Dana 44 front upgrade info

R

RyanColton

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Utah
I'm running 35" tires and was talked into a dana 44 front axle upgrade. Instead of building up a 30. I decided to get one out of a waggy when I find one. I have seen a lot of write ups about what to pull it out of and langths. But I have not seen much about knukles, brakes and brackets. Does anyone have or know of a link or write up about these?
 
i built a polished HP44. dont do it. if you want a 44 front, find a JK rubi one and truss/sleeve/gear it or build a waggy one. the HP44 is way more $$, and you can just build a 60 at that point. if you want a good waggy 44 get chromos, the jantz jana K4 kit, and slap it under your truck.
 
RyanColton said:
I'm running 35" tires and was talked into a dana 44 front axle upgrade. Instead of building up a 30. I decided to get one out of a waggy when I find one. I have seen a lot of write ups about what to pull it out of and langths. But I have not seen much about knukles, brakes and brackets. Does anyone have or know of a link or write up about these?
Click to expand...

I have a 44 front and on 34s the only thing I miss would be the clearance. I have a Detroit and chromo shafts so I am not to worried about it. As far as breaks and all that read mr Ns articles on Dana 44s. Also like xjli said look into a Jana kit. If I build a rear 44 I think I will go that route.
 
How is the hp44 more expensive? This is the first time I've seen anyone recommend the waggy over the hp version, the ford version with 1/2" tubes and welded wedges is what I run. $150 for the axle, $100 in brackets from ballistic, $600 in chromos and I beat it hard on 35's without problems. It was welded when I bought it and had warn premium hubs. It's not the baddest, there are drawbacks like being welded, but for cheap strength it's hard to beat.
 
The 78 Ford Bronco D44 front axle has very large disk brakes and 5x5.5 bolt pattern.
 
google search Mr N's D44 page.

the important question is what bolt pattern do you want. waggy will be 6 lug. but the knuckles are the same as chevy, using the small bearing spindle. the large bearing spindle is different, providing an 8 lug pattern, utilizing the same lock out. if you want 5on5.5, ford knuckles (and everything else from there out) is plug and play using the ford stub shaft... or if the waggy knuckles you end up with are flat tops, you can use a ford rotor/hub and get 5on5.5 using the chevy caliper. this is due to the fact that the bearings on the small bearing chevy spindle and ford 1/2 ton spindle are similar/the same. the lockouts also interchange. but note that ford 3/4 ton stuff is a different animal.
 
I wouldnt waste time with a waggy lp44, I would do ford hp44 if you feel you must do a 44. That being said I built a pretty sweet hp44(trussed, chromos, ARB, 5.13s, etc, etc but imagine rehearing, replacing hubs, lockouts, spindles, bearings, ball joints all with quality parts and buying new chromos and even more crap from ruffstuff) and I regret it although huge piece of mind over the 30 after blowing it up. I could have build a ford hp60 for much less. I would have gone straight to a 60 if I knew now what I didnt know then.

the JK rubi 44 is a great idea, especially since you can find them cheap and they have those massive jk44 gears (rub icons only have the bigger gears right?) . Just don't get attached to matching lug patterns.JK is 5 on 5. hp44 is 5 on 5.5, or you can do 8 on 6.5. temporarily you can just run mismatched rims.


that all being said, you could probably get some chromos for the 30, get a cheap 90$ truss, and a ruffstuff cover, 40$ knuckle gussets and call it done.

really depends on your wheeling style. if you are going to beat your rig to death you should probably consider the 60
 
Thanks guys for all the good info. I have the tools and skill for the Ford HP 44. And it looks easier then I have heard. I'll try to post pictures as I get the project started. Thanks again guys.
 
I love all the "You can build a D60 for less" replies. Just depends on what you want from your rig. If you run an 8 lug D60 full width then yeah, it is cheaper. Well maybe until you consider there are no light duty 8 lug rear axles. So now you need a 14 bolt or dumping a ton of cash into a rear D60 so you can run 35 spline axle shafts. Now if you want to run a 5x5.5 bolt pattern wheel on your fron D60, there is no "cheap" way to do this. Also, try running a shortened D60 in the front and still have room for coil springs and shocks. It gets pretty tight and is a pain in the ass to pull off. So most people just go to coil overs, not what I would call a cheap solution.

So, yes you can run full width 1 ton axles for cheap. But, for me running full width isn't something I want to do. I like the extra clearance of the narrow XJ axle widths and plan on staying there. I have a shortened D44 housing ready to build, but I also have a fully polished D30 with WJ knucles under my rig. What I really want is lock out hubs and bigger brakes, neither of which is cheap on a D30 either.
 
I've built all three.

Dana 30 is the best bang for the buck. Anyone who disagrees .. is just wrong. And probably hates bacon.

Dana 44 is about 1/2 the work that a 60 is, and to build to the same specs about 1/2 the cost.
 
I am building a 60 right now, I owned a waggy 44 in the past but I didn't build it, my rig is currently sporting about the most polished dana 30 you can possibly build.

I agree with CAL a 100 percent. My 30 has been bullet proof with 35's at quite a cost mind you for a 1/4 ton axle, but much less work and money than building a 44. Besides the better the brakes building a dana 44 properly is about %50 percent more money by the time you are done for gaining maybe 20% more strength. Poor value.

If you build a dana 44 within a year or two you talk yourself into 38" tires or similar and be in the same boat all over again. 30 or 60 all the way.
 
Starboard M said:
Googlz FTW:
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dana 44 waggy swap cherokee

Short answer, dont do it. Polish the 30 for 35s. If you still want to do it, look into a Ford HP44 instead of the low pinion Jeep version. Look through this thread, lots of links towards the end. Should answer most of your questions. What rear axle do you have?
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=993467
Click to expand...

Having done a Waggy 44 I disagree with this answer, just my humble opinion as I did a great deal of research before making the leap. Polishing a 30 is expensive and it is actually cheaper to do the LP44 and you have long term options up to and including a JK rear Rubi ring and pinion called a "Jana K" that comes close to Dana 60 strength with 35 spline options (easily as strong as an HP44 even with the D50 R&P). The 30 can be built for 35's, but the 44 is already there and has far more support to upgrade further. Check out this article... http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/axle...new-sckool-jk44s-your-old-school-housing.html. As for the bolt pattern issue, 6 lug wheels are cheap (Craigslist and NAXJA FS forums FTW!!!) and so are drill bits. Drill your rear to match (carefully measuring and a great excuse to go with discs!!) add new lugs and balanced wheels to match your tires and drive it.
 
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To answer an earlier question...brakes, outers, etc. The easy way is get one that is complete. The rotors, pads, calipers that come with it work fine and bolt right up. And if it is missing from the donor, just get stock replacements. Stock xj master cylinder has no problem keeping up. Bolt pattern will be the only big hurdle, as said.
I have a waggy D44 and am not unhappy. Who is to say I would have had issues with the 30 if I'd have kept it....guess we'll need to visit some parallel universes and see. if you see yourself doing bigger than 37, think about a d60 harder.
 
Always the building to the same specs argument, a stock 60 is stronger than a built 30 or 44 and will hold up to 37's no problem. A ball joint 60 can be had for $500 all day long. Lunchbox locker, brackets,and cheap steel wheels gets u a 60 for $1000 and we have all seen 30's with 3 times that in them.
 
zachandandy said:
Always the building to the same specs argument, a stock 60 is stronger than a built 30 or 44 and will hold up to 37's no problem. A ball joint 60 can be had for $500 all day long. Lunchbox locker, brackets,and cheap steel wheels gets u a 60 for $1000 and we have all seen 30's with 3 times that in them.
Click to expand...


And then another $400 to build a ghetto 8 lug rear to match.
And $400 for some steering.


And then you break a stock 30 spline stub that was no stronger than the dana 30 27 spline stub was..

Not to mention you have a heavy, welded, super wide pile of shit on the cheapest steel wheels you can find.
 
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