Dana 44 advantages

Hello all,

What woud be the advantages for switching from my 27a toa Dana 44? Local Jeep shop told me that since I might have either a drum brake problem and/or a bad bearing in the front right side, they would recommend switching to the D44 and then I'd have front disc brakes.

I don't mind the drum brakes when I'm driving, but the shop implied that if there were drum brake repairs to be made, then I might as well replace the bearings and If I'm doing those then why not just replace the front end?

So advantages?

Disadvantages?

Thanks for your well considered advice!

Douglas..

 

advantage: more work and money for the shop doing the work.

disadvantage: your wallet will be lighter.

opinion: just fix what's wrong.

conclusion: find another shop

 

Doing brakes and bearing will be a lot less$$$ than a 44 swap.
Andrew

 

That's when you know it is time to start doing your own work.

 

I've never seen a shop sell a brake job into an axle swap!

If the bearing are fine, leave me alone. Brake shoes and a hardware kit shouldn't be to expensive, heck even if you need wheel cylinders, hardware, shoes, and drums (which I doubt) it should only be 3 or $400.

An axle swap will run you alot more than that!

Here's how I see this panning out

$20k later you've got a jeep you never wanted, all because of a brake job.


Tell this shop to put it back together, and take it somewhere else.

 

I’m glad someone made this point.

And the guys telling you to find a different shop are spot on. I don’t even know how they could, with a straight face, tell you your brakes and/or wheel bearings are bad so they need to change the axle.

 

I do, had my local shop do something similar to me. Needless to say I told them to do a few 4 letter words and have not been back since.

 

Thanks for all of your inputs.

I had a feeling that the axle switch was a bit extreme.

I must say, generally the shop does really good work. Especially "Kustom" work that other shops will not touch. I think that this instance is really about a difference in opinion on what my Jeep is all about. Alot of their clientel are pushing the envelope of their vehicles a bit more than what I use my daily driver Jeep for.

Thanks again,

Douglas..

 

I have to aggree with everybody on this one. I have contemplated a swap many times, but decided to keep my '65 near stock. There are disc brake conversions available as mentioned earklier, if you wish to pursue this avenue. Fix what is wrong and keep it in good repair. If you don't do anything extreme and perform regular maintenance it will last you for a very long time.

 

Ah, a performance shop, that figures.
Yea, take your rig somewhere else, or fix it yourself. These things really are simple little creatures and we’re here to help.

 

I would be curious as to what they plan to do really, ask for a quote on the swap and the source for the Dana 44 front. Also wouldn't you need to change from a Ross steering to a Saginaw?

 

It sounds like that this speed shop is hoping on getting the job, including the steering conversion, which they will not tell you about until AFTER the process has started. Once they have you you're hooked line and sinker, and there is no getting out of it when only half the job (the axle) was done.
If this shop is as smart as I give them credit for, they probably already have a buyer for your old axle, as that there are still enough of us "old schoolers" still running stock drivetrains.

 

I wonder if a company like Dynetrac offered a reasonably priced bolt in Dana 44 complete disc to disc, how many of us would take the plung. For what I have spent on my Dana 30 I could have bought one. With all the guys still wheeling older CJ's and all the talk about axle upgrades I have to think it would be worth their effort to bring one to market. If Mopar can sell new JK 44's through a dealership for 1300.00 why can't Dynetrac build a narrower 44 for a CJ in a similar price range. Hey Dynatrac, not everybody need a Dana 60 to bounce off rocks!

 

It can be done cheaper than the "professional companies" on your own. Remember though you don't have the overhead those companies have hence the cost difference.

Having built a LOT of Dana 44's, 30's, 60's, etc. I can't begin to tell you how labor intensive it is. Stock width axles are no big deal but custom widths can be a real pain. Not just a matter of narrowing the tubes, but making sure pinion off set is right, figuring how much room you have for spring mounts, axle shaft lengths, pinion angle, caster, etc.
A lot of it is paperwork and math and interpreting what the customer is after when they don't even know.

Then the real work begins.....

 

In response to LarryD...

The Jeep already has power steering, added by the previous owner and The shop had a Dana44 sitting on the floor taken out of something else. The shop is less of a speed shop and more of a Kustom Krawler shop.

And I will be the first to admit that my Jeep, as I inherited it, does send some mixed messages with the Vortec 4.3l, aluminum rad (since replaced with a copper one) and "Bump" clutch but with the T18a tranny it's not going to be doing much racing.

Douglas..

 

I would just have them Finnish the job if they have it apart. If you have them put it back together and take it somewhere else they are going to charge you. If they fix the brakes for you and there is a problem then you still have their warranty. The worst thing you could do is **** off a shop when they have your vehicle in their shop torn down.