bought a Dana 44... now what?

[shortbussrydah]

picked up a cherokee dana 44 for a steal and im trying to build it up to be desert/jeepspeed worthy. right now i have the whole sucker stripped down, drum brakes off, shafts and carrier pulled. i'm cleaning it up so it will be ready to truss in the near future.

so heres my list of questions

what are your opinions on a good truss design? what kind of steel should i use, anyone have pictures or drawings of a good truss design? i am going to need my hand held as i go through this process because i've only learned to weld recently. i have access to a spectacular welding and machining shop but my knowledge just isnt there to do it my self.

after it is trussed the next step would be gearing and locking. im pretty sure i am going to go with 4.88's or 5.10's on the gears, but the locker is where i am unsure. i dont want to skimp and buy a crap locker, but i dont want to spend a fortune. any thoughts on this subject would be helpful

how necessary are alloy/upgraded shafts? how often do people snap the stock ones going fast?

and lastly, im thinking the WJ disc brake upgrade will work on the 44. is that a good idea and am i correct in believing this?

thanks

 

[Larrythedog]

Spool it

 

[xcm]

are you gonna run 4wd? if so what kinda axle? d30 only goes up to 4.88's, and that pinion is TINY on 4.88.

as far as truss's.... ive been making mine out of 1.5" DOM tubing lately, got a bender?










do not forget about breather or brake lines.... i tap for npt-> AN fittings for the breather, but thats mildly excessive.

when welding to axle housings... you probably want to use a 220v machine, as opposed to 110v. also dont overheat the housing.... it'll noodle on you. weld 1-1.5" at a time, NO MORE.

 

[shortbussrydah]

are you gonna run 4wd? if so what kinda axle? d30 only goes up to 4.88's, and that pinion is TINY on 4.88.

as far as truss's.... ive been making mine out of 1.5" DOM tubing lately, got a bender?










do not forget about breather or brake lines.... i tap for npt-> AN fittings for the breather, but thats mildly excessive.

when welding to axle housings... you probably want to use a 220v machine, as opposed to 110v. also dont overheat the housing.... it'll noodle on you. weld 1-1.5" at a time, NO MORE.

thank you, this is a lot of helpful information. im going to be using a 440 miller tig/mig so the welder isnt a concern. im considering just switching my front dana 35 out for a beam so the gearing wouldnt be a problem.

 

[xcm]

in that case... lookin forward to your build =)

BUT, that front axle is a dana 30, the 35 is a rear axle in jeeps, and a front TTB axle on fords. my dad makes that mistake ALL THE TIME.

 

[shortbussrydah]

yeah 30 not 35... i also said i had disc brakes on the 44 and caught that error. oh well

what kind of paint do you use for your axles?

 

[xcm]

rattle can 'hammered' hides the drips... i dont care much for perfect paint down there... it NEVER lasts....
prep is more important.... i discovered theres a sand blaster guy who lives like 10 minutes from my shop, only drawback is he can take extra time.. but the finish is beautiful when you start with a sand blasted axle. obviously you gotta plug every orifice.

sandblasting is beautiful when welding it up too.. makes it nice and clean.

 

[xcm]

you could also go the TNT approach, tnt truss + ubolt eliminators, also a nice approach, if spendy. hardest part is matching your front truss to your rear (joke)

 

[JOSEJALAPENO]

you could also go the TNT approach, tnt truss + ubolt eliminators, also a nice approach, if spendy. hardest part is matching your front truss to your rear (joke)

Nice, that is what I did with my 44. Great choise.

 

[shortbussrydah]

rattle can 'hammered' hides the drips... i dont care much for perfect paint down there... it NEVER lasts....
prep is more important.... i discovered theres a sand blaster guy who lives like 10 minutes from my shop, only drawback is he can take extra time.. but the finish is beautiful when you start with a sand blasted axle. obviously you gotta plug every orifice.

sandblasting is beautiful when welding it up too.. makes it nice and clean.

i have access to a bead blaster here... it would only be hanging out of the cabinet when i blast, but whos looking and i like both ideas. im going to go scope out the tnt truss. if you had to pick one what would you pick?

 

[xcm]

that tnt truss is like... a bunch of money. i had the choice... i built my own, as shown on the 8.25 above in the 1st pic... theres PLENTY of places to spend money during an axle build up... anything you can build to save money is awesome. not just time, but money. one of those d44's went into my fathers jeep, and got a truss as a last minute 'why not' type thing, 4-5 hours of slack work. hard to compare with $200 and 2-3 weeks!

ive built 2 as shown, havent launched either yet...

 

[ThePartsGuy]

I'd go 35 spline with either a OX or ARB. Let me know when you're ready. I know a guy with unbeatable prices

 

[Nely87]

Iron rock offroad makes a dana 44 truss i wanna try IF i get around to a prerunner build. Looks solid and is reasonably priced.


Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

 

[RWKHausSupply]

Yukon Grizzly locker and just upgraded 30 spline chromoly shafts would be my choice.

The TNT truss is very nice..

 

[chris_amrein]

Check out this truss:

http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/sh...MC-Prerunner-for-Devlin-Rod-amp-Customs/page2

I really like this set up and think it's the best way to go for a prerunner/race application. The axle sees just as much front-to-back stress as it does up-to-down stress in a go fast application, as opposed to slow speed rock crawling where it is primarily up-to-down loads.

This is why so many desert vehicles run Ford 9 inch axles because you can truss them across the back.

So with all that said, a tube truss across the top of your Dana 44 would probably make your axle live through most everything. Make sure you run it as wide as possible (from leaf spring perch-to leaf spring perch).

 

[chris_amrein]

Also forgot to add:

From what I have read, seen and personally experienced, I think a ton of internal part failure comes from housing deflection. Quality internals are important, but even 35 spline chromoly shafts will fail if the housing bends or breaks. That's why starting with a rigid, well trussed housing is so critical.

Chris

 

[Larrythedog]

Check out this truss:

http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/sh...MC-Prerunner-for-Devlin-Rod-amp-Customs/page2

I really like this set up and think it's the best way to go for a prerunner/race application. The axle sees just as much front-to-back stress as it does up-to-down stress in a go fast application, as opposed to slow speed rock crawling where it is primarily up-to-down loads.

This is why so many desert vehicles run Ford 9 inch axles because you can truss them across the back.

So with all that said, a tube truss across the top of your Dana 44 would probably make your axle live through most everything. Make sure you run it as wide as possible (from leaf spring perch-to leaf spring perch).

That was so sweet and clean.

 

[zuk_freak]

Sell it and buy an explorer 8.8.

 

[crazyjim]

Sell it and buy an explorer 8.8.

Why? Any reasoning behind your blank statement?

 

[Frank Z]

and lastly, im thinking the WJ disc brake upgrade will work on the 44. is that a good idea and am i correct in believing this?

BTDT.....don't go there.

I grafted a set of D30 inner c's onto my front D44 and installed my WJ knuckles and brakes. Yes it worked well but the ball joints didn't hold up as well as I'd wished. The added cost and aggravation of getting the correct length shafts was a hassle as well.

I recently started fresh and installed another D44 that I narrowed and used Chevy flat-top knuckles and Ford hubs/rotors. The pattern change from 5 on 4.5 to 5 on 5.5 meant new wheels but the end result is worth it.
I run alloy shafts out back so moving the studs has all that was needed there. I simply redrilled the rotors for the new bolt pattern.

HTH