Rear isuzu gears in front waggy axle? or....

[AtomicPunk]

Ok, i'm about to do an axle swap, in the rear I'll have an Isuzu rodeo Dana 44 with the 4.30 thick gears (93-97) and the high gear carrier, it's the stock set up.
In the front it will be an 86'+ wagoneer dana 44 and I want the matching 4.30 gears. Randy's ring and pinion doesn't seem to sell 4.30 gears for a front axle but I've seen people using them. My question is, can you take the ring and pinion and carrier from a isuzu rear 44 and put them in a front axle? Is this possible? Or will the gears be turning the wrong way or something? I'm not sure where these people are getting front 4.30 gears for their axle. Both axles are low pinion with standard cut gears, but I thought that front and rear axle gears were different. I'd be very thankful for some help on this.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

In theory, R&P should work. Not sure on the carrier. But you should be able to pick up a waggy 44 carrier for your gear set.

 

[JTM]

I'm might have one of the set ups you have seen on line.
86 Grand Wagoner D44 4.27
96 Passport D44 4.30

Yukon 4.27s for a front standard rotation D44 are P/N: YG D44-427
USA Gear 4.27 are P/N: ZG D44-427

P/Ns are for Randy's Ring and Pinion.

 

[kastein]

Yeah... 4.27 should work, that's only 0.7% difference in ratio front to rear. Your steering while driving and tire pressure variances will amount to more difference than that.

Gears are gears as long as they're for a 44 and are cut right (low pinion vs high pinion obviously is an issue, but not for you since yours are both low pinion) - just make sure the isuzu 44 doesn't use some funky "special" 44. Or just order the ones JTM listed, they will work.

 

[xjtrailrider]

4.27 front and 4.30 rear would be an ideal ratio combo.

 

[AtomicPunk]

I was thinking of doing 4.27 in the front but I figured if I could use the rear gears it would save quite a bit of money since the rodeos are all over the wrecking yards here in Arizona with the 4.30 gears.

Do you think running 4.27 in the front would cause a problem in 4 wheel drive on a surface with no slippage such as rocks or road?

 

[xjtrailrider]

I was thinking of doing 4.27 in the front but I figured if I could use the rear gears it would save quite a bit of money since the rodeos are all over the wrecking yards here in Arizona with the 4.30 gears.

Do you think running 4.27 in the front would cause a problem in 4 wheel drive on a surface with no slippage such as rocks or road?

Nope

 

[JTM]

Do you think running 4.27 in the front would cause a problem in 4 wheel drive on a surface with no slippage such as rocks or road?

Nope, I've been running that combo for last 4 years; one of my first runs on that setup was a series of trails starting just North of Pheonix and ending in Prescott. The trail names I remember are Senator Highway, Crown King, and Desoto Mine.

 

[jeeperjohn]

If you put a ring and pinion for a rear axle in the front you may be running on the coast side of the ring gear making it significantly weaker.

 

[MoparManiac]

If you put a ring and pinion for a rear axle in the front you may be running on the coast side of the ring gear making it significantly weaker.

If you run a LP axle in the front (like a waggy axle) you're doing that anyway.

There is no difference between a "rear" or "front" axle gearset, at least for our purposes.

The only differences are High pinion (reverse cut) and Low Pinion (standard cut).

If an Isuzu D44 uses traditional D44 internals, they should switch just fine. But I know nothing about those axles.

 

[barillms]

You prob don't need to swap the carrier. Just the ring & pinion.

Any 44 (or any axle) Low pinion gearset, SHOULD work in any other low pinion 44. It doesn't matter if it's a front axle or rear axle. The center section (differential) are the same.

You can't take a high pinion gearset, and put it in a low pinion axle OR Vise-versa. Because high pinion axles have "reverse cut" gear teeth.

You will need to have someone who knows what they're doing with the proper tools, install the gears and properly set them up. This is 100% mandatory