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I have an XJ D44 Now What?

TLowery04

TLowery04

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Cashion Oklahoma
I have it pulled and sitting on my garage floor.

I have found a lot of write-ups on SJ 44's isuzu 44's and front 44's but not a lot about xj 44's

Where do i start?

do the brake lines match up?

will i need a new line setup?

do the U bolts swap over? or will i need to buy some?

what things should i watch out for on my swap?

I have swapped out suspensions before, but never a rear, I have pulled a rear but the brake lines were already cut so i didnt bother trying to uncrew them.

any help would be much appreciated

Thanks

Trent
 
It is a rather bolt in affair, you will need the u-bolts from the d44 and probably a brake job but other than that your good the go. I put an 87 d-44 in my 98 and the brake lines bolted right up. The reason they are so sought after is becasuse of the ease of installation, that's why you don't see many write up on them. There's not too much to write about, un bolt one and bolt in another and drive. The only real differences are the larger drums and the pinion is about an inch longer on the 44.

Not sure what you plan on doing with your d-44 but while you have it on the bench now's the time, check the bearings (axle, carrier, pinion), seals, brakes, gears. Hit it with a wire wheel, prime it and paint it.

I did the brakes, gears and I stalled a powertrax no-slip before it went under my XJ. It's so much easier to work on sitting on the bench than it is under your heep.
 
Last edited:
xj 44 uses 3.75" u bolts
dana 35 uses 3.64" u bolts
8.25 uses 3" u bolts
brake lines are the same. i usually mix and match during the install, ive swapped 2 of em so far .
pinion is an inch longer.
are you planning on gearing down? new bearings? locker? might as well do it now . if you arent doing much just do the normal clean up and paint it and swap. its a very easy straight forward swap with a buddy . bigger drums so dont try to swap drum parts.
also might as well truss it now and weld the tubes while you have it out, move perches if need be for a better pinion angle

take off tires
undo u bolts
undo rear ds from pinion.
take off breather hose
disconnect brake line
reverse process with new axle in place
bleed brakes
drink the rest of the 12 pack and rejoice, youre done
 
If you're swapping from a d35 you might need a driveshaft from an XJ with an 8.25 or d44 and the same transmission type as you, unless you have a few inches of lift or more, in which case using a d35 shaft can help out, just compress the springs fully and make sure the slip yoke doesn't bottom out.

Other than that, everything's been covered already.
 
How about the gear ratio?
BTW,you poor SOB,you moved from Flag to OK'e-homa!
 
I'll need to check on the gear ratio when i check the ARB locker that's in it. anyone know of a simple way to check the air locker without buying the pump yet? otherwise i'm going to need to wait for it to arrive.

there is no steel tag on the housing, is there any way to tell the GR without taking the ring gear out?
 
Hold one hub and keep it from turning (a helper is good here.) Turn the pinion while counting how many turns it takes to get one turn out of the other hub. Double the number you get and check the list of available ratios for the d44, whichever it is closest to is probably correct.
 
where can i buy new u bolts? the ones on the rig were eaten up with salt water from the river
 
A way to check the gear ratio is make a small mark on the outer edge of the axle shaft flange or if the drums are still on then on the outside edge of the drums. then make a mark on the outer edge of the yoke. then turn either the yoke or an axle shaft and watch how many times the yoke turns in comparison to the axle shaft. now I am having a brain fart and cant remember which one will turn more than the other but for instance if you have a 3.55:1 gear ratio then on of the two will turn around 3 1/2 turns while the other only makes one full revolution.
 
Hit up your local truck shop / spring rebuilder, mine sold me 4 9/16" diameter grade-8 bolts to fit a ford 8.8 for $43. Yours will probably be cheaper. You can likely tell them what it's for ("dana 44 in an 88 jeep cherokee, axle tube diameter 2.75", overall length 8"" should be enough info) and they will either have them in stock or bend them for you. Took me 15-20 minutes between walking in and walking back out with my bolts.
 
You're going to have the cover off anyway, so the gear ratio should be stamped on the edge of the ring gear.
 
good call :wow:
 
hot_rod_hooligans said:
My first 44 build:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f22/my-01-xj-limited-project-499030/index6.html#post5659636
My current 44 build, an MJ44
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/d44-v2-0-build-751470/

Easiest way to tell your gear ratio, if it's not stamped in the ring gear..... When you pull the dif cover, mark one of the teeth on the ring gear, then count how many turns you have to spin the pinion yoke till you get back to the same spot.
Click to expand...


great build there! and some good ideas and technical pictures i needed. On a side note, i have almost the same damage on the drivers side of my jeep, not as pushed in as yours though, were you able to find a good fix for it?
 
I was going to get a new door, and try and push the pillar back out then cover the whole thing up with armor, but I'm really not sure now. I've just been running it the way it is.
 
well, its been awhile, my jeep blew a radiator hose, which led me to fix the ps pump, which got me to track down new ps hoses, which entailed taking out the airbox assembly, which led me to trying to install a used rockit air intake, which has all taken place over the course of the last few months since it warmed up... My D44 is still sitting on the stand on the side of our barn waiting to be put in, i just havent had the cash on hand to buy the arb setup to match the one out of the rig i scrounged it out of. When i get the ARB setup i will take pictures and start the install, but with the way things are going that may be a little while.

happy trails
 
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