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dana 44 questions.

19K views 27 replies 7 participants last post by  Ibuildembig 
#1 ·
so im looking at an ad for a set of d44's with 4.56 gears. i figure if i was planning on regearing to 4.56 anyways, and that would cost me a grand....plus they are an upgrade from d30/d35. my question is what should i look for on these axles? and will they fit?
 
#7 ·
If those Dana 44 axles did not come off a Wrangler TJ, there will be significant mods needed to get them ready so they can bolt into your TJ. That could be anything from removing the old brackets and welding new brackets into place to match the TJ's axle connect points (not trivial), to as much as needing to do that plus change the axle width... expensive. If they aren't out of a TJ, I doubt I'd go for them.
 
#12 ·
That will require conversion to fit your TJ. A Cherokee uses leaf springs in the rear and its axle setup is completely different from that of a TJ.

Again, I would narrow my search down to Dana 44 axles that came out of a '97 to 2006 Wrangler TJ. That will simplify things considerably.
 
#10 ·
before you buy them, ask to have the diff covers taken off and check the gears...my son just sold a set of axles from under his cherokee, had been in use...and the buyer took them right home, opened one up, and there's a tooth missing on one gear...ohoh, refund time! So...even if they came out of a TJ and the owner says he was driving on them until removed, pop that cover!
 
#15 ·
What size tire do you plan on running? How do you wheel? If you say 33-35" tire and only a moderate wheeler then I would seriously think about a hp dana 30 front out of a xj (cherokee sport ) they are stronger then the stock lp30 in your tj, have the same bolt pattern, width and brackets. They make alloy shafts and axle tube sleeves for these and are a very cost effective upgrade! I would jump on the 44 rear out of the xj they have bigger axle tubes then the tj housings do and bracket kits are only a couple hundred bucks + whatever a local fab shop will charge to weld them on . Should only be about another hundred and the end result is a stronger rear end with better then factory brackets!
 
#25 ·
Ok a waggy front came in a couple different configurations.the 79 and earlier are passenger side drop with small u-joints . They made a non disconnect driver drop for a couple years in the early 80's then switched to a vacuum disconnect for another two or three years, finally they went back to the non disconnect until the end of the run! The 44 rear is a couple inches narrower then the front and depending on the year it is likely not a d44 and more likely a amc 20 rear which should be avoided at any cost! The waggy front is a good swap and coupled with that d44 out of that xj would be a pretty stout swap!

Here are your hurtles. The xj rear is a 5x4.5 bolt pattern and the waggy d44 is a 6x5.5 bolt pattern. There is a remedy for this! You need to use the small bearing spindles off a 73-76 chevy front end and a set of hubs and rotors off a 78-85 ford f150. This will give you a 5x5.5 lug pattern. Now you need to get new rear axle shafts from superior with the dual pattern (5x5.5 and 5x4.5) then you will need new rims for the new 5x5.5 bolt pattern and brackets front and rear.
 
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