XJ Dana 44 Drum Brake Strut

[Simo]

I have an XJ dana 44 and am trying to get the parking brake working. The used axle came with no brake parts besides the backing plates. If someone knows of a new PN for the brake strut or has a dana 44 and looking to do a disc brake conversion I would love to buy some of your old brake hw. But Ive found these axles relatively hard to come by so my second hope with this post is to be informed of one dimension being the the length of the strut, specifically item #5 identified as PN 8350 4372-3 in the assembly diagram.

I cannot find this PN available online and instead acquired Omix-Ada PN OMX-1675106 from another jeep dana 44 application hoping it might be close. This suspect part is about 5.75 inches between the insides of the opposing notches (ignore the parallax from the pictured view).

After assembly with all new parts, it seems like the lever is reaching the end of its travel range with parking brake applied before the strut is able to start spreading the brake shoes. The adjuster is appropriately set for the shoes and drum interface but it seems like the strut needs to be about 0.25-0.5 inches longer for the lever arm not to be maxed out on its travel before starting to spread the shoes. With the correct dimension in hand I could even just fabricate a part.

 

[Anak]

Which drums do you have?

I believe there are two options for D44 drums. I know I have one D44 with smooth drums and two with finned drums. I have not disassembled more than one at a time to compare parts, but I suspect the finned drums are a heavy duty version.

If you have the finned drums I can easily pull a drum off my spare axle in my shop and measure that part.

If you have the smooth drums I have to work at it to get to that one.

 

[Simo]

The drums I bought are Raybestos 2515R and I would venture to say these are finned (not smooth). I wasnt really aware of the potential HD v NonHD versions of the drum, I just picked one from available offerings on a 1987-1990 XJ application that cited dana 44. Apparently these are 10"x2.5".

 

[Anak]

I think you have identified your issue.

Here is what I pulled out of my spare:







In case pics don't show (likely some day down the line), the Bendix P/N appears to be 3209514-R (I expect if I pulled the other side it would end "-L"). The overall length is approximately 7" and the distance between the notches is 6-3/32".

Hopefully that can put you on the right track to find the part you need. Note that it is not exactly a flat bar. There are some contours which I expect are required for clearance.

ETA: I bet the part you have is for the smooth drum (light duty) version.

 

[Simo]

Thank you very much. I didnt find anything quickly with the Bendix PN, but Ive traced over your picture as a canvas in a CAD program and have something ready to cut out of some 1/4" material to see how that does soon. Your measurement is in the ballpark of how much longer I was guessing the piece needed to be. Really appreciate it.

 

[Anak]

I think thickness is closer to 3/16".

I don't have time right now, but tomorrow I can probably take some pics from different angles to give you a sense of where your issues are likely to be with a simple, flat piece.

 

[JonnyCat63]

I ran into the same problem with one of my D44's. I could not locate that part. Ended up getting it at a junkyard. It was just luck this place had 2 of them and was willing to part with them.

I think fabbing your own is most likely the only option.

 

[Anak]

Here are some more pics. Note that I was not thinking of how you were going to scan this for CAD purposes with the first pictures. Those were taken at a bit of an angle. I tried to take these from as straight vertical as possible. This was done freehand, so I don't claim they are perfect, but having done it from both sides (assuming the same error both sides) you should be able to get pretty close to actual dimensions. It was hard to get the camera to show the shaping in the middle. That bulge is symmetrical. Note that I did pictures both with and without a grid. I am not sure which way will work best for you, or for the next guy, but it gives you options to play with.

 

[Simo]

Thanks again for the critical reference measurements and pics Anak. I ended up making a few versions with slightly different lengths around the target 6-3/32" between notches until I found a solution that worked to my satisfaction. Also to echo your comment on the thickness being closer to 3/16", when I tried with the first piece of flat 1/4" thick scrap it did barely touch the wheel cylinder rubber seals and it was also not fully seating into the notches because of the thicker material. Thinner material seated much better into the notches of the shoe & lever arm and also had some wiggle room to rotate away from contacting the wheel cylinder. I did not have to press the flat bar to mirror the bulges in sample piece but that would have been my next step if it still experienced clearance issues. The same flat piece seems to work on both sides.

 

[Anak]

I am glad that worked out for you.

Good job taking a picture and turning it into a functional component.

I am going to guess that the difference between left and right will be a function of which way the clearance bulges face.

I would probably open up the drums in a few thousand miles just to check and make sure the lack of those bulges is not creating some sort of problem. From what I know of bean counters I have to believe someone had to make a persuasive argument for the tooling and labor required for that extra step.

 

[jthomas 99xj]

Thanks again for the critical reference measurements and pics Anak. I ended up making a few versions with slightly different lengths around the target 6-3/32" between notches until I found a solution that worked to my satisfaction. Also to echo your comment on the thickness being closer to 3/16", when I tried with the first piece of flat 1/4" thick scrap it did barely touch the wheel cylinder rubber seals and it was also not fully seating into the notches because of the thicker material. Thinner material seated much better into the notches of the shoe & lever arm and also had some wiggle room to rotate away from contacting the wheel cylinder. I did not have to press the flat bar to mirror the bulges in sample piece but that would have been my next step if it still experienced clearance issues. The same flat piece seems to work on both sides.

I am looking for this exact part. Is there anyway you'd be willing to produce another set for me?

 

[Simo]

Yeah I can do that.