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Dana 44 FRONT swap

LittleAnthony88

NAXJA Forum User
Location
New York
I just came back from paragon and the dana 30 didnt hold up and was bent back only on the passenger side and was about 2" from the stock flare. The LCA was in a V shape, (and eventualy broke in 2), but the top was fine. I pulled it most the way back out with a concrete based steel pole and chain then bent back most my steering to maybe 75% back to normal. None the less, THE AXLE HAS TO GO, so im beefin her up. Its a toss up between running 4.10 or 4.86's from other peoples opinions. but for your guys sake reading this, its my daily driver so the gears have to handle higway speeds with no problem, but still crawl nice and slow on the trail!
Whats your guys opinions or advice on the gears, AND do i have to run both front and rear at the same ratio????

After all that comes the spindles, over the knuckles with hem joints, H.D. trac bar, and the most obvious, some beefy LCA's (they were stock that bent like a V)! I got about a grand and im hoping to get most of that done with that budget!

Any advice for the front swap will be well appreciated!!!!!
 
you could just by aftermarket arms and beef up your steering for a lot cheaper if thats all your breaking. stock arms are gonna bend, its what they do. you mention 410s and 488s but no mention of tire size. regardless, 410s arent low enough:D yes you have to regear the front and the rear to match if you plan on using 4wd.
 
you have a grand and want a d44?

I spent 1200 on just my front d44 swap, and my shafts are just as strong as my d30 shafts, my steering is OTK but isnt hi-steer, and I am using the Control arms that i had from before the swap - Pro-Comp lowers and RE adjustable uppers - a 300 investment alone.

here is a spreadsheet showing all my expendatures:
http://www.opiebennett.com/images/Jeep/Front-axle-swap/Front Axle Swap.xls

Do you have an axle available?
 
yet you couldnt afford a driveshaft to get 4wd :doh:
 
LittleAnthony88 said:
Its a toss up between running 4.10 or 4.86's from other peoples opinions., AND do i have to run both front and rear at the same ratio????

I got about a grand and im hoping to get most of that done with that budget!


Yoiu have a grand huh??




so ya figure
front and rear 4.88..$900 ( yea both ratios have to be the same :rolleyes: )

so alll ya gotta do is find a D44 with brackets and everything needed to bolt it up to youir rig for $100 and your good

ohh yea and control arms in there also..

Ohh I included cost of a gear install in the above statement cause I figure if ya dont know that ya need the same ratio front and back then ..Im guessing ya might want to have someone else do a gear swap for ya

GOOD LUCK
 
If you're asking if you need to run the same ratios front and rear, something tells me you need to do a heck of a lot more research before you do any axle swapping.

In addition, the damage that you're describing doesn't sound like any kind of "crawling" to me. Sounds like you were bombing down some logging road and hit a stump or something. I've seen control arms pretzel, but only after excessive speed and bad driving.

What really happened?
 
I'm trying to understand what bent control arms have to do with axle strength? Am I missing something?
 
OK guys, im no mechanic when it comes to this so please take it easy on me ok! First im running 33" with 5" lift that had sagged down from 6". its a 1995 w/the 4.0L H.O. with some bolt on mods. Second, i can get a dana 44 out of the scrap yard to save $$ then swap out the gears. I ask whether to run 4.10's or 4.86's because people keep telling me different things and it has to handle daily driving and highway speeds but be trail capable on the weekends. NOW, if a grand isnt enough then i can skip out on certian things like the over the top steering conversion and hem joints, OR get the axle and steering upgrades and leave the stock gears in for now and wait till i have another grand.
And last, YES i know the first thing im buying is a set of LCA's. Anyone wanna reccomend to me some good brand choices because if not then i usualy just buy from rustys since they have good stuff for less $$.

Please help me out and try not to bash me to hard. I can take a joke but i do need solid advice here first! I may not be as knowledgeable as some of you, BUT thats the reason im asking all of this! (and YES, im using the search button as well)! Thanks so far!
 
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LittleAnthony88 said:
OK guys, im no mechanic when it comes to this so please take it easy on me ok! First im running 33" with 5" lift that had sagged down from 6" over time and trail riding. Second, i can get a dana 44 out of the scrap yard to save $$ then swap out the gears. I ask whether to run 4.10's or 4.86's because people keep telling me different things and it has to handle daily driving and highway speeds. NOW, if a grand isnt enough then i can skip out on certian things like the over the top steering conversion and hem joints, OR get the axle and steering upgrades and leave the stock gears in for now and wait till i have another grand.
And last, YES i know the first thing im buying is a set of LCA's. Anyone wanna reccomend to me some good brand choices because if not then i usualy just buy from rustys since they have good stuff for less $$.

Please help me out and try not to bash me to hard. I may not be as knowledgeable as some of you, BUT thats the reason im asking all of this! (and YES, im using the search button as well)!
First off, that scrapyard 44 will not bolt up to your XJ. It'll take a lot to make it work (IOW "money").
Building a 44 to fit under your XJ (along with regearing) for a grand isn't possible.
Not even close.
 
CRASH said:
I'm trying to understand what bent control arms have to do with axle strength? Am I missing something?

The stock LCA's could have taken a good hit and bent the one pass side LCA into an upside down "V" shape but when you stood back and looked at the pass wheel, it was clearly moved back around 3" to 4" inches! It was almost touching the flaiir!! The axle was also tilted upwards causing a slight bow in the springs towards the front. The steering was up against the axle,(which i pulled out), and i do have H.D. tie rods. I got it to come back some by yanking on it with the chain/steel pole, reverse and gerk technique, but once shes bent, its gonna loose strength.

Hopefully that paints a bettter picture for ya!
 
i was there, it was done at low speeds, but landed on a boulder. Anth, get the RE arms upper and lower, and then save your drop brackets in case u ever go bigger. Then get a dana 44 rear and do 4.88's and i say a detroit locker but u might want an ARB air locker. Get the 4.88's for the front along with 297x ujoints and you'll be perfect on 33's. However at a grand i say do just the arms and get the dana 44 rear so its ready to build as u go along. Paragon was great, ill def be back there many times.
 
If you want to scrap the 5 link and switch to leaf springs you can do it for a grand.

Here are my costs, and I know they aren't that unheard of;
-spring pad perches $20
-Leaf springs from 4" YJ Free
-2 inch YJ Confer Shackles Free
-I have a steel aftermarket front bumper that I welded to, you can make a cross-member and use the stock front bumper too.
-Dana 44 from '86 grand Wag d-side drop junk yard $66
-5:13 gears about $150
-Lock-rite about $250
-Warn Hubs $75
-E-350 Master Cylinder $12 from Junk yard
-Steering is waggy and ZJ mixed parts with a bent waggy Drag link (yes it sucks with bump steer, but you could drive with it till you got the high steer)

Total for me= about $550

without the lock rite, you'd have plenty to have the fab work and gear install done.


I have acces to expert help and a welder, and that was for some stuff I traded.

No, this isn't bolt on, but if your saving bucks on a D-44, leaf springs are the way to go. I think the ride is every bit as good on the road as my coils were in the XJ (this is on my MJ, and I have Rancho 9000 shocks too). Steering wil be an issue and will throw you over the thousand mark. I will prob. spend $500 total on it (but I'm doing a complete high dollar high steer conversion. I've driven the same leaf spring set-up with just the drag link over the knuckle, and the steering was GREAT! I just want the steering out of the way. Search leaf spring conversion if you want more info. There's plenty on here.

100_1712.jpg
 
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xjrugger said:
i was there, it was done at low speeds, but landed on a boulder. Anth, get the RE arms upper and lower, and then save your drop brackets in case u ever go bigger. Then get a dana 44 rear and do 4.88's and i say a detroit locker but u might want an ARB air locker. Get the 4.88's for the front along with 297x ujoints and you'll be perfect on 33's. However at a grand i say do just the arms and get the dana 44 rear so its ready to build as u go along. Paragon was great, ill def be back there many times.

Yeah, RE arms will never bend.
picture.JPG

picture.JPG

picture.JPG

First one is Jes', next two are mine, pics stolen from Jes. I've got another bent RE LCA still attached to my Jeep.

I'd say 4.88s (in both ends, duh) and just get a new D30.
 
xjrugger said:
i was there, it was done at low speeds, but landed on a boulder. Anth, get the RE arms upper and lower, and then save your drop brackets in case u ever go bigger. Then get a dana 44 rear and do 4.88's and i say a detroit locker but u might want an ARB air locker. Get the 4.88's for the front along with 297x ujoints and you'll be perfect on 33's. However at a grand i say do just the arms and get the dana 44 rear so its ready to build as u go along. Paragon was great, ill def be back there many times.

Thanks for letting them know it wasnt "driver error" xjrugger. I definately hit alot of boulders and i knew those stock arms were gonna go. My first purchase is the LCA's and UCA's but the lockers will have to wait because the steering is still a bit bent up and the axle is still tweaked.
Oh and by the way, my rear came out of those trails unscathed! I will leave the rear alone for now since no damage ocurred which means i cant do the 4.88's for a while. I may just have to go with another stock axle out of the yard for now and spend the grand on the arms, steering, trac bar, and fabricating up better rock rails. I will call up Aron and see what he can do!!!!

Oh by the way, when you towed me out of that 3 feet of water i stalled out in, YOUR BLUE BALLS GOT DIRTY!!!!!!!
 
Phil said:
Yeah, RE arms will never bend.
picture.JPG

picture.JPG

picture.JPG

First one is Jes', next two are mine, pics stolen from Jes. I've got another bent RE LCA still attached to my Jeep.

I'd say 4.88s (in both ends, duh) and just get a new D30.

Phil, can i put 4.88's in both dana 30 and 35 with no problems?? I was told the axle would be to weak and id have to go to dana 44's to run 4.88's ??
 
LittleAnthony88 said:
Phil, can i put 4.88's in both dana 30 and 35 with no problems?? I was told the axle would be to weak and id have to go to dana 44's to run 4.88's ??

Anythin to a 35 is a waste of money. U can even find a 44 rear with 4.10's that bolts up and get the gears for the front and do a lock right type locker in the rear. Not what i would do, but it would fit better into the budget than a Detroit and 4.88's. If the axle is all bent up at the control arm mount, it can be fixed, it happened to my buddy Joe and he brought it to his mechanic and he fixed the axle. He had the same problem on the same control arm mount. Get a pic of the axle cause i did not get a good look at it saturday night while in a rush.
 
I hear ya xjrugger.
Im gonna take it over to my mechanic and see if the dana 30 is worth saving! So far i priced everything from rustys. I gotta keep the cost down and this is still an upgrade to what i have now!! So far i priced out upper adjustables, lower adjustables, H.D. trac bar w/H.D. mount and added brace, steering box brace, conversion y link H.D. tie rods and a new steering stablizer for $857 before shipping. Im still researching tho......

P.S.= Pics are coming soon. I just gotta get the software from my mother so i can download them on to my computer. Oh and dont worry, i just checked and the fiance took 206 pics from the trails, jeeps, flex shots, money shots, and the carnage!
 
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keep the 30 if all you are going to run is 33's

keep stock gears if they are working for you

buy some new control arms and get the steering box re-enforcement, but skip the HD steering components for a little while (till you break or bend the stock stuff)

dont spend a grand because you have a grand...

try looking in your local chapter and in online classifieds for used short arms - people are going to LA's all the time

if anything id be looking at getting rid of the d35 for a stronger axle (think Chry 8.25)

and www.car-part.com is your friend - if your d30 is toast...
 
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