Ford 8.8 vs JK Dana 44
- Thread starter Revenant4x4
- Start date
05 and up Superduty’s have a much better unit bearing, bigger knucles, and much bigger u-joints.
Artec among other vendors sell swap kits for TJ’s. However it may be overkill.
What I would suggest is a Dana 44 from Dynatrac or Currie. They sell emtpy housings for under $2k. Some of those housings accept your TJ Dana 30/44 outers to include knuckles, unit bearing, etc.
It provides convience and better support when comapred to junk yard axles.
A Dynatrac Prorock 60 is swappable and has more ground clearance than a Dana 44.
Food for thought...
But then you are still back to a limit of a 35" tires since you are still running the stock outers. IMO if you are going to the expense of swapping in a new axle then you'd want it to handle larger tires than stock. So then you're back to either a JY Dana 60 or one built from Dynatrac/Currie/TeraFlex/Solid
This is a GOOD thing most of the time but as we've seen here many people don't fully understand what they are buying or didn't know they should spec their custom axles differently . I'm a little disappointed that more of the vendors don't put a disclaimer about things like the ball joints in the information about the axle. Yes I get that people should be fully informed before purchasing things like this but also know that isn't how it happens many times. Look at the number of people on here who have bought their axle only to find out they can't run a larger tire.
I agree, its both the responibility of he customer and the retailer to be up front and question the customer as to what they are looking for in a product. Really for the most part when I call the retailer or manufacture about a product, we always get to the bottom of the problem or questions. But just grabbing a product off of Amazon sometimes is a bit sketchy.
THE INFORMATION I have recieved from this forum about the right product and when they post a link about product has for me ALWAYS been spot on.
When it come to an explanation of a product or information on proven results over years I usually read it Several times to make sure I am understanding exactually what they are saying.
Wildman i appreciate all your thought process about the dana 44 and 60. its a bit over my head and budget right now for my jeep, but a stronger front axle is always on my mind when it comes to my Jeep. Heck I still cant decide on highline fenders vs stock fenders haha.
So when you buy a dana 60 or 44 ( non jeep ) , from a junkyard they are stock or really wide for a jeep, Then either you run them wide or cut the axle tubes and shafts to make them work.?
When you buy a 60 or 44 from currie, dynatrac......, all the work is done and they fit your jeep perfectly ???
When you buy a 60 or 44 from currie, dynatrac......, all the work is done and they fit your jeep perfectly ???
If it were me, I’d want the second generation stuff with the upgraded parts is all. Unit bearings, ball joints, knuckles seem a tad bit better on the 05 stuff and up. It carries with it some cons and I wouldn't be looking forward to all the material that needs to be removed before swapping. It has it’s pros and cons.
Yes this is SPOT on. If you buy a JY axle or from someone parting out a rig you either leave it that width or you cut it down make it the width you want. That is what I did with the Ford HP44 I have in my Jeep. From information I'd found on Pirate & NAXJA forum I'd gotten the measurements on how much to cut so that I could run Wagoneer axle shafts in it. I did that becasue I wanted to be able to find axle shafts easily instead of having to use custom length axle shafts. You can do the same with a Dana 60 axle by going thru all the spec's on different length shafts.
Or as you said you can spend the money at ONCE and buy a axle assembly premade by one of the aftermarket axle manufacturers. Yes they cost $4K or north of that but if you really add up what trying to overhaul a junk yard axle will cost you're damn close if not more than a custom axle. So sit down and add up cost first.
will do. The dana 44s are ideal for me, i dont think 60s are ever in my future. my tire heigh is 35 or 36 and will stay there. The ground clearance would not be very good with the dana 60 and 35" tires.
After calling Currie and Dynatrac and ECGS and talking about dana 44s , at the end of the day you still use your stock dana 30 yokes on the ends of the new 44 axles and they have the same size ball joints. SO with that being said, the dana 30 balljoints must be pretty dang strong if they are not making consessions for that area???????
If you go with a Dana 44 either find a old Ford high pinion axle or if you have one built get inner ""C"s that are bigger than the stock TJ.
One example of this is a hybrid 44/60 axle assembly. You have Dana 60 inner "C"s put on a Dana 44 axle tubes. Then you can run a 35 spline ARB and run Dana 60 shafts.
I don't agree with this as there are too many people killing their ball joints on rig with 37" tires. If I was having a custom axle built I'd spec the inner "C"s to be something stronger than TJ ball joint.
Even the ball joints on old school Dana 44's are stronger than a TJ ball joint.
If that’s what will work for your build then yes. I think their swap in stuff is a tad wider based on the fact that it should be wider to support the increase in lift and turning the larger tires from full lock to full lock without tire rub.
thanks.
I was a bit surprised when they said the knuckle of the TJ and ball joints being added to the end of the dana 44s of a built axle.
The reason for this is becasue the outer knuckle/unibearing/brake calipers/rotor & all the other little parts ADD up quick for cost.
So you've already spent $4K+ on your axle and now need $1500 in outer parts. Or at least this is the only explanation I can figure out.
I mean if you buy a 44 from them built, i gues you could buy a 44 knuckle and all the other parts that should be stronger?
The inner "C" is where the strength issue comes into play.
This is a inner "C" off the Ford HP44 I have in my TJ.
This is the axle tube. Compare that to a TJ Dana 30/44 tube.
You have to get inner "C"s that allow you to have stronger ball joints or king pin plus depending on the inner c you use also determines what size u-joint you can run.
It's all a game of choosing the correct parts.
Some people see that as a problem, some companies saw that as a challenge and built a solution. Dynatrac sells a 60 that has more ground clearance than a stock Dana 44 from Dana/Spicer.