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Dana 34: D44 hubs & brakes on D30 Knuckle

Nice work. 'Pretty good way to get hubs and decent bearings if you have the shop to do the work.

I think the reason this hasn't been done much is because of the machine work required. While it's not extremely technical, most of us don't have the lathe and mill sitting in the garage. If you threw in the cost of having the work done at a shop, that would kind of negate the "cheap" factor.
 
I really like this! What was the donor vehicle for the parts used.....spindles, caliper brackets, hub/rotor.....?
1/2 ton Ford, 78/79 Bronco?
Wonder if Chevy stuff would work.
Had a thought (and it hurt) what about opening up the knuckle bore instead of machining a step on the spindle......would make spindle replacement (if it were ever required) a lot simpler---------Hans
 
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Had a thought (and it hurt) what about opening up the knuckle bore instead of machining a step on the spindle......would make spindle replacement (if it were ever required) a lot simpler---------Hans

There doesn't appear to be enough room hense his adapter.
 
I really like this! What was the donor vehicle for the parts used.....spindles, caliper brackets, hub/rotor.....?
1/2 ton Ford, 78/79 Bronco?
Wonder if Chevy stuff would work.
Had a thought (and it hurt) what about opening up the knuckle bore instead of machining a step on the spindle......would make spindle replacement (if it were ever required) a lot simpler---------Hans

You pretty much got it with the parts. The reason I didn't open the knuckle is twofold: turning the spindle is really easy, and I wanted to leave as much on the knuckle as possible, especially around the hub bolts. The downside of which is as you pointed out, any replacement spindle must be turned, but again its incredibly easy given you have the equipment.

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Well a d30 unit bearing is too small, so that is out of the question. I wonder if another unit bearing would be plausible. At any rate, I see where you guys are coming from, but on 33s open dif I sincerely doubt I am going to blow. the hub, and as a daily driven rig, I have to say that I love the lockouts. The noise reduction itself is worth it. That has been the first I have ever heard of the hubs being the weak point on the 44

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Most of the modern dana 60's use unit bearings. A couple of companies convert them to 5x5.5, I dont know that you could fit any in the d30 knuckle though.


...what did you think the weak point on the 44 would be? It's bigger than the dana 30 in every way except the hubs.. :)
 
I wonder if F250 unit bearings can be made to fit in D44 knuckles? :dunno:

Why the XXXX would you want that?

Those things don't hold up well at all. I know KOH racers that have to change them after the one day race. Machined ones go for $360/each. 8x170 ones go for a tad cheaper.

Oh yeah, unit bearings suck.....
 
Most of the modern dana 60's use unit bearings. A couple of companies convert them to 5x5.5, I dont know that you could fit any in the d30 knuckle though.


...what did you think the weak point on the 44 would be? It's bigger than the dana 30 in every way except the hubs.. :)

Ujoints are obviously the same..... and as I am not running ctms or anything special, I consider that the weakest link

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This is great. I just finished up gathering the parts to do this with Chevey 10 Bolt parts. so I can match my Rodeo D44 Rear.

Sweet, be sure to post up how yours goes

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Why the XXXX would you want that?

Those things don't hold up well at all. I know KOH racers that have to change them after the one day race. Machined ones go for $360/each. 8x170 ones go for a tad cheaper.

Oh yeah, unit bearings suck.....
I figured a unit bearing designed for an F250 would be much stronger than a D30 unit bearing. I guess it's not so.
 
Yes a unit bearing for a 250 is MUCH stronger then a D30.

Comparing anything used in a KOH racer is not valid. Those rigs are often completely rebuilt after a race. New bearings, bushings, heims, etc. Everything breaks. The fact that unit bearings are being used on several KOH rigs shows just how strong they are.

As others have mentioned, very nice work. As far as other notable unit bearings that would be a step up. The D44's in front of a 90's Dodge 1500 would be the next closest upgrade that I can think of 33 spline. That or a JK unit bearing, 32 spline. After that any of the 3/4 or 1 ton stuff. Good luck making any of it fit a standard D30 though. The 44 stuff would be close but theres not a lot of material in the D30 knuckle to be removed.
 
I figured a unit bearing designed for an F250 would be much stronger than a D30 unit bearing. I guess it's not so.

It is so. I know of several that have been through a lot of abuse. The trick is to get Factory Ford stuff. If a set lasted only one race, it was a shlt foreign one.
 
Since my unit bearings are hosed anyway, it seems even if I buy the D44 parts, wheel adapters for the rear and new wheels, I would still be around the cost of the WJ swap (including new unit bearings) and well under the Vanco kit (which doesn't address unit bearings at all.)

Or is this just really a good project for someone who happened to have the parts already laying around?
 
I don't suppose you're running 5 x 4.5? This looks great but I just finished installing an 8.8.

nope the front is now 5x5.5, the rear is going to get adapted via 1" spacers. this will also put them at about the same width. it seems that since you went to an 8.8, you might be adding spacers anyways, so if you wanted to do this swap you could just adapt at the same time.

Since my unit bearings are hosed anyway, it seems even if I buy the D44 parts, wheel adapters for the rear and new wheels, I would still be around the cost of the WJ swap (including new unit bearings) and well under the Vanco kit (which doesn't address unit bearings at all.)

Or is this just really a good project for someone who happened to have the parts already laying around?

it all depends how cheaply you can get the parts. i had the D44 stuff laying around, and had the wheels donated, so in the end it was really cheap for me to do. i am going to try and find some WJ knuckles for cheap, basically gain some highsteer action with this setup.
 
Man, that's cool. You must really appreciate a guy that donates wheels to your project :laugh3:

oh yes, that guy is the coolest! :cheers: :D i'll have to get him some brews at some point. btw, we are getting into the homebrew thing, so i'll get you some of the next batch :cheers:
 
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