dana 44's in boneyard....yes 44's is plural

Ok today i went to the local junkyard to look at an axle i thought was a dana 44.....because the axle was in the dirt i jacked it up and pulled the dif cover. everything looked good. But as i continued to walk around the junkyard i also found 4 more 44's. Could this be...does anyone know of any axles besides the 35 or 8.25 that was made in 87??? So here is what i found.
87 cherokee sun hawk d44
87 cherokee chief d44
90 cherokee chief d44
87 cherokee laredo d44
87 cherokee laredo d44


Now does anyone know the diffence in the castings of these third members. it appeared as though there were two types of side bracings used. one with the horizontal braces and one with both horizontal and smaller vertical braces connecting these horizontal ones.

Also What is the sun hawk??

Any recommendations... just jack some of the them up and then check the ratio and hope i fine a 3.73 or maybe higher.

the sun hawk i pulled the diff on had nice looking fluid and everything turned smoothly....does this mean with a diff oil change im ready to go? Anything else to look for when checking axles?
TIA david0

where are you located? if they have little rust on them and are complete they can be sold pretty consistently for about $350.

im located in wisconsin...the problem is shipping as well as the shape of the axle....i can go out and pull the diff cover and spin the pinion and see how it all moves by hand, but i can't promise anything...you think these are still worth 350??
thanks
david

alvarez919 said:

im located in wisconsin...the problem is shipping as well as the shape of the axle....i can go out and pull the diff cover and spin the pinion and see how it all moves by hand, but i can't promise anything...you think these are still worth 350??
thanks
david

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they are.

Even if they have a little rust on the housing...it is nothing that a putty knife and a rough brush won't take care of. That and a little engine enamal flat black and they will look good as new.

DO IT ALL THE TIME.

from Wisconsin, probably not, they're probably half rust.

What is the sun hawk? Little brother to the Golden Eagle?

actually the one i jacked up and took a good look at had hardly any rust at all and at first i thought it may have been cleaned and repainted....i think they stay rust free from being stuck down in the mud.
anyway anybody know anything about the castings on the third member?
david

I just read something yesterday about the different braces and that there were XJ 44s that did have these braces and also some did not...i cant, for the life of me remember where i read it(i know it was on the internet so it must be true, and i know it was one of the forum members websites...)

yes i also remember reading something like that awhile back although at the time didn't realize what they were fully talking about, but between the 30 websites i've visited and probably thousands of posts i can't remember either.

Hey 87 chief...do you have a d44 in yours?
thanks
david

Still want to know what a Sun Hawk is. When you go back to the yard see what options this thing has on it.

i didn't notice any unusual options...but i can find out the t-case and power options next time i go. well it did have a 44 if that counts as a nice option, but im pretty sure it was the 3.55 gears.
It was yellow...faded and had a sun hawk writing above the cherokee on the tailgate on the right side.
Actually ill take a picture of it when i take a pic of the different casings on the d44 for everyone to take a look at.

david

alvarez919 said:

It was yellow...faded and had a sun hawk writing above the cherokee on the tailgate on the right side.

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Dunno if they were a company local to here or not, but I seem to remember seeing conversion vans made by a company called Sunhawk years ago. Who knows, maybe they did an XJ or two.

alvarez919 said:

i didn't notice any unusual options...but i can find out the t-case and power options next time i go. well it did have a 44 if that counts as a nice option, but im pretty sure it was the 3.55 gears.
It was yellow...faded and had a sun hawk writing above the cherokee on the tailgate on the right side.
Actually ill take a picture of it when i take a pic of the different casings on the d44 for everyone to take a look at.

david

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That'd be very nice! Thanks!

alvarez919 said:

yes i also remember reading something like that awhile back although at the time didn't realize what they were fully talking about, but between the 30 websites i've visited and probably thousands of posts i can't remember either.

Hey 87 chief...do you have a d44 in yours?
thanks
david

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Unfortunately no i do not. When i bought the jeep the guy told me he had rear end trouble and had a shop replace the rear axle, so i have the D35. Does anyone know how common a D44 would be on an 87 chief with the 4.0L and a 5spd? I really have no way of knowing what was in it before because D/C doesnt offer build sheets for anything older than a 90(i think).

It would nice if you could just get a VIN number and then find out if the jeep had a 44 or not...you would think this would be included in the VIN. So still no answer on the pumpkin castings...??? Well if anyone knows where to direct me, otherwise im just going to grab the one with the most bracing and ribs on it.
thanks
david