I just read where you mentioned the same thing about these products on another post. I’ll go ahead and coat the nuts and bolts today for removal Saturday. Do you ever get tired of telling us know-nothings the same things over and over? :lol:
Dropping Dana 35 & bolting up Dana 44
- Thread starter Jeepin’
- Start date
Not quite since you also have to remove the tie rod and drag link then reinstall them and set the toe-in afterward. But even with that it's not a hard job.
So if you find a Dana 30 axle with your desired gear ratio, you would still have to swap the entire axle if you already have a Dana 30? You can’t just swap the carrier and pinion? I’m assuming there’s more to just swapping out the guts of the housing?
Andy Maurer
TJ Enthusiast
Definitely can't just swap the carrier and pinion. You'd have to set the gears up from scratch like they were new if you tried to just swap in the pinion & carrier with ring gear attached. It's actually harder to set old/pre-worn gears up than brand new gears since you have to shim them so they mesh exactly how they did in the previous housing.
Removing the axles is fairly easy and really straight forward. I did mine a few years back. I was able to do it with a floor jack, jackstands, and basic tools in the driveway. You may need to address the driveshafts since the dana 44 has a slightly longer housing then the 30/35.
My son’s TJ looks identical to your’s. What mods did you do to run your tires? 35’s?
Currie draglink / tie rod
Metal Cloak Track bar
4.88 gearing (4.10 when I first got them but 4.88 is much better offroad)
3.5 inch rubicon express lift (soon to be 4 inch currie once I get off my butt and swap out the springs)
Rancho RS5000x for 3.5 inch lift
all control arms are adjustable (Rubicon express) One day I'll swap them out but not for a year or so unless @tomtaylz gets a midarm sooner.
1.25 body lift
Motor mount lift
SYE
I have stock brakes but once my pads need to be changed I will get Black magic brake pads. (I have a manual and constantly use the gears to help slow me down so the stock setup doesn't bother me)
If you click my avatar you can see everything else I have done under the what mods do you have section
Wally303
New Member
Hello all, this is my first post but thank you in advance to everyone in this forum! There is a plethora of info on here and it has been a great resource.
I just purchased a TJ sitting on 35" tires and stock axles. I'm not going to chance hitting the trails while running stock axles with 35's.... I am picking up a Dana 30/44 setup with much better running gear tomorrow. I'm trying to get a feel for what else I may need before I start the swap. Any input from the folks who have done this would be greatly appreciated!
Here's what I'm picking up:
* low pinion Dana 30 setup with an Eaton E Locker and 4.88 gears. This axle is also setup with Currie steering.
* Dana 44 from an LJ with Detroit Tru Track and 4.88 gears. Disc rear will be nice for easier maintenance!
I feel very comfortable with the Dana 44 installation, but I'm a little more apprehensive about pulling the front apart.
Here's a few questions:
*When pulling the front and swapping it for a Dana 30 with matching gears, will an alignment be in order?
* I'm not sure if the drive shafts are custom on my jeep from when 4wheelparts put the lift on. I know receipts for driveshafts so I am assuming this is the case. The rear drive shaft appears super short and I'm not sure if it can be trimmed. Any input on this? Picture below.
* Is it a good measure to replace ball joints and all that fun stuff while the axles are on a bench?
Quick pictures of the driveshafts:
Front:
Rear:
I just purchased a TJ sitting on 35" tires and stock axles. I'm not going to chance hitting the trails while running stock axles with 35's.... I am picking up a Dana 30/44 setup with much better running gear tomorrow. I'm trying to get a feel for what else I may need before I start the swap. Any input from the folks who have done this would be greatly appreciated!
Here's what I'm picking up:
* low pinion Dana 30 setup with an Eaton E Locker and 4.88 gears. This axle is also setup with Currie steering.
* Dana 44 from an LJ with Detroit Tru Track and 4.88 gears. Disc rear will be nice for easier maintenance!
I feel very comfortable with the Dana 44 installation, but I'm a little more apprehensive about pulling the front apart.
Here's a few questions:
*When pulling the front and swapping it for a Dana 30 with matching gears, will an alignment be in order?
* I'm not sure if the drive shafts are custom on my jeep from when 4wheelparts put the lift on. I know receipts for driveshafts so I am assuming this is the case. The rear drive shaft appears super short and I'm not sure if it can be trimmed. Any input on this? Picture below.
* Is it a good measure to replace ball joints and all that fun stuff while the axles are on a bench?
Quick pictures of the driveshafts:
Front:
Rear:
I would defiantly do an alignment. https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-to-align-your-jeep-wrangler-tj.85/
The driveshaft is not stock. looks like you have an SYE
When I did my swap I had to shorten the drivehaft a bit in order to make it fit. The dana 44 housing is a bit longer then the 35. You can get away with pushing the axle backwards if you have adjustable arms but it is a band-aid not a fix. I did that temporarily with my jeep and the shock was contacting the exhaust.
A driveshaft shop can do it for you or you can give tom woods a call and ship them yours.
You will also need a conversion joint or a new yoke to connect the current driveshaft to the 44. Here is the link to the one I used. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CKP1PW/?tag=wranglerorg-20
@Jerry has good input on this. If I remember correctly he prefers a new yoke which would have you use your old ujoint. He will correct me if I'm wrong I'm sure.
You may be able to swap the yoke from the dana 35 to the 44 but I'm not certain on that.
I did since it was completely apart anyways. I also replaced the inner seals while it was out since I didn't have any history on the axles.
A conversion joint or different yoke is not needed when replacing a Dana 35 with a standard TJ Dana 44, both use the same 1310 size u-joint. It's when the Dana 44 is out of a Rubicon which does not use 1310 size u-joints that a conversion u-joint or different yoke is needed.
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Wally303
New Member
Thanks Jerry! It's coming from a TJ so I think I'll be okay here.
Out of curiosity... When picking up the axles is there anything else I can do to ensure they're in good working order other than popping the diff cover off and inspecting things?
Wally303
New Member
The only reliable way is to pull the cover and rotate the gears around so you can check for problems like broken teeth. The outside might look pretty rough if it's been sitting outside for a while but that is seldom a problem.
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