Dana 44's

[YJwonderboy]

How the heck would you put a dana 44 as the front axle on a YJ? I heard from somebody that it can't be done...

[USMC 0369]

How the heck would you put a dana 44 as the front axle on a YJ? I heard from somebody that it can't be done...

Here, check this . There are a lot of write ups about this swap, probably better ones... fact of the matter is, it's a good swap that I'm hoping to do in the wife's YJ.

You need to go kick your friend in the junk.

[YJwonderboy]

Even they said that it couldn't be done.

If you want to do both front and rear then forget the above options because you won't find a Dana44 front end with a YJ (5 on 4.5") lug pattern. The YJ pattern is too small to fit Dana 44 hubs.

[USMC 0369]

Even they said that it couldn't be done.

In that article the guy was swapping both F&R axles. What they were referring to was taking both F&R axles off one vehicle. this is convenient because the gearing ould be the same and you wouldnt have to match them yourself. If you continue to read the write up, it will tell you how to do it, but I'll look for a better article for ya... that one may be a bit confusing. The author doesn't write very well...

This page has three different articles on putting new axles under your Wrangler, they mostly swap both axles (as the D35c is a bigger problem than your D30 front) but do cover swapping the front out for a D44.

Sorry if I [or the article] confused you. Also, I think Erik (Nailer341) did this swap to his YJ. I'll edit this again if I find more info.

Erik has also posted up a helpful list of what axles came in different year Jeeps to help with searching for a donor, or you could buy a whole alxe from aftermarket. Nailer's list is here: http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312

[Mtbikbob]

Erik has also posted up a helpful list of what axles came in different year Jeeps to help with searching for a donor, or you could buy a whole alxe from aftermarket. Nailer's list is here: http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312

Wow....what a wealth of information! Thanks Nick for posting it up and Erik for all that imput!!!. Just when I was feeling down about trying to obtain info on my 2005 TJ. No shop manuals from Chilton on my year. It looks like they have not changed anyway in the last several years.
I guess this latest incident put me over the top for while. (Bent output shaft in the transfer case) I need to duck when I walk past Joy these days....she's goin to deck me for sure.
Going to upgrade the output shaft and find some kind of ez locker for the front and maybe a lockright powertrax for the back. Not sure yet.

In hiding,
Bob

[YJwonderboy]

Is the front Dana 30 a decent axle? I haven't heard too many complaints about them on the forum...just the rear 35c

[Old Fart]

YJ front 30 is high pinion - I ran mine all the way up to 35's. One solution for you that would work well - get both Dana 44 axles from a donor vehicle like a Waggy. They'll be 6 lug - pick up some 6 lug rims and you're done. Lots of 6 lug stuff out there.

My Dana 44 is a true bastich child. Jeep J-10 housing, Scout knuckles and hubs, CJ-7 rotors, Warn lockouts (marked I-H), and Ford brakes

[dannyboysfc]

Keep in mind that a Waggy 44 front is a low pinion axle, which is not exactly desireable. Correct me if Im wrong Old Fart. Ive heard that the HP 30s can be beefed up to be as strong as the LP 44 because of the reverse cut or something like that. It also seems that removing the driver side spring perch and mounting a new one is a bit difficult because it is actually attached to the pumpkin(agian correct me if Im wrong). I have access to many waggy front 44s but havent taken one because I thought it wasnt much of an improvement.

[YJwonderboy]

So...explain to me...what's high pinion and low pinion?

[TommyGp]

High and low pinion refers to the location on the axle where the pinion gear is located. The driveshaft attaches to the pinion through a u-joint and yoke. Look at a YJ front axle, the driveshaft meets the housing at a point higher than the horizontal centerline of the housing. Then look at the rear. The rear driveshaft enters below the center line.

A high pinion is desirable for two reasons:

1 - Better driveline angles.
2 - On a low-pinion front axle, the pressue is placed on the coast side of the gear, which is the weaker side. On a high-pinion front axle, the pressure is placed on the drive side of the gear. For most uses a low-pinion design is fine, but high-pinion, reverse cut is stronger.

[Old Fart]

HP is stronger, but I was more than happy to trade off for LP and get real hubs, real brakes, and a bigger overall R&P.

Perch isn't a big issue - I did mine in the garage.

[USMC 0369]

High and low pinion refers to the location on the axle where the pinion gear is located. The driveshaft attaches to the pinion through a u-joint and yoke. Look at a YJ front axle, the driveshaft meets the housing at a point higher than the horizontal centerline of the housing. Then look at the rear. The rear driveshaft enters below the center line.

A high pinion is desirable for two reasons:

1 - Better driveline angles.
2 - On a low-pinion front axle, the pressue is placed on the coast side of the gear, which is the weaker side. On a high-pinion front axle, the pressure is placed on the drive side of the gear. For most uses a low-pinion design is fine, but high-pinion, reverse cut is stronger.

Also Wonderboy, if you're wondering what the "drive side" & "coast side" are... Yukon has this handy guide to changing R&P and explains these things pretty well... you'll need adobe acrobat reader for this.

http://www.ringpinion.com/downloads/yukoninstman.pdf

[poultry411]

YJ front 30 is high pinion - I ran mine all the way up to 35's. One solution for you that would work well - get both Dana 44 axles from a donor vehicle like a Waggy. They'll be 6 lug - pick up some 6 lug rims and you're done. Lots of 6 lug stuff out there.

yjwonderboy- think we're in the same boat. Old fart- is there any upgrades to the d30 you ran (or can suggest)? what where you running for a rear at the time?

[Old Fart]

My D30 stayed bone stock with the exception of 4.10's and an ARB.
Rear was (is still) a Dana 60 with Detroit. I also have 2WD Low range in the NP-231, which meant the front didn't need to be engaged all that often.

[poultry411]

where did you source your D60 from?