzsk4p

 

[Dano12771]

It's tough decision. Sounds as if you might have a little exper. in this project gert.

 

[fzsk4p]

It's tough decision. Sounds as if you might have a little exper. in this project gert.

Just a little.

Help us to help you. Need some information.
Specs of your CJ;

Type of terrain, wheel size, bolt pattern, tire size, lift amount, powertrain. Anything you can tell us.

Then CJ.com readers can help spend your money for you.

Dana 60`s are not all they are cracked up to be. Plenty of way`s to fix that.

 

[CJim7]

Dana 60`s are not all they are cracked up to be. Plenty of way`s to fix that.

A D60 is a heavy Dana 44 until you upgrade to 35-spline shafts which takes some work. Until you do that, the only real difference is the pumpkin section.

 

[CJim7]

The D60 or 60/14 combo is heavy.
But there are guys putting portals and 2.5-5 ton rockwells under their Jeeps.

 

[fzsk4p]

A D60 is a heavy Dana 44 until you upgrade to 35-spline shafts which takes some work. Until you do that, the only real difference is the pumpkin section.

BINGO JIM !! You got it right on !!

 

[Old Dog]

Any Dana 44 you find is going to be wider than your jeep, a scout is close but still 4" (I think) wider.
You said it's mostly a street jeep, so you need to keep it narrow or you'll be paying for traffic tickets
I forget, why do you think you need bigger axles?

 

[Dano12771]

Hopefully this will help here r the specs on my jeep. 1985 CJ7 i4 eng. T-4 Transmission and a I think the Dana 300 tcase. Dana 30 up front and AMC20 rear. Basically all stock. Minus the 31" tires that came on it. The reason I want bigger axles is to handle minimal 35"-37" tires. Realistically 20% of road 80% on road. Plus I want to drop in a v8. I just want it to hold up when I do go 4wheeling. It's not my primary vehicle. This is more of a hobby I wanted to do. I did a frame up rebuild way back in the day but didn't have the money or access to the tools I needed. Plus it was my only ride. Now a little older I'm in a better position to go a little more overboard on this build. So that's my story. Hope I didn't bore anyone.

 

[73CJ]

Lots of used 77-79 Waggy axles out there. That is the cheap part - $AMC 150

add gears, locker, shortened RH axle w/ re-spline. Then might as well add discs. F150 rotors will work. New bearings, brake pads, brake lines, u-bolts, spring plates and more misc.

Figure on $1500 to do it right.

3-4" off the RH side and re-weld.

So how many axles shafts have you broke? Ring gears?

I broke 4 axles and 1 gear set - all pulling out others. Might be cheaper to just put a winch on. I put a Dana 44 and winch on. Now I quit breaking stuff.

 

[Dano12771]

Was that 1500$ per axle or total for both. Also,if I leave the 44s full width how much wider are they then my 85 CJ7 axles? What size tires r u running and what motor/Transmission /tcase do u have and what gear set up do u have in the axles?

 

[Fifesjeep]

A D60 is a heavy Dana 44 until you upgrade to 35-spline shafts which takes some work. Until you do that, the only real difference is the pumpkin section.

That's completely wrong... Everything about the D60 is bigger and stronger than a Dana 44 ... lol
Ring and pinion are bigger
Axle Tubes are bigger/thicker/stronger you have to see the pictures to understand.
axle shafts a bigger and stronger
for the fronts the knuckles are way superior/thicker/kingpins(for the good ones)/Hubs are bigger/stronger
Even a HD Dana 44 don't even come close to a D60.
All in all, a Dana 44 is a Dana 44 and a D60 is a D60....

 

[fzsk4p]

Hopefully this will help here r the specs on my jeep. 1985 CJ7 i4 eng. T-4 Transmission and a I think the Dana 300 tcase. Dana 30 up front and AMC20 rear. Basically all stock. Minus the 31" tires that came on it. The reason I want bigger axles is to handle minimal 35"-37" tires. Realistically 20% of road 80% on road. Plus I want to drop in a v8. I just want it to hold up when I do go 4wheeling. It's not my primary vehicle. This is more of a hobby I wanted to do. I did a frame up rebuild way back in the day but didn't have the money or access to the tools I needed. Plus it was my only ride. Now a little older I'm in a better position to go a little more overboard on this build. So that's my story. Hope I didn't bore anyone.

Lets take one end at a time.

Rear
Couple of options for you..

The AMC20 that you have will work just fine.

IF you go to a set of 1 piece axles. Add a truss to stiffen up the tubes and housing.
Since you already have 4.10 gears you can regear without having to replace the carrier. Limited slip or a lunchbox locker (if the axle is open carrier) and you are good to go for what you want to do.

If you want disc brakes in the rear. SSBC sells a disc brake kit that includes 1 piece axles, disc brakes and an integrated parking brake. Plus all the hardware. Or you can use Ford 9 inch ends, Mopar 8.25 29 spline axles and 8.8 disc/parking brake.

With this setup you don`t have to screw with driveshafts , parking brakes, wheel bolt patterns etc.

Option 2.

Find a Ford 8.8 from a 95 and up Explorer. The 95 and up have disc brakes and 31 spline axles. Many are set with 4.10s from the factory.
The carrier has no breaks so you can regear to any ratio if you want. Gonna have a LSD or an open carrier. You can add a lunchbox locker to the open carrier and make it into a locker if you want. Superior sells a C-clip eliminator kit that has 31 spline axles made of 4340 Chromo and a dual pattern flange for 5 on 4.5 or 5 on 5.5 wheel bolt pattern.

These 8.8`s are everywhere and cheap. Published strength tests have shown the 8.8 is stronger then a Dana 44 and not far behind a D60. In fact the 8.8 shares the same pinion bearing size as the D60.

You may have to change/modify your driveshaft.....But swap kits are readily available.

Front,

You read the link to Pirate on Dana 30 vs Dana 44 new approach, right ? Dana 30 vs 44 New angle............. - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board

Get some aftermarket shafts with the 760x-U joint. Convert it to disc brakes if it doesn't have them.


For what you want to do, even with the V8 you should be fine. And if something does break. It is an off the shelf part to fix. You are over thinking what you need and spending money you don`t have to.

Do a few relatively minor upgrades and wheel it.

 

[Fifesjeep]

Call me old fashion but why build something that could break with minor to average use... Just over build it and have that peace of mind that it'll never break and it'll be "ol' reliable".

 

[fzsk4p]

Call me old fashion but why build something that could break with minor to average use... Just over build it and have that peace of mind that it'll never break and it'll be "ol' reliable".

Understand your point but without spending BIG money it is`nt gonna happen. Plus the OP states 80% road and 20% mild wheeling. He does`nt need anything more.

If you want to get fancy. You can build an 8.8 that will take the abuse of a 7 second drag car.

Here is my 8.8 that has been pushing 37`s with a very healthy stroker with zero problems. For the vast majority this 8.8 is way over-built. NV4500 and an Atlas TC give me a crawl ratio of 96:1. So the axle does see some torque.

Welded the tubes to the housing.
TNT truss
Mark Williams main caps
LPW girdle and main cap studs
Ratech crush sleeve eliminator
Moser 31 spline chromo axles
5.13`s
Detroit locker
Ford 9 inch ends
Ford SVO rotors, calipers and pads.

In fact if you wanted to run a spool you could run 33 or even 35 spline axles right now.

Investigating having the 8.8 run 35 spline axles without a spool. Couple of different ways to do it. Got to find a good way.