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swaping in a D44...questions

N

Nomercy

NAXJA Forum User
Location
maryland
im thinking of replacing my chrysler 8.25 with a Dana 44 from a 87 cherokee i found i found. i have a couple of questions though. first i have an '01 cherokee. so with that will i need to change my rear drive shaft to get this to work? are the u-joint sizes the same? also is there anything i have to do to make the brakes work? i guess thats all i really need to know, if there are any other potental problems that may arise let me know asap before i pull the trigger on buying this axle!

Thanks
Wade
 
The only thing that may keep it from being a direct swap would be if you have, and want to keep, the ABS system.
Other than that, the u-joints and brakes are the same. There is a slight difference in the length of the output (D44 is a hair shorter than the 8.25), but your driveshaft should work just fine.
 
You will need to reuse the ebrake cables from the 8.25 as the lengths of the pass and driver cables have changed since the D44 was available in the XJ. The u-joint size is the same, and I can't say whether your driveshaft will work as I don't know what you have in there (i.e. if its a stock shaft, aftermarket with slip joint in it, etc.). When I did my swap I didn't have to change my driveshaft, but it was an aftermarket one with a slip joint in it for the SYE.
 
its stock height for now, im doing this cause id like to see 33's under it and the rear slaps a little. plus with the 3.07 gears i have it would blow big balls and 3.55s will be perfect with the 5 speed. its cheeper to do this then buy new gears and get them installed front and rear. plus the 44 is stronger the 8.25. o BTW as far as i know no 8.25 came with ABS if a cherokee has ABS then it has a 35 rear.

in other words i have a stock rear drive shaft with no lift. so i should be ok. especially since the rea leafs ave sagged a little.
 
well that depends. does the D35 have disk brakes and/or ABS? if so the the ABS light will stay on cause the D44 is not equiped with the hook up. the brakes will work just fine just no ABS also the pinion length may be differnt to much to use a stock rear drive shaft. but otherwise it will just bolt right in with some new ubolts. also may have to change the ebrake cables
 
I swapped a D44 from a '87 Larado (4.0L automatic) into my 2001 sport (4.0L automatic with a D35). I intended to get the drive shaft from the Larado but the pick n pull guys bent it when they used the fork lift. I checked length of the the Larado drive shaft and it was like within a half inch of my stock one. I have had no problems with the stock drive shaft and now have a 3" OME lift and still no problems. I used the original ebrake cables from the 2001 sport and had new ubolts made to fit the D44.

Wheels
 
Last edited:
vbrez1 said:
Thats great my 01 has ABS so I guess im just going to have to live with the indicator light in my face
Click to expand...

ZJ disk brakes with ABS can be made to work you have to machine out the tone rings, and dress up the axle shaft in that area, and notch the axle for the sensor to go through, and machine the backing plates to fit. it is a lot of work, but can be done. i am a couple of weeks from finishing mine up. just one fuse to pull when you are airing down your tires to turn off the ABS at the trailhead. PM me if you want any more details
 
I've successfully completed an ABS adaption to the stock D44 drum brakes. Finally about done working on mods for a bit, so I should get my how-to posted up pretty soon. It's real simple, just requires a little machining by a professional shop to get the tone rings to fit.

One thing to consider though, the D44 has about an inch longer pinion than the D35. If you have lifted your vehicle, the slip yoke is pulled out a bit so the D44 brings it back to about its stock position. However, if you are at stock height, it may cause damage to your transfer case by shoving your slip-yoke in too far.
 
Nomercy said:
its stock height for now, im doing this cause id like to see 33's under it and the rear slaps a little. plus with the 3.07 gears i have it would blow big balls and 3.55s will be perfect with the 5 speed. its cheeper to do this then buy new gears and get them installed front and rear. plus the 44 is stronger the 8.25. o BTW as far as i know no 8.25 came with ABS if a cherokee has ABS then it has a 35 rear.

in other words i have a stock rear drive shaft with no lift. so i should be ok. especially since the rea leafs ave sagged a little.
Click to expand...

Yes, just did this swap, the D44 is a tad bit shorter. However it went into one with an SYE, no issues. One thing though, you will still have to regear front and rear. :) 3.55's blow with anything over about 29". If you're going 33's, just regear both at the same time to 4.56's.
 
dana/spicer is an axle/gear manufacturer for the auto industry, they make a lot of axles.
the 8.25 may be a little larger then the d35, but unless your getting one for free and are not likely to abuse it, a 8.25 swap is hardly worth it. most junkers would charge the same for an 8.25 as a d44 or ford 8.8, so why swap in something thats only slightly beefier? it also has c-clips, which means if you break an axle, the wheel is coming off.
it is however stronger then the d35,it just doesnt eliminate EVERY d35 weakness
also, supposedly the aftermarket is limited on the 8.25, but the only example i can think of is the aussie locker (yes, i know they are in 'development')
 
I'll stick up for the 8.25 a little, although I wouldn't suggest keeping it if you want to go over 35" tires. Also there is currently way more aftermarket for the 44 and 8.8, and more likely your buddy on the trail will have the part you need if something breaks.
Somewhere on here was a chart that compared the 29 spline 8.25 to the D44. They were actually very close when you actually took a look at the numbers. And yes, it is C-clip, but so is the 8.8.

Because Chrysler/Jeep still uses this axle, and the aftermarket seems to be catching up, I could see it becoming more popular to build. For the longest time the biggest downfall was the limitation of 4.56 gears and a cheap locker. 4.88s are now available, and maybe we'll see that aussie sometime this century. With Alloys and 4.88's, it could easily handle 35's.

I have a 8.25 in mine, and yes, I got it for nothing expecting to swap it for a 8.8 or 44 in the future. While waiting for that build, since it's currently a trail rig only, I decided to weld up the spider gears. I didn't expect that to last too long, but that was about 2 years ago with a good bit of abuse along the way! What Broke? 2 Front Axleshafts (locked D30), a warped leaf spring, and of course some body damage....but nothing on the 8.25!

I am going to 35's when these tires are finally done, and am now debating if I want to just rebuild it, or go the 8.8 route:dunno: .
 
markw said:
Yes, just did this swap, the D44 is a tad bit shorter. However it went into one with an SYE, no issues. One thing though, you will still have to regear front and rear. :) 3.55's blow with anything over about 29". If you're going 33's, just regear both at the same time to 4.56's.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying you don't have to regear with 33", but my 3.55 gears work great with 31" tires. I have more than enough power and my gas mileage is better than stock... I get 20 on the highway
 
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