How to "pimp" a rear D44?

[BlueGerbil]

I think he's refering to the 4.88's having less engagement between the ring and pinion, and the possibility that they may be weaker.
At least that's what I think.

Yessir!

 

[BlueGerbil]

just stating his lack of knowlege.

I´m here to learn, so please teach me!

 

[Wa Woody]

The wilwood spot calipers are just tiny little disk calipers meant for acting as a parking brake. I may resort to this if I can't find a combo brake/e-brake I can make work... or just run drums and do more research in time to build another axle for my Scrambler.

Ok, I see what your talking about.

I really hope it works. Please take lots of pictures and post!

I'll keep everyone here posted, I don't know about posting photos, I'll have to see if I can figure that one out.

Supposedly they are a huge improvement. It is still sitting on the bench but the calipers are "Gi-normous" compared to the stock stuff so they have to work better. Just need to mount the knuckles on the housing and weld on the OAB bracket and it will be ready for "lift day". Added bonus is moving away from the Y-link style steering. I am also adding the WARN 5 x 5.5" kit. (talk about turd polishing - but I have real brakes!).

I did a quick search here and found a lot of good info on the WJ brake upgrade, when I have time I'll read through it all. In the mean time, do you know of any good tech write-ups on doing the WJ brake upgrades, especially if they're using the Warn 5 X 5.5" kit which I'm also using. "Polishing a turd", I can really relate to that one! Good Luck

Woody

 

[DBenz]

Wow long posts, what about raising shock mounts? if it's been mentioned, ignore it. The plans for mine are disc brakes, raise shock mounts, regear, lock, etc.

 

[Root Moose]

I did a quick search here and found a lot of good info on the WJ brake upgrade, when I have time I'll read through it all. In the mean time, do you know of any good tech write-ups on doing the WJ brake upgrades, especially if they're using the Warn 5 X 5.5" kit which I'm also using.

We are getting way off topic of this thread but the "short" story is:

- 86 CJ7 rotor uncut
- Warn supplied spacer does not go between rotor and hub assembly
- caliper bosses on knuckles must be machined to realign caliper to rotor (was 3/16" on my knuckles - measure before cutting)
- spacer obtained from JKS is welded to knuckle as per the standard WJ knuckle swap procedure.

The above ONLY applies for the 5 on 5.5" kit. 5 on 4.5" kit is a different procedure.

If I was going to do it again I'd probably try Scout II rotors instead. the rotors on the bench across the shop appear to have a slightly shallower hat and they appear larger (more thermal mass). Wish I had noticed that before pounding the studs into the rotor/hub. It also appears that the shoulders of the supplied WARN studs may interfere with the wheel seating on the hub ever so slightly depending on what wheel you are running (Cragar S8s in my case interfere). I had some Sidekick rotors machined down to make a slightly thicker spacer than the WARN supplied one just in case. Adds about ~1/16 to the spacer thickness which looks to be about right.

jksmfg.com used to have copies of Mark Hinkley's XJ specific WJ knuckle swap write ups from their pages but I haven't found an obvious link to the pages since JKS revamped their site.

For more WJ info I suggest some googling and reading/digesting the stuff you found here and then start a new thread on the site if required. So far, in my experience it is as easy as the docs floating around lead you to believe. Take that with a grain of salt as the axle is still sitting on the bench in a "mostly done" state.

There might be a half dozen or so people that I've seen on this site that have done the swap. The only tricky part in my opinion is machining the knuckles but you will be letting a machinist do that with the parts in hand so no big deal. Get them to do the spacer welding too if it makes you feel more comfortable.

Getting really close to "lift day" now...

 

[Root Moose]

In an attempt to get this thread back on topic...

If you are going to use a Dana 44 housing from a XJ/TJ or IH Scout seriously consider trussing the axle during the build up. These housings use thin wall tubing of smaller diameter than the full size pickups use. (2-3/4" in the case of the Scout, not sure of Jeep tubes).

Supposedly TNT has a weld on rear Dana 44 truss coming down the pipe. From the "spy shots" I've been exposed to it appears to be a well thought out product. Look at their Ford 8.8 axle product... basically the same idea.

 

[bj-666]

I´m here to learn, so please teach me!

contacting pattern differences are negligiable. a common misconseption is that one is weaker than the other. personally i would always shoot for the deeper gear.
most any ring and pinion failure i can think of in a d30 is either from improper setup or housing flex.