JK Front Axle Center Section Swap

XCRN

XCRN

TJ Enthusiast
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Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
494
Location
Springfield OH
There is no stupid questions, just stupid people and I know I am stupid so I have nothing to lose by asking this question.

I have an opportunity to get a dirt cheap front Dana 44 housing with bent tubing from a JK. I was wondering if taking a TJ Dana 30 and cutting off the tubes and brackets and transplanting them to a JK Dana 44 center section is a feasible option? This seems easy enough given the front axle has a very loose concentric tolerance compared to a rear axle.

Is this just some ridiculous dream or is it feasible? Front stock TJ D44s anymore seem to be in the $2000-2500 range with high miles. This JK Dana 44 housing and a parts Dana 30 would probably be $500 and can just build it the way I want from there sourcing the missing parts.
 
I like watching some of the foreign YouTube videos. In India and Pakistan they take worn out broken axles, locked up engines, REAR ENDS and all sorts of ancient car parts and make them like new.
So I’m thinking if you’ve got the skills or a place you trust to complete the job it’s definitely possible. Cost comparison? Go for it and let us know how it comes out.
 
XCRN said:
There is no stupid questions, just stupid people and I know I am stupid so I have nothing to lose by asking this question.

I have an opportunity to get a dirt cheap front Dana 44 housing with bent tubing from a JK. I was wondering if taking a TJ Dana 30 and cutting off the tubes and brackets and transplanting them to a JK Dana 44 center section is a feasible option? This seems easy enough given the front axle has a very loose concentric tolerance compared to a rear axle.

Is this just some ridiculous dream or is it feasible? Front stock TJ D44s anymore seem to be in the $2000-2500 range with high miles. This JK Dana 44 housing and a parts Dana 30 would probably be $500 and can just build it the way I want from there sourcing the missing parts.
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Depends on what you wanna do with your Jeep.

Up travel may be limited bc of the larger pumpkin. Research would be wroth it.

I think the next gen 44’s that came in the JK’s had better ground clearance than the TJ Dana 44 center sections.

You would get a larger ring gear and pinion and more gearing options, as well as the avalaibilty of gears made by Dana/Spicer; best of the best. However, the strength gained from the larger ring and pinion may not be something worth doing all the work for.

You could build the tubes as wide as you want. Giving you the abilty to run a wider WMS which is ideal for 35”+ tires.

For right around $2k you can get an empty Dynatrac Pro44 housing and have more ground clearance than a Dana 30.
 
XCRN said:
There is no stupid questions, just stupid people and I know I am stupid so I have nothing to lose by asking this question.

I have an opportunity to get a dirt cheap front Dana 44 housing with bent tubing from a JK. I was wondering if taking a TJ Dana 30 and cutting off the tubes and brackets and transplanting them to a JK Dana 44 center section is a feasible option? This seems easy enough given the front axle has a very loose concentric tolerance compared to a rear axle.

Is this just some ridiculous dream or is it feasible? Front stock TJ D44s anymore seem to be in the $2000-2500 range with high miles. This JK Dana 44 housing and a parts Dana 30 would probably be $500 and can just build it the way I want from there sourcing the missing parts.
Click to expand...

what's the vision here? wheel size you gonna settle for? the V8 suggests you might fair better with something more robust.
several of us with JK 44's wish we'd have upgraded those C's and fit Dana 60 ends.
 
I have a jk hp30 that I have thought about doing this same thing with. I have a spare tj 30 axle with good end forgings and brackets that I could use. The only benefits are:

-this was already mentioned but genuine spicer gears are available all the way through 5.13 which is awesome
-opportunity to give it more caster for better highway handling.

I kind of doubt I’ll ever get to this project since I already have an xj hp30.
 
XCRN said:
There is no stupid questions, just stupid people and I know I am stupid so I have nothing to lose by asking this question.

I have an opportunity to get a dirt cheap front Dana 44 housing with bent tubing from a JK. I was wondering if taking a TJ Dana 30 and cutting off the tubes and brackets and transplanting them to a JK Dana 44 center section is a feasible option? This seems easy enough given the front axle has a very loose concentric tolerance compared to a rear axle.

Is this just some ridiculous dream or is it feasible? Front stock TJ D44s anymore seem to be in the $2000-2500 range with high miles. This JK Dana 44 housing and a parts Dana 30 would probably be $500 and can just build it the way I want from there sourcing the missing parts.
Click to expand...

Did you ever make headway with this?
 
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