I am looking into swapping out my Dana 35 for a 44. What are good donor vehicles for a Dana 44 axle swap preferably a little longer than a stock tj or the same length but I do not want the axle to be shorter than stock
What are good donor vehicles for a Dana 44 swap?
- Thread starter Jackjack97
- Start date
Out of a Rubicon tj or a non Rubicon tj.
Any other Dana 44 from a different vehicle will require new mounts to be welded on.
A Dana 44 from a TJ is bolt on.
Any other Dana 44 from a different vehicle will require new mounts to be welded on.
A Dana 44 from a TJ is bolt on.
The best donor for a Dana 44 swap is a 97-06 TJ. Anything else is going to require fabrication and some work.
Dana 44s from TJs are easy to find though, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Dana 44s from TJs are easy to find though, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Sorry I should clarify I’m looking more for an axle alone not the whole vehicle. I also live in Northern California where there are not many junk yard Jeeps especially tjs
If you are willing to weld brackets on XJ or MJ 44s are the same width as the TJ.
Make sure you read about 8.8 swap in resources.
Success of 8.8 swap still makes no sense to me. Seems like half had done it successfully, and other half lives in a miserable land of shakes and vibrations.
And knowing that some only keep TJ as a fun once a year toy, and how others have hands growing out of the wrong hole in their body, i don't know what to believe. Seems like those who had success barely drove it to know there are issues, and who failed just slapped shit together under the tree with harbor freight arc weld over 6 beers.
If you are willing to install the brackets & mounts for a TJ onto an axle then a Wagoneer Dana 44 would be an option. If you get the axles from a 1980-1990 the front axle is a drivers side drop. The one thing about the Waggy axles is that the bolt pattern is 6x5.5 instead of 5x4.5 or 5x5.5. You do have to make sure you verify what axles are under the Waggy since for a few years they put a Model 20 in the rear and some front axles had the vacuum disconnect.
They are about 1" wider than stock and TNT Customs sells kits for the brackets and mounts.
If you go the 8.8 route you understand that they are about 1" narrower than stock? Unless you add the Super 8.8 kit.
They are about 1" wider than stock and TNT Customs sells kits for the brackets and mounts.
If you go the 8.8 route you understand that they are about 1" narrower than stock? Unless you add the Super 8.8 kit.
Ok the wagaoneer seems like the best option I am very comfortable with welding brackets and after reading up on the 8.8 in tj recources the 44 seems the way to go. I also really like that the waggy axles are an inch wider. Do you know if the front has selectable hubs?
The 2 Grand Wagoneers that we have did not come with manual hubs although they are a geared style hub from the factory just not selectable. Warn, and MileMarker both sell direct bolt on selectable hubs. I am not sure if the full size Cherokee axles had selectable hubs or not and you would also have to verify that they are the same width as the Waggys???
XJ should be a 5x4.5 same as the TJ.
The early Cherokee and Comanche with a tow package came with a Dana 44. The only way to tell is to
Yes Wagoneers came with a full time transfer case BUT converting a Waggy front to hubs is fairly easy.
The Ford Dana 44 is wider, closer to 65" or 67" I think. But I wrote a How To on narrowing one to Waggy width.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...-front-axle-to-waggy-width.19445/#post-546016
Late 70's Ford pickups are the best choice. If you can find a Snowplow package F150 it has a Dana 44 with leaf springs. There is one for sale in the parts area right now.
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https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/high-pinion-dana-44-front-housing.34147/
And it's already narrowed to Waggy width.
And it's already narrowed to Waggy width.
If it's in the junk yard crawl under it and look. Outside of that you can try using the vin# look up but I am not sure if it covers back that far.
No I do not. But they can be hard to find.
If you were the mind to I would find a 1980-1990 Waggy and get the Dana 44's from it and put them under your rig.
They are easier to find IMHO than a XJ/MJ Dana 44. Or just keep watching Market Place and Craigslist for a XJ/MJ 44.
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