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Bolt In High Pinion Dana 44

usually when I've broken a u-joint, or spit a cap, the ears in the axle shafts mushroom out big time anyway, and there is almost no way to get them outta the knuckle - regardless of how much you've ground. :gee:

I think the 4 corner grinding is fine - personally...

another solution would be to buy the dedenbear Ford outers, and run the ford spindles and brakes - these have much bigger holes in the knuckle, and also a bigger spindle.
 
Starboard M said:
It would be easy if it was clean, and in an easy spot to get access to. What happens when its night, 35* outside, muddy, and your perched on a hill? I would much rather replace a shaft and joint when they slip out, rather then having to take out the 4 zerks.



You say dont do this, why? Is taking 1/8'' off four times going to weaken the knuckle? Im no engineer, but I fail to see how it would compromise the strength of the knuckle in any way.


Also, the axleshafts themselves would not fit through the knuckle, so I also had to take off about 1/16'' in select areas to get the ears of the shafts through the hole. In your opinion is that not good either?
Click to expand...

Look at the way the knuckle was ground. It was cut into with a cut off wheel. Sharp points that could develop cracks. Of all the places, I would not want cracks there on front axle. I would advise anyone from doing that in the future and to just place the zirc fittings in when the axle has been assembled. IF I HAD to do it I would have used a die grinder and made sure that there were no edges and everything was smooth.

EVENLY clearancing (sp?) the hole is fine but I am surprised it took 1/16". I have had alloys (Warns, Superiors, Foote) in Chevy knuckles and although they were tight, I never had to clearance them.
 
cracker said:
Look at the way the knuckle was ground. It was cut into with a cut off wheel. Sharp points that could develop cracks. Of all the places, I would not want cracks there on front axle. I would advise anyone from doing that in the future and to just place the zirc fittings in when the axle has been assembled. IF I HAD to do it I would have used a die grinder and made sure that there were no edges and everything was smooth.

EVENLY clearancing (sp?) the hole is fine but I am surprised it took 1/16". I have had alloys (Warns, Superiors, Foote) in Chevy knuckles and although they were tight, I never had to clearance them.
Click to expand...

My shafts (with the zerks removed from the u joints) barely if through the knuckle, but, the did fit. They are more of a pain to get out though. Just a little mushrooming (like Opie said) and I'll be SOL.

On a side note... what size are the threads for those zerks on the CTMs? I need to add that to my page. :)

Thanks,
Billy
 
JeepFreak21 said:
On a side note... what size are the threads for those zerks on the CTMs? I need to add that to my page. :)

Thanks,
Billy
Click to expand...

I have zero idea billy. They are nothing special though. I USED to use a regular (tall) zirc to greas them with a big gun and replace them with the cool short ones.

My D60 CTMs don't have enough use to need be greased :|
 
I notched my D44 knuckle with a Dremel so I wouldn't have to remove the zerks on the CTM's each time they came out. There is PLENTY of material to hold the spindle in place, and it's bolted in, so I see no weakening of the knuckle from four small notches. There is a lot of surface area between the spindle and the knuckle to take the load.
 
This is an excellent write up. Thanks for the time and thought.
 
Starboard M said:
I haven’t actually finished up the brakes, but right now I think I found the right banjo bolt. It goes through my RE extended brake lines, and threads into the Chevy calipers. The parts guy said they came from a Chevy. Really descriptive, I know, but the Napa part number for them is 82699.
060.jpg
Click to expand...

I used the same banjo bolts and just finished up my HP44 swap about 5 days ago.

Work perfect with no leaks.

Great find! :thumbup:
 
MoparManiac said:
I used the same banjo bolts and just finished up my HP44 swap about 5 days ago.

Work perfect with no leaks.

Great find! :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Glad they worked for you as well. Seems that most people had trouble finding the right banjo bolt, so I thought it would be a helpful addition.




Just to show off the almost complete axle swap, here are some pics.
001-2.jpg


005.jpg

Disregard the breather tube hanging down.


I still need to install a breather hose, finish wiring up the ARB, and figure out how Im going to mount my limit straps, and the front axle is all done.

Rear I need to pull the tires, swap rims, pull shafts, remount lug studs, and have brake drums drilled out for the new bolt pattern, and reinstall everything.

That list is longer then I thought it would be. Dang.
 
I really like the steering linkage set up. Thats the way I want mine to eventually be.
 
Starboard M said:
I still need to install a breather hose, finish wiring up the ARB, and figure out how Im going to mount my limit straps, and the front axle is all done.

Rear I need to pull the tires, swap rims, pull shafts, remount lug studs, and have brake drums drilled out for the new bolt pattern, and reinstall everything.

That list is longer then I thought it would be. Dang.
Click to expand...
Finished the stuff in the bold!


I ended up drilling out the drums by myself on a friends drill press. Every machine shop around here wanted $90-120 to drill 10 holes, so I just did it in about 4 hours. Wasnt hard at all.


Some finished pics:
011.jpg


013.jpg


Lengthened the wheelbase just a bit
021.jpg


Due to the backspacing on the wheels, I lost about 2'' of total width. Not sure if I like it or not yet.
023-1.jpg
 
looks good man, did you flex it out to see if it'll stay away from your grill? I pushed mine forward 5" and will be pulling it back 2" this winter. Love the approach angle, but hate my 3.5" of uptravel. . .
 
This should be the FAQ section very valuable info collected here
 
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