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half ton axle swap whats your take?

G

glamisdunin

NAXJA Forum User
Location
the paradise city
Ok so to start off this is just an idea i have for my dads cherokee which im currently the only driving force on getting it completed i think he's burnt out on the build and i want to finish it for him as my gift to him for all the shit i put him through. So he has a 90 4 door which has 1 1/2 cromo tube chassis full traction long arm kit deaver race packs and deaver coils king shocks in the rear sway away bumps in the rear. No front shocks or bumps as of this time. He wants to put a ford 302 in it some day but right now has a 92 high output complete vehicle harness and engine in it... so now you knowthe current setup as is. Axles under it right now are d35 d30. I have in my garage a d44 out of my 86 that is supposed to go under it and stock d30 would be used up front. My current idea is to go another route and swap in dodge ram 1500 axles the would put a d44 up front and a 9.25 i think they would make perfect full width low cost axles to swap into his cherokee that would be able to handle the v8 which will be mostly stock when someday installed and the tires will be 33 maybe 35 at very largest but not likely to talk him into that. What do you all think about this idea?
 
I'd steer clear of the cad axle. Ford 44's can be found cheap if your patient. I found my hp44 out of a 77 f100 for $150, with newish warn hubs and 4.10's to match the rear 60 I had in the garage. On 33-35" tires a 30 could be built to survive, but you can find an axle with the gears you want for less than the cost of regearing if you look long enough.
 
dont waste your time and money. build 1 ton axles or stay with xj running gear IMHO. If you're not going with tires bigger than 35", the 30 will be fine with some upgrades.
With a d44, you still have the weakest link, the tiny u joints. i broke just as often with my d44 front as i did with my d30, always inner shafts and u joints.
 
See my cherokee is on one tons and i agreethat they are a much better choice. I know they make a kit for that cad axle to convert it from vacuum to cable operated. I just want his jeep wider in all honesty. I dont want to put 8 lug axles on his jeep either. My buddy has a ram and he abuses that thing with his 5.9 v8 and 35s and only issue we ever had to fix was an axle tube seal. So my dad is a big fan of dana 44s what year trucks would i want to kep an eye out for if i didnt go with dodge?
 
Vanimal said:
dont waste your time and money. build 1 ton axles or stay with xj running gear IMHO. If you're not going with tires bigger than 35", the 30 will be fine with some upgrades.
With a d44, you still have the weakest link, the tiny u joints. i broke just as often with my d44 front as i did with my d30, always inner shafts and u joints.
Click to expand...

^^This. If you must have a 44 then look for mid 70's F-100/150 with the welded on radius arm wedges. It's driver drop, high pinion and about 65" wide. The Dodge CAD axle is way wider and low pinion. A TJ Rubi 44 is another option but it's stock width, low pinion and has D30 outers. You get larger inners, bigger ring gear and it's virtually bolt in but I woudn't touch one unless it was super cheap.
 
ford jeep or dodge are the only drivers side drop axles i'm aware of. the dodge is low pinion, so i really dont see it as an upgrade at all. dont think it's much better than a hp d30.
 
you could get a wide track LP 44 out of a J-Truck or a SJ Cherokee W/T as well. They're wider than the Waggy 44's.
 
Ok thanks guys and it wont see much big rocks just mild dirt trails maybe moab some day. What are all the benefits of high pinion over low pinion? Is it just pinion clearence? Or ring gera strength as well it seems like it would possibly be stronger
 
hot_rod_hooligans said:
Iirc HP is 30% stronger than a LP in a front application.
Click to expand...

I don't buy into that too much. Is there a difference, yes, but 30% seems to be a bit of a stretch.

I ran a low pinion 44 for years, with a 5.38 gearset and blew apart a bunch of alloy shafts, hubs, and a detroit locker. all on the same gearset.

Then I replaced the detroit locker with an open carrier and a lock-right, and then the ring gear stripped. In its defense, I managed to get both front tires wedged in undercuts somehow, and also blew a stub shaft at the same time.

A heavy duty cover and full case locker go a long way in minimizing gear deflection.
 
ktm racer 419 said:
Then I replaced the detroit locker with an open carrier and a lock-right, and then the ring gear stripped. In its defense, I managed to get both front tires wedged in undercuts somehow, and also blew a stub shaft at the same time.
Click to expand...

in his defense it was pouring out and i picked the line. you could have made it :dunno:
 
Vanimal said:
ford jeep or dodge are the only drivers side drop axles i'm aware of. the dodge is low pinion, so i really dont see it as an upgrade at all. dont think it's much better than a hp d30.
Click to expand...

only newer dodges, the older ones were just like chevy.....pass side drop
 
So i approached him with the idea i explained how i could sale his rear d 44 his rear d 35 his front d30 one of my old 8 1/4s and a hd closed knuckle d44 full width i have and put all that i get from that towards better axles and he shut it down as of now. He has it set in his mind that whats under it wil hold up. Oh well
 
PahlMc said:
What do you mean by older? Every dodge I have worked on was driver drop.
Click to expand...

any dodge ram 1993 and older is passenger side drop D44 and D60. 93 and older D60s were kingpins as well.
EDIT: also the D44s were CAD axles starting in roughly 1977 to the "present day" rams and the D60s were a solid shaft design until 93
 
Last edited:
PowerRam1987 said:
any dodge ram 1993 and older is passenger side drop D44 and D60. 93 and older D60s were kingpins as well.
EDIT: also the D44s were CAD axles starting in roughly 1977 to the "present day" rams and the D60s were a solid shaft design until 93
Click to expand...
this.

FWIW, i was able to take a newer driver drop dodge d60 and remove the cast CAD section of the passenger side tube, internally sleeve it, and butt weld it back together, approx 3.5" shorter. Since it's such a wide axle, this gave me about 68" WMS-WMS. goes great with my rear 14 bolt which is 67" WMS-WMS. You would never know i did this by looking at it either.
 
ktm racer 419 said:
I don't buy into that too much. Is there a difference, yes, but 30% seems to be a bit of a stretch.

I ran a low pinion 44 for years, with a 5.38 gearset and blew apart a bunch of alloy shafts, hubs, and a detroit locker. all on the same gearset.

Then I replaced the detroit locker with an open carrier and a lock-right, and then the ring gear stripped. In its defense, I managed to get both front tires wedged in undercuts somehow, and also blew a stub shaft at the same time.

A heavy duty cover and full case locker go a long way in minimizing gear deflection.
Click to expand...


I think theres a guy on pirate who sells a kit to install a "load bolt" that acts as a kind of a backing thingy to help stop deflection.
 
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