[rooter]

I going to replace the stock front and rear axels on my 93 YJ with bigger ones. Other than going to my local Jeep parts guy and paying through the nose for his housings/axels etc. I thought that I would do this on my own. Any suggestions on where to start looking for the 44's. Wern't they stock on wagoneers?

 

[Odd is he]

forget 44's..... Go to a junk yard and go find ford 9's or a dana 60's

 

[mrbigjeep]

forget 44's..... Go to a junk yard and go find ford 9's or a dana 60's

i wouldn't do this unless you plan on running 35's or bigger. you'll sacrifice too much clearance.

 

[Odd is he]

i wouldn't do this unless you plan on running 35's or bigger. you'll sacrifice too much clearance.

true that, but if your looking to go with a bigger rear and front end, you gotta be running something bigger than stock...

Lets us know what your running, and we can point you in the right direction

 

[mrbigjeep]

true that, but if your looking to go with a bigger rear and front end, you gotta be running something bigger than stock...

Lets us know what your running, and we can point you in the right direction

yes it depends a lot on tire size...an 8.8 might do the trick

 

[4Jeepn]

Yes the old full size mid 80's jeeps had 44's. You may also want to look into boyceequipment.com (spelling?) sell lots of truck parts big axles etc.

 

[rooter]

right now I'm only running 33's with detroit lockers front and rear. I was concerned with breaking an axel and being stuck on the trail and trying to replace one. Seems that I could either go to full float 35 or larger 44 ( that bolts in place so if it breaks you can still be towed out) or the larger 60 thats bullet proof. 60 meant larger tires. I was told to go at least 36 or I'd drag on every rock around and the price I was quoted I think that I could buy a new Jeep. The 44's up front and maybe an 8.8 in the rear sounded like a good compromise. Obviously I don't know much about what I'm doing, and that why I'm asking. I found a great websit all about the dana 60 but not much on the 444. Any ideas?

 

[crafty]

I am at the same point as you looking at what I want to do and price. Think about it though, you could buy another jeep for the price of the upgrade you want. But it would not be YOUR jeep so you would still be putting money into the new one. Its a JEEP thing I know you understand lol

 

[Angler1979]

just get your mind right and acept the fact your going to spend 5000.00 then the build will go alot easyer, if if you dont end up spending the whole 5000 throw a party.

jeff

 

[Angler1979]

I could either go to full float 35

This is the biggest waist of time and money you could do. It is like candy coating a dog turd, underneight you still have a pile of shit.

 

[1BLKJP]

What would be wrong with hooking up some Waggy axles and SOA them? 65" wide is a good width and they are pretty plentiful for not toooo much money.

 

[rooter]

My friendly jeep guy quoted me just under $5000. for 44's front and rear, chromoly axels and ARB lockers. In return I give him my stock axels with detroits front and rear. Is that a good deal or should I look elsewhere and try to put the 44's underneath and try to save $$.

 

[crafty]

If you go with a 96 or newer Explorer 8.8 rear you can find one that is a posi and disc brakes. You wont need a rear locker with the posi.

 

[mrbigjeep]

My friendly jeep guy quoted me just under $5000. for 44's front and rear, chromoly axels and ARB lockers. In return I give him my stock axels with detroits front and rear. Is that a good deal or should I look elsewhere and try to put the 44's underneath and try to save $$.

does it include installation? $5000 doesn't seem to bad for brand new 44's with all of that...but your gonna have to give up your axles...i guess thats ok if you don't need them for anything

edit- i got a catalog of 4wd and you can get a brand new 44 with locker and low gears for i think $2500 so it would be $5000 total for front and rear and you wouldn't have to give up your stock axles (you could sell if you wanted) but i don't know if your price includes installation

 

[daddyjeep]

You can get a set of wagoneer axles for a few hundred dollars, throw in some gears and lockers for another grand and you are set for under $2000.

 

[rooter]

No, 5 grand did not include installation. and I thought that giving back the old axels was a little over the edge. I read somewhere that the 8.8 rear axel was better than the 44's is that a true statement?

 

[MR.CLIFFORD]

No, 5 grand did not include installation. and I thought that giving back the old axels was a little over the edge. I read somewhere that the 8.8 rear axel was better than the 44's is that a true statement?

its 6 one way half a dozen the other.

The 44 will have tons of after market parts readily available. You might have to add your own disc brakes where the 8.8 comes with it stock. The best axle is whichever axle you get a better deal on.


To put it into perspective, I have under 5000 in my front chevy dana 60 geared to 5.13s with a detroit, and my rear 14bolt geared to 5.13s with a detroit. Albeit, not much under 5000 I could easily stuff one tons under your rig for 5000.

 

[rooter]

Since 5 grand seems like the magic number, 60's seem like the better choice. That being the case what should I be looking for?, 78-79 ford 3/4 ton. Is HP going to be that big a deal?
I was told that I could grind off the front nuckles cut the housing and reweld for length. Do you do the same on the rear or is that something special?

 

[Iquois]

Why?

forget 44's..... Go to a junk yard and go find ford 9's or a dana 60's

I have been thinking about the 44's also on my 88 wrangler w/31's. Any specific reason why you don't like them? Just wondering.......

 

[Jeepin1023]

I am in the same situation, I've got a '93 YJ sitting on 36" Iroks and I am looking to upgrade axles but don't know which direction to go. I've got a 8.8 in the rear and stock D30 in the front. I woulk like to keep stock width because of tight trails. I still like to drive on the street on the weekends, but I trailer to all trails. Lookin to play on some big rocks this year, Tellico and possibly even a trip to Moab. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks Dave.