Got my d44/60 combo today!

It turns out that the d44 is LP. I would have liked it to be a HP, but $150 price tag for the set justifies for me. It is open knuckle/disc break, so thats good. They are in great shape. I got the 16" wheels/tires (BFG ATs with a lot of miles) for free as well. They will be good candidates for weld on beadlocks. Tires are going to be garbage. The lock outs turn nicely and the steer arms are higher than I thought.

Got some questions for the D44 guys...

Can I run a spool up front? With the locking hubs I wouldnt have to worry with it being undriveable on the road right? I would loose the full time option from the 242, but who cares. I migh even switch to a 231. I have one in my garrage.

How strong are the stock 44's shafts? Should I go to cromo if I want to run 35s, or will the OEM ones be ok?

On the dirvers side of the pumpkin the leaf spring perch is cast into the center section. Will that give me problems with the coil buckets? Can I work around it, cut it off, or weld to it? Looking at some pics of D44 builds, they did not have that cast piece in their way. Just wondering what I should do about it...

Most of the 44 upgrades I have found are for the stock 44s that were on waggys, rubicons, older XJs. Where do I get new shafts (if needed) for the full sized axle? I am assuming all of the 44s have the same differental (I know hp&lp are different) so any of the lockers/spools, gears, and rebuild kits will be interchangeable as long as they are for standard rotation 44s, right?

Just trying to get all of my ducks in a row... Thanks for your help and knowledge...

yes you can run a spool up front since ou have hubs. turning with both hubs locked will be a pain though. stock shafts should hold up fine with 35s but all of the major axle manufacturers do make chromo shafts for full width 44s. and yes all the internals will interchange except for the gears. with a lp axle you will need standard cut gears. and for the leaf spring perch i wouldn't try to weld to it since it is cast. but build a truss to go over it or incorporate ther 2 spring bolts into your truss so the truss bolts to the spring perch as well as welds to the axle tube. i'm pretty sure tnt makes a truss to use with 44s with the spring perch on them.

Yeah, I looked at the TnT truss. Just didnt know if it would work with that spring perch in the way. Guess I could hack it up...

Turning with a spool wouldnt be any different than a locker when traction is lost, right? The only time I would lock it would be in the dirt. I dont really see the advantage of haveing a locker, selectable or not, if you have lockout hubs. Just go with a spool. How would it be to have one hub locked with a spool? Turning one way would push and the other would be normal right?

Started taking the 60 apart today. Didnt get to far (not much time), but I thought I would post some pics.

One of the 44 pics has a part with an arrow pointing to it. I am not sure what it is or used for. This is the first set of full sized axles I have worked with... (noob...) Some of the pics are a little hazy. Sorry, they are from my phone and I didnt realize I had touched the lenz of the camera...

D60:






D44:






Im sure these are not impressive to anyone who has some experience with axle builds, but I thougt I would post my build for those of us who arent.

I will post progress and questions when they come...

That is the steering arm. edit. what are the axles off of

1976 Ford f250. The drag link has a hole for the tie rod...

Edit: I know it is a part of the steering (duh), just dont know what it does.

rcmf5525 said:

I know it is a part of the steering (duh), just dont know what it does.

Click to expand...

??What do you mean. All cars and trucks don't have the exact setup as jeeps

steering arm attached to flat-top knuckle. the big ford pitman arm swings front to back, so the steering arm is 90 degrees to account for that

Well, if the drag link connects to the tie rod and the tie rod connects to the pitman arm what the hell does that thing do?

Tie rod goes knuckle to knuckle

The steering box on those old fords sat right in front of the driver, and the draglink went forward to the steering arm you are looking at.

As it happens, I have an older ford 4x4 and was able to run out and snap a pic.

Oh thanks for clearing that up... Super Bowl time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rcmf5525 said:

Well, if the drag link connects to the tie rod and the tie rod connects to the pitman arm what the hell does that thing do?

Click to expand...

Drag link by definition connects to the pitman arm ( it converts the rotary motion of the stering box/pitman arm to linear motion) if there are any attachment holes in the tie rod, they are for a steering damper

looks like it has flat top knuckles off of a chevy. chevy's have that j arm for the drag link to connect to. (nevermind should have read all of the replys first) does it have a flat top knuckle on the passenger side too?

rcmf5525 said:

1976 Ford f250. The drag link has a hole for the tie rod.

Click to expand...

Its for the steering stabilzer,take a good look it may not even have a taper(I dont recall).

I thought a tie rod went from pitman arm to the drag link... I guess I had it backwards. The picture cal posted cleared it all up for me.

I dont think both nuckles are flat top. I will have to check for sure, but I think the passinger side is normal.

Thanks for the info...

Just wondering if my brake fluid resivour will hold enough fluid operate 4 wheel disks on this combo? The pistons in the 44's stock calipers are rather large. I have found a D60 disc conversion (single piston) and not sure if I will have enough fluid in the reservoir for both. I dont see a problem with the miniscule wheel cylinders of the drum, but I know that disc calipers use more fluid. Any ideas?
...Im sure bleeding them will be hell!

I'd upgrade to the E350 master cylinder if nothing else. I've got the same front brakes on my 60 and big checy single pistons in the back on the 14bolt.

Do a search on Pirate for "E350 master"

Ok, I read through some of the posts on Pirate about upgrading master cylinders. One guy had stock '93 booster, '77 Grand Marquise Master, adjustable proportioning valve. He says it works great. The adj prop valves from wilwood go for about $50(shipped) on ebay and the master cylinder goes for around $40. Not very expensive. Any one have some pics of an upgraded master cylinder with an adjustable Prop valve? This is going in a '92 with a stock booster.

Those are high-boy axles..Same ones I just put together. I installed 5.13s and welded the carrier, overhauled the whole axle pretty much. Both knuckles are flat tops, the passenger side just needs machined, drilled, and tapped for studs. The 76 was the first year with discs I think..axle tube walls are 1/2" thick, i cut and turned the c's on mine as well, (i went to leaves)