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THE XJ Dana 44, ABS, How-to thread (56K beware)

great writeup !!!

i did a sort of similar setup a while ago. It was a TJ with D44 rear, drum brakes and factory ABS so it had allready the tone rings on the shafts.

Thanks! Will the TJ D44 shafts fit in the XJ D44, or are they different lengths? Aside from the obvious difference in suspension mounting parts, are they both essentially the same axle? I'm not real familiar with the TJ's, but if they are the same I'd assume you could find yourself a set of TJ shafts with the tone rings already in place. It would probably cost more than getting your XJ 44 shafts machined, but it could be a viable option for those without access to a machine shop. Anyone know?
 
great writeup !!!

i did a sort of similar setup a while ago. It was a TJ with D44 rear, drum brakes and factory ABS so it had allready the tone rings on the shafts. We did rear disc conversion (using the conversion kit from Crown)

First i tryed to use ZJ ABS sensors, but they didn´t reach the tone rings.
(so now i know that the tone rings from drum axle are smaller than the disc ones)

We ended up exactly the same way - using the old abs mounts with welded tabs
what year TJ had a dana44 and abs? my understanding was that the 44 and ABS were mutually exclusive, unless you are talking about a JK, which is a much different "44", and is wider.
 
Superior Super 44 (and Super 30) should be here on Monday! Time to find out whether or not this will work the same on aftermarket shafts...

I'm sure it will be possible, the question is whether or not the radius on the back of the flange is the same dimension or not. If it is the same, I'll be able to re-use my 2" tone rings. A bigger radius is also OK as I can just machine the rings bigger. If by chance the radius is smaller, it's time to start looking for another set of stock rings. I'll post up with my findings when I get around to taking measurements.
 
why are you set on ABS? it brings the suck for wheeling thats fo sho

Thanks fo bringin the 411 to this thread dawg! :cool:

You must have missed the very first paragraph of the very first post of my write up...

All you ABS haters can just click on by and continue to hate anyone interested in maintaining their factory ABS when they upgrade their rear end. I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of ABS in different driving situations. I’ll leave that decision up to you.
 
why are you set on ABS? it brings the suck for wheeling thats fo sho
who said anything about wheeling? some of us have Dana35's with strokers and like ABS...
 
Well, the shafts are here... looks like it's worst case scenario. The radius of the Superior shafts where the tone ring needs to mount is actually smaller. I needed 2" and it looks like I have ~1.92". I must say, I wasn't expecting that.

On the positive side, the outer edge of the tone ring will be at ~1.95" and the inner edge will be at ~1.92". This means only .03" of material has to be removed from the radius. This is much less than what had to be taken off the OEM shafts.

On another note, I spoke to one of the reps at Superior last week and asked how modifying the shaft in this manner would affect my warranty. He told me that if I managed to break the shaft, it would still be warrantied so long as it didn't break where the tone ring was mounted. Seeing as most axles seem to break near the splines or mid-shaft, I figure I should be alright.

So, anyone that's pulled a Dana 35 have some tone rings they're willing to part with? Time to start searching... :eyes:
 
Well, the shafts are here... looks like it's worst case scenario. The radius of the Superior shafts where the tone ring needs to mount is actually smaller. I needed 2" and it looks like I have ~1.92". I must say, I wasn't expecting that.

On the positive side, the outer edge of the tone ring will be at ~1.95" and the inner edge will be at ~1.92". This means only .03" of material has to be removed from the radius. This is much less than what had to be taken off the OEM shafts.

On another note, I spoke to one of the reps at Superior last week and asked how modifying the shaft in this manner would affect my warranty. He told me that if I managed to break the shaft, it would still be warrantied so long as it didn't break where the tone ring was mounted. Seeing as most axles seem to break near the splines or mid-shaft, I figure I should be alright.

So, anyone that's pulled a Dana 35 have some tone rings they're willing to part with? Time to start searching... :eyes:
i am going to a junkyard this weekend, and can pull a set of shafts for you, $30 + shipping. let me know
 
what year TJ had a dana44 and abs? my understanding was that the 44 and ABS were mutually exclusive, unless you are talking about a JK, which is a much different "44", and is wider.


My 2004 2door Unlimited (long-wheelbase) had ABS and a Dana44 rear axle...

just fyi.

oh, and this was non-rubicon. I think the rubicon version was a unique axle in both
back and front.
 
My 2004 2door Unlimited (long-wheelbase) had ABS and a Dana44 rear axle...

just fyi.

oh, and this was non-rubicon. I think the rubicon version was a unique axle in both
back and front.

Interesting, I'll have to check into that. Curious if the tone rings have the same number of teeth and would be compatible with the XJ's ABS system.

Also, as an update for anyone following this thread... my tone rings should be here today and I will be taking my Superior shafts in to get machined probably next week some time. I have some new (hopefully more accurate) measurements for tone ring placement that can be taken with the bearings and retainers on or off. If you're getting ready to do this to your axle, hold off a bit and let me see how this works out. I think it's going to result in the tone rings being lined up dead center on the sensors. They're more than close enough now, but perfect is always nice.
 
OK, time for an update... I've had my Super 44 kit sitting in my garage for way too long now. My machine shop took about three weeks to get the shafts done this go around. Apparently they were busy with their regular customer's jobs. Good news is I managed to save a bunch of money this time. All I brought in were my new shafts and the new set of tone rings. No pressing on or off of bearings or rings. Just a clear cut machining job. The job was completed for their 1 hour minimum shop charge of $80. Here's some before pics:

A Superior 33 spline Dana 44 shaft from the Super 44 kit

100_7983.jpg


OEM ABS tone rings from a Dana 35 (Thanks Blazair)

100_7984.jpg


The machinist told me the Superior shafts were a pleasure to work on compared to the OEM shafts. He said the center was much easier to locate and he especially liked that the entire surface of the shaft was already machined true unlike the cast surface of the OEM radius. Here's some after pics:

Superior beef with a side of ABS

100_8396.jpg


A little closer up

100_8399.jpg


I had the machinist use the bearing seat for the reference point this time. I figured it was an easy to measure from spot, could be used with bearings on or off, and is a fixed reference point that will be the same for all XJ Dana 44 axle shafts. I asked him to machine the tone ring seat 1.7" from the bearing seat, and to turn it until there was a clean surface that was at least .52" wide for the tone ring to press onto. He removed slightly more material than I expected (.055" vs .030") but it still worked out just fine. Here's the all important close-up with the dimensions laid out:

100_8393dimensions.jpg


The final diameter ended up being 1.895" and that cleaned up the radius all the way from the tone ring seat to the beginning of the seal surface. The tone ring of course gets bored out to a slightly smaller diameter for an interference fit.

The tricky part of working with these shafts is that you just don't have much room to work with. It's hard to see in the above pics, but there is actually a small lip where the oil seal surface (1.875") meets the tone ring mounting surface (1.895"), and there has to be. If they were exactly the same size, you'd probably mar the sealing surface while pressing on the tone rings. If the oil seal surface was larger, you couldn't press the tone rings on at all as they wouldn't be able to fit over the sealing surface. The margin of error here is only about .040" so make sure your machinist knows what they are doing before they get started.

So how do my new measurements line up? I wish I knew... :tears: During what little free time I'm afforded with a 10 month old boy crawling around the house, I've been working my ass off trying to finish landscaping my backyard before the rainy season begins. This has left me with no time to install my new gears and lockers. Since I upgraded to 33 spline shafts, I can't even test fit them in the stock Dana 44 carrier. I'll post up as soon as any more progress is made.
 
Awsome writeup!

I personally hate ABS but am not willing to pull it on my 99 so came across your post while looking for a solution.

Anyone know a good source for new tone rings? Id like to keep my Cherokee on the road till the axle is finished. ABS and Disc Brakes...

Also- are 33 spline gears available for you stock carrier so you can use the axles with it??
 
Awsome writeup!

I personally hate ABS but am not willing to pull it on my 99 so came across your post while looking for a solution.

Anyone know a good source for new tone rings? Id like to keep my Cherokee on the road till the axle is finished. ABS and Disc Brakes...

Also- are 33 spline gears available for you stock carrier so you can use the axles with it??

axle shafts are $15 a piece at my PNP, and a little PB and a press, and they pop right off.

33 spline gears are available for Detroits and ARB's (and maybe some others too)
 
Great write-up! I think I would have tried to do this also with my 35-spline d44 I'm putting together. But since I have a '91 with the truely crappy ABS system in it, I went with the "rip it out and throw it as far as I can" method instead. Thanks for the great write-up though.
 
Well, my son is 18 months old now, I have new lawn in both my front and back yards, and it's finally update time! I bit the bullet and paid someone to install my new gears, lockers, and yes, axle shafts. The measurements I provided in my last post were dead on and everything lined up nicely! Here are some pics:

New Superior 33 spline axle shafts installed in the Dana 44

100_9249.jpg


Good shot of the mounting bracket and sensor

100_9252.jpg


And the centering mark on the sensor is right in the middle of the tone ring

100_9251.jpg


And here's a pic of my completed (for now) XJ Super 44 with ABS, Spicer 4.56 gears, ARB, and a RuffStuff cover.

100_9483.jpg


I can't believe how long it has taken to get to this point, but I'm very happy to have finally finished this project. I'm currently working on a related project that will allow me to disable the ABS system (and hopefully the airbags) for off road use by flipping a switch in the cab. Sure I could just pull all the fuses and relays when I get to the trail, but where's the fun in that? I'll post up details in another thread if/when I ever get that one all figured out. I'm also happy to report that my old ABS shafts have found a new home and are now living a happy life in another member's XJ.
 
I'm currently working on a related project that will allow me to disable the ABS system (and hopefully the airbags) for off road use by flipping a switch in the cab.

Looking forward to seeing this. With your attention to detail I'm certain it won't be the typical 4x4'ers bodge job.
 
Looking forward to seeing this. With your attention to detail I'm certain it won't be the typical 4x4'ers bodge job.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! My motto with pretty much all my mods is "keep it clean". Kastein is actually the brains behind the airbag portion of the project, I'm just planning on adapting it to suit my needs and then tying it in with an ABS override design of my own.
 
So what you're saying is that there are no brains behind that idea... :looney:

Reminds me, I gotta do some testing on that sometime soon. As usual, I have the parts sitting in the vehicle, just haven't tried it yet.
 
you are looking into putting on an ABS on/off switch???? great!!! that's what i have been looking into...hate ABS offroad passionately, but i cant imagine not having it in Colorado winters....have you found something that works?
 
great writeup !!!

i did a sort of similar setup a while ago. It was a TJ with D44 rear, drum brakes and factory ABS so it had allready the tone rings on the shafts. We did rear disc conversion (using the conversion kit from Crown)

First i tryed to use ZJ ABS sensors, but they didn´t reach the tone rings.
(so now i know that the tone rings from drum axle are smaller than the disc ones)

We ended up exactly the same way - using the old abs mounts with welded tabs

A few years back when I installed a D44 and converted it to discs and ABS, I used the ZJ tone rings and the ZJ rear brake parts. They fit great. This is what they look like.
http://members.cox.net/nraok/rhabs.jpg
 
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