d44 mock up

well i think i have my heart set on doing the d44 swap, I have done a bunch of reasearch and and have a few questions left.

first is how do you know what the correct length is to position the knuckles at. as i see it you assemble the knuckle with the axle attached and slide it in untill it bottoms out in the housing and then back it off a hair. is this about right? is there any way to measure accuratly the length of tube i must cut off for waggy axles to fit in.

second how do you determine caster when aligning the knuckles without being on an alignment machine.

third i guess is, is there any tricks you guys have to line the axle up for making mounts i guess could make a jig but to make a jig for one alxe seems a little much. are there any slick ways to position/align axle mounts.

any other tips/tricks you guys have for fitting the axle under there would be greatly appreciated.

it's not that I'm against helping people, but honestly, if you can't figure out all of these questions with a tape measure, angle finder, chop saw, grinder, and welder... maybe you shouldn't be attempting the swap.

BrettM said:

it's not that I'm against helping people, but honestly, if you can't figure out all of these questions with a tape measure, angle finder, chop saw, grinder, and welder... maybe you shouldn't be attempting the swap.

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soo ahh how exactly do you find caster with the tools you mentioned.
i'm confident in my skills to do the swap but it is my first time doing a front axle swap and having someone at least confirming what i am thinking makes all the difference in the world.

you need to know how the axle will sit under the vehicle with the weight on the springs and the vehicle level. use the angle finder to point the pinion at the t-case. use the angle finder on the bottom of the ball-joint to set the caster (i like 6 degrees). weld.

it seems to me that the best way is either to make an eduacated guess of the difference you need between the pinion angle and caster angle based on measurements off your D30, OR finish all the suspension with the pinion pointed properly and then set your caster to suit.

Like Brett said, measure your pinion angle and caster angle of the d30 and set the d44 the same way. Alot of bracket alignment is eyeball. Tack it on, step back and take a look at it. Measure from a known fixed point and use a hammer to adjust as necessary. If you need to, break off the tacks and try again. You might want to consider things like moving the lca mounts up behind the tubes. Trick stuff like that. Good luck, just take your time and it can be done.

when yo say 6 degrees of caster is that rotating it clockwise or counter clockwise when looking at it from the wms

bj-666 said:

when yo say 6 degrees of caster is that rotating it clockwise or counter clockwise when looking at it from the wms

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LOL! clockwise on one side counter on the other... but don't ask me which.

-r0

haha forgot about the side thing what i have heard is they are supposed to be rotated 6 or so degrees back (top of the knuckle tward the rear of the rig) but i have no solid info on this.

yes, top back, bottom forward