Building the ultimate Dana 44?

[4.3LXJ]

Lots of talk nowadays about which axle you should have. So which axle should I use?Some say go to tones, that is Dana 60, 70 or 14 bolt Chevy. Those axles are very strong, no doubt, but they have large center castings (pumpkin) and hang down. I have a 14 Bolt in my pickup that hangs down very close to the ground. After wheeling in the mud in the Pacific Northwest for years, ground clearance under the pumpkin can make the difference between lots of fun and a very frustrating day. So since I want to do it all, I want to build the strongest axle I can in the smallest package I can and keep it light for sand and snow wheeling

[4.3LXJ]

So I decided on building a very strong Dana 44. It is a 3800# half ton truck axle with tremendous aftermarket support. It has an 8" ring gear that is pretty strong. I have managed to break a lot of stuff in my Jeeps, but never the D44 diff. Well I did manage to bend the two piece axles, but that for another time and Jeep. So I managed to grab some Scout II axles for a ridiculous price. At this point there is a decision to make.

[4.3LXJ]

The Scout axles are within a half inch in width of the XJ axles, so the rear axle was very usable as is. However I decided I wanted to run larger tires, say like maybe 42". That would go along ways to making a good snow and mud machine, not to mention the rock gardens around here. So, there is work to do.
14972

As you can see, it has drum brakes. I intend to upgrade these to disc brakes with more stopping power then the XJ or Scout rear brakes. Popped the diff cover off and found this
14973

That is a trac lock that is so worn out I thought it was an open diff. Definitely going to have to upgrade that. And that 3.73 ring and pinion has to go too.

[4.3LXJ]

So one must have a locker in a heavy duty axle for a Jeep right. I have these: two brand new Spartan lunch box lockers that I won off another off road website.
14974

They are reliable and so the price was right and why not. Got a new 4.10 and up carrier for the 44. Next I made a diff cover for it out of 3/" plate. Then it happened. I got bigger ideas, I mean bigger tires than planned

[4.3LXJ]

So I added a small truss over the top and added a mount for a top link with the idea of going to a three link rear.
Then the process for the diff cover began


14975

14976
14977

What I finally ended up with is is a cover with a dipstick, drain and a solid brace to the truss, and a nice pretty red

[4.3LXJ]

But alas, I did mention those 40" tires, so I started looking for some upgrades. I came up with a Super Dana 44 Detroit locker. It takes 33 spline axles. I tried to see if I could expand to 35 spline, but there just wasn't enough metal in the side gears for that, so 33 splines it is.





Then I stumbled on Jantz Engineering up in WA. They make a kit to install JK Rubicon gears in a standard 44 housing.

https://www.jantz4x4.com/jantz.php?p=detail&pro=jana_k4

The JK ring gear is almost an inch larger than the standard 44 and is supposed to be 44% stronger than the standard 44.

[4.3LXJ]

So, time to start putting parts together. One nice thing about modern D44s as opposed to older ones is that you no longer have to put shims between the carrier and bearing.
dana has gone to outboard shims which makes it very easy to add and subtract shims to move the carrier. Another issue is that with the JK gears, you have to bore the holes out for the ring gear bolts to accommodate 1/2" bolts instead of 38". I found a local machinist that does a lot of work for local street rod clubs. Another issue is that you have to use the 3.73 and down carrier due to greater ring gear thickness. So I built a spreader bar to spread the housing and just slip the carrier in.

[4.3LXJ]

Also I bought a 1350 full U bolt pinion yoke from Adams driveshaft. Now time to go to work on this. It took about an hour to get it fully set up. Including eliminating the crush sleeve and substituting a spacer and pinion shaft shims. The kit has a set up bearing for the pinion and shims to shim it. The spreader bar cam in handy to get the right depth by allowing me to disassemble the ring and pinion in about 2 minutes. Putting it back together is about the same with the aid of an impact wrench. The end result looks like this.

[4.3LXJ]

I just love looking at that pic. Jantz says you may have to grind a little clearance in the housing for the larger ring gear. I guess old stuff is a little bigger since I didn't have to do that. However, I couldn't do that because I had built my diff cover for the standard size gears. So back t0 cutting cardboard and sawing up metal and I built another one

[4.3LXJ]

I changed the design and hammered out a curved piece of 3/8" steel to allow less friction from oil turbulence. Might get me a half mile a gallon, who knows? Next thing to do since I have dreams of 40s is to make the axle housing wider. You can't have anything resembling a turning radius with stock width axles. I decided on three inches per side and then use spacers so I could narrow it for say something like 38s for daily driving. So time for some axles to fit those locker side gears. I decided on Mosier and they had about a 2 week turn around on custom axles. Here is a comparison to stock axles

[4.3LXJ]

Next lis to press on the axle bearing and seal, which holds the axle in. I could use a press, could have it done. But the easiest way is to use a pipe and make a slide hammer out of it

[4.3LXJ]

Next up is what to do about brakes. I could use the drum brakes, but I have something better in mind. The Jeep already has WJ rear brakes on it and I like them. Not sure if they are up to stopping 40s, but we shall see. First is a way to ount them. The WJ bracket and parking brake is made out of composite, and can't be welded. So I made these brackets to weld on to the axle housing.

14985

Then what to do about suspension. I have good flexy rock springs now, but they are not up to the added horsepower I am contemplating. So I am also making brackets for a linked suspension.

[4.3LXJ]

Then I added coil buckets and leaf spring pads so I can bolt the axle in right away and link it later

[4.3LXJ]

The rotors have a 5x5" pattern and I am now using a 5.5.5" pattern. So the rotors had to be drilled out to accommodate the new hubs. Also had to have the center bored out to accommodate the larger hubs on old school axles

[Mudderoy]

The rotors have a 5x5" pattern and I am now using a 5.5.5" pattern. So the rotors had to be drilled out to accommodate the new hubs. Also had to have the center bored out to accommodate the larger hubs on old school axles

We recently spoke about brakes on a Round Table episode. A few people said drilled and slotted were the better way to go. I always thought this was another one of these "expesive" things people did to be more like a race car driver then something practicle for a day to day or even a full time off-road vehicle. What are your thoughts?

[4.3LXJ]

There are three things that affect braking for the most part. Rotor diameter, pad surface area and piston surface area. Although more pressure can be an upgrade, but brings higher temps on the rotors in a panic stop. Rotor diameters have been increasing, hence the 16 and 17" wheels to clear those larger rotors. Also as brake pad area increases, more rotor pistons are being used. But if you go to larger diameter tires, I don't think I would go to slotted rotors. Those are more for high speed applications. There is a fourth thing that has come up in the last few years. Different lining materials. The softer the material, the faster you stop, except when you get them too hot. They also wear out fast and leave a ton of dust on your wheels. If you go to the other extreme, and I did on one of my work trucks, then you can put tough as nails lining on that needs to get hot before they start working well. But with a 22000# GVW on a one ton Power Wagon that was real handy.

Now there are ceramic linings which I favor. Good on cold temps and never fade, and there is an improvement stopping power too. So I put them on all our cars and the Jeep is getting a set. If they are not as effective as I want, there are some solutions from Willwood for instance that are bolt on and will stop anything, but six piston calipers are not cheap

[4.3LXJ]

Next it is time to think about shocks, which means you have to know what shocks you will use and how to mount them

[4.3LXJ]

These studs are OEM for the studs for the top of the shocks for Chevy pickups 2 and 4WD. They just unbolt. These are black because I soaked them in white vinegar to remove the rust. I made a simple box to weld to the axle and then tacked the nut on the inside. This is also a fix for the lower shock studs on an XJ rear axle if the stud gets damaged.

The next thing to consider is the trailering of my XJ. Not a common occurrence, however since I always do it alone, I bent some 3/4" rod and welded it on for chain or strap attachment points. The idea is to attach the chain to both loops and drive the Jeep on the trailer until the drooping chain is caught on a welded on hook on the back of the trailer

[4.3LXJ]

You may have noticed some leaf spring pads on the axle housing. These are temporary to bolt to the existing leaf springs until I get all the frame stuff needed to run a three link. But the ultimate goal is to link the back, so there is a top link mount mounted on the truss.

14991

Also, coils will be needed. I chose rear coils from an Aerostar van, which I have noticed is a very smooth riding rear suspension. Here is the basic setup as it stands now.



14992
14993

The shocks I will be using are Monroe Gas Magnums, with 10 stage valving which I have found to be excellent on and off road for a smooth ride.