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Dana 44 ID

Boatwrench

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Petaluma, CA
I'm brain farting here and panicking that a deal may be slipping away.

Can't remember what a Dana 44 looks like.

There is an 89 Cherokee for sale cheap...I think it may have the trailer tow package, has a tranny cooler and hitch.

I look under the rear and the diff cover has a protrusion on the drivers side where the ring gear is located. It's been a couple of years since I sold my previous 89 with a D35, but I recall the differential cover being smooth. Also I recall the D44 on my long gone CJ having a more angular opening into the pumpkin. Dead brain cells taking their toll......

Help please...the selling price of the XJ is worth the rear axle alone.

thanks,
Tom
 
OK -
The D35 has an oval cover, with no flat sides

The D44 has a nearly hexagonal cover, with points top and bottom

The ChryCo 8.25 (you didn't mention year, so I thought I'd throw it in) is also nearly hexagonal, with flats top and bottom

How's that?

5-90
 
Thanks...It's an 89...so not the Chrysler.

Glad to see you became a member.

I am probably going to have to drive there again and get another look, I don't recall the angular cut (hex looking) on the passenger side, but it definitely had the ring gear sticking out.

Tom
 
Ah - I was lapsed. Just had to free up a few bucks that weren't needed somewhere else to renew - I've been wanting to do it for a while now!

I think you'll find that most covers have a slight protrusion for the ring gear - this allows them to run a flatter cover, which means getting effective lubrication while using a little less oil. It's a picky thing, but that's the way people think when mass production is involved - saving a half-pint or so of oil over the production life of a vehicle (say, a couple million units) is pretty significant savings in oil and the labour to put it in there.

Bounce me your email - I think I can get a set of drawings that I'm using on my gearing chapter to you, and you'll have pictures to jog your memory.

5-90
 
This is a Dana44...
picture.JPG

...I've never seen one in an '89, only in '87s.
 
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