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Modifying A Dana 44

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by Broylz, Mar 29, 2017.

  1. Mar 29, 2017
    Broylz

    Broylz Member

    Gallatin, TN
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    Oct 9, 2012
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    So my dana 27 needs some work to get it back into shape. It's leaking at the seals and I think a joint is going bad as well.

    That said, I have a pair of wagoneer dana 44s and I'm considering chopping the front d44 down to stock size. Would be a nice upgrade with disc brakes. Pretty cheap to get the shafts resplined as well.

    That leads me to the rear axle then. Could I chop and respline the rear shafts to get the larger drum brakes and matching 6 lug pattern?

    What are your opinions of doing so? My original thought was a new frame and Waggy width axles as is but I kind of want a modified jeep that looks more stock at times. Internal debate in my head...
     
  2. Mar 29, 2017
    johneyboy03

    johneyboy03 The green beast

    Quebec, Canada
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    Better leave the axle uncut. You will always have custom lenght axle shaft if you cut down them. You can use 6" flare to cover the extra widnt. Also with large axle you will have more stability on the trail and you will be able to put bigger tire without be concern with tire rubbing inside the rear fender when you will have some flex.

    i did the scout axle swap but waggy are almost the same WMS.
     
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  3. Mar 29, 2017
    Daryl

    Daryl Sponsor

    Bonney Lake, WA
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    I have been cutting down axles for years just like you describe. The only possible drawback is if you have a waggy 6 lug axles.
     
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  4. Mar 29, 2017
    Broylz

    Broylz Member

    Gallatin, TN
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    How is that a drawback? I do have the 6 lug but have wheels for them and the Chevy 6 lug pattern will work as well.

    Is there a mechanical difference I am not aware of that makes 6 lug more difficult?
     
  5. Mar 29, 2017
    johneyboy03

    johneyboy03 The green beast

    Quebec, Canada
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    No difference...only the hub change, but for cutting axle down it wont interfer.

    But depending on the year of the waggy axle if you have the right spindle you can use a ford f150 1985 hub and rotor and it will be bolt-on and you will retain the 5 lug as you have. Also you already have a rear dana 44, so if cut down the front axle to the rear widnt you can just change the hub and rotor on the waggy so you can keep the rear and have the same bolt patern.
     
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  6. Mar 29, 2017
    Broylz

    Broylz Member

    Gallatin, TN
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    That makes sense. I do have a better set of wheels in the 5 lug pattern.

    I am not sure the exact year but it is a narrow track with 6 lug disc brakes. 74-79 iirc?
     
  7. Mar 29, 2017
    4wealn

    4wealn Member

    Ontario, Canada
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    Nov 15, 2013
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    I have a pair of the correct spindles you will need for the swap to 5 bolt. I did the same thing with mine. I cut down a front Cherokee chief axle 4 inches and had he long side axle shaft cut and re-splined by Dutchman motorsports
     
  8. Mar 29, 2017
    y2k-fxst

    y2k-fxst Member

    North English,IA
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    Nov 17, 2014
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    For my build I'm going with a cut down Waggy front Dana 44 with F150 hubs/rotors/ For a rear axle I've got a 9" full size Bronco axle I'm going to cut down to use '76-'77 early Bronco axle shafts. That way only the driver's front axle shaft will be custom length.
     
  9. Mar 29, 2017
    Broylz

    Broylz Member

    Gallatin, TN
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    Oct 9, 2012
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    So if I swap the spindles and get new rotors, which I need anyway, will the caliper and brackets all be the same?
     
  10. Mar 30, 2017
    Broylz

    Broylz Member

    Gallatin, TN
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    I do have a 1989 full size bronco with a d44 ttb front suspension. Would the spindles and rotors swap one to the other from my Waggy front end? I plan on selling it now that I got the title figured out and don't really care if the bronco is 6 lug front and 5 lug rear at this point.
     
  11. Mar 30, 2017
    johneyboy03

    johneyboy03 The green beast

    Quebec, Canada
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    Take a picture of you're spindle, you may already have the right spindle....i think all wagonneer form 74-77 have the right one. The only way to know is by removing the hub. Put a picture here and we will be able to tell you if you have the right one.
     
  12. Mar 30, 2017
    AlexCold

    AlexCold Member

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    1st of all, this is only my opinion and by no means is it the only way.

    What are your goals? Rock crawling, mudding, or dirt roads/general 4 wheeling. Then ask, why am I installing a Dana 44? I'm going to assume you want bigger tires(~35s) and to go wherever you want and not worry about those tires being too much on the axle. At which point, to me, a wider axle is better for stability. So cutting down a 60" WMS axle to get to a stock width of 50"/51"/52" WMS sounds counter productive.

    Say you do cut the front down, the 60" waggy axle has a spring pad mount width of 32" and the stock CJ5 pad with is 27.5". You would have to cut down both sides (short and long) to get the proper width assuming you use the cast in pad on the differential housing. At that point, you'd need custom inner axles on both sides. Say you don't use the cast in spring pad and add you're own, then you could run into issues with the diff housing not aligning with the t-case output as it's pushed further in the stock and could run into he engine oil pan. My point here is that this would take a lot of planning and measuring to make effective.

    If you don't cut the front, you can outboard your springs, and the biggest issue would be making sure the differential housing doesn't run into the frame. Advantages, stock shafts and no worries about the axle. All suspension/frame work which I'm sure you plan to do anyways. As for the rear in this scenario, you could just move the pads in if it's a centered rear housing, or you could outboard your springs if it's an offset housing.

    Again, IMO, doing a bunch of work to keep 5 lug is crazy. Wheels shouldn't be the deciding factor for work. Again it's your preference, but I would rather buy some wheels with the correct pattern, than start making things more complicated than they are. It's not hard to do, but it just takes more steps than necessary. If you do plan on doing it to keep 5-lug, you will likely need spindles, hubs, stub shaft, and new brakes. This is a very good write up that includes this information and the differences between them. BillaVista.com-Dana 30-Dana 44 Hybrid Front Axle Tech Article by BillaVista

    The buyer might! but yes I think they should fit.
     
  13. Mar 30, 2017
    4wealn

    4wealn Member

    Ontario, Canada
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    To Alexcold, yes the waggy spring perches are 32" apart and the cj are 27.5-28", but when you cut down the long side 4" and move the perch in 4", your 32" perch distance now becomes 28" which will work. That is the exact thing I did to mine.
     
  14. Mar 30, 2017
    AlexCold

    AlexCold Member

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    And you end up with a centered axle? Cool! I was under the impression that this wasn't possible with the narrow wagoneer axle. On the Cherokee chief wide track dana 44, removing 4ish inches narrows the spring pads in and you get a centered axle on 27.5" spacing.

    I'd still rather keep the 60" axles and outboard the springs!
     
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  15. Mar 30, 2017
    johneyboy03

    johneyboy03 The green beast

    Quebec, Canada
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    I totaly agree with you about the fact you mention.

    But just to clarify, if he really want to shorten the front and keep the rear, only the hub and rotor will need to be chance. I did it on my front axle using cheerokee spindle with his axle shaft, and the hub and rotor.

    But as Alexcold it doesn't worth the job using cut axle to fit the narrow trac widnt.

    I would be affraid to run with a narrow trac axle on my jeep with the 36" tsl.
     
  16. Mar 30, 2017
    4wealn

    4wealn Member

    Ontario, Canada
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    I did it because I had a wide track 44 in the rear from an 86 CJ7 and wanted the 44 up front but my trailer is only 80" wide. Shortening the Cherokee chief 4" and with my rim offset it would work perfect. I did not want to outboard the springs at the time so shortening was the option for me. I am not saying it is the right thing for everybody but it was for me.
     
  17. Mar 30, 2017
    AlexCold

    AlexCold Member

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    Oh ok! That's a bit different then. Yes with a cherokee chief "wide track" dana 44 shortening the long side works because that's a 64" WMS axle. The wagoneer axles are different at 60" WMS. Shortening the long side only will not work. You'd have to shorten the short side as well.

    More measuring is required, but I believe you cannot take a "narrow" wagoneer axle and shorten the long side only and still have anot equal length from spring pad center to WMS on both sides.
     
  18. Mar 30, 2017
    4wealn

    4wealn Member

    Ontario, Canada
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  19. Mar 30, 2017
    y2k-fxst

    y2k-fxst Member

    North English,IA
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    If you narrow the wide track Chief 64" axle you will end up with a 60" axle with the six lug rotors. The narrow track Wagoneer axles will go from 60" to 56" width with six lug hubs. For the 5 lug Ford hubs you will gain 1" overall.

    Both can be narrowed the 4" or 4.5" needed to bring the spring pads to the right width for the CJ frame by just cutting the long side. As far as cutting them down to CJ narrow track width that would involve cutting down both sides and 2 custom axles, which would be fine with the stock size tires. But, the narrow track width runs into tire-frame/springs quickly when oversize tires are mounted. Most with narrow track axles end up with wheel spacers to make oversize tires work. Even with the Wagoneer axle I'd limit tire sizes to 33" tall to avoid having to reduce the turning radius. The Chief axles cut down do allow more choices when looking at wider/taller tires due to the fact the wheel mounting surface will be 2"/side further from the frame/springs than the Wagoneer.

    For the 5 lug conversion using for hub/rotors you will need the '73-'76.5 Chevy/Wagoneer small bearing spindles. Then use the factory Wagoneer caliper mounts and calipers with the Ford hub/rotor and bearings.

    Wagoneer axles with the Ford rotors cut down to CJ spring pad width will net you a 57" wide wheel mounting surface axle.
     
  20. Mar 31, 2017
    4wealn

    4wealn Member

    Ontario, Canada
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    That is exactly what I thought for the narrow wagoneer axles. I guess I was not too clear about the shortening. I meant that you could shorten a narrow waggy to be the same as a wide track cj, not the narrow track cj. Yes you would have to shorten both sides to match a narrow cj just like AlexCold was implying. My bad, I should have been more clear. LOL I knew what I was trying to say in my head but did not type it out fully.
    I did extensive research and was actually looking for a narrow track wagoneer to shorten but I am glad I went with the wide from the chief like I did. Yes my turning radius did suffer but I just finished replacing the pitman arm with a longer one and now it is amazing. I am running flat top knuckles with crossover high steering. I was initially looking for a wagoneer pitman arm as they seem to be a bit longer but talked to Parts Mike and they set me up with a much stronger arm than the wagoneer. They drilled and reamed it for me at about 7" center to center (almost an inch longer than what I had) and I was off to the races. I am running 35" Super Swamper TSL and I would say that those tires would be at the limit of the waggy D44.
    If anyone is interested I do have a set of the chevy small bearing spindles, flat top knuckles, and the backing plates/caliper plates for this type of build. All you would ned then to convert to 5 lug would be the for hub and rotor.
     
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