Pick-your-part D44

How rare is it to find arear D44 at a PUP?

If i do find one, how/where do I disconnect the driveshaft and the e-brakes?

How do I identify the gear ratio?

Any features/issues I should look for and/or avoid?

Is any D44 from an XJ going to fit in my '88?

Oh...and how much does a D44 weigh, hub to hub? Am I going to be able to muscle it into a pick-up by myself?

They get rarer by the day, check out the so-cal forum, they seem to pop up once every couple months, when people go if they dont grab it, they tell the rest of us.

Disconnect the driveshaft by unbolting it. unscrew the e-brake cables from the tensioner, which is above the driveshaft in the tunnel.

gear ratio will either be on a tag on the diff, or you can do the math with the tire roation and pinon rotation... search is your friend here.

Any XJ D44 will fit in another XJ. An MJ D44 will need new perches as it is spring under, XJ's are spring over.

Too bad your not on the east coast, I have one for sale. PM for details.

AARON

they are not rare at all... but you must be persistant... this isnt buying a beer at 7/11, supply doesnt meet demand.... you must be willing to come home empty handed a few times

i will msg you where to find one in LA...
there is a distint pecking order of which yard gets what.... a lot of the yards keep a couple jeeps around to keep you paying that $2 every weekend....but all the d44´s usually goto one specific yard....

gear ratios can be found via a couple methods..... but the way ive used is to count the ring/pinion teeth....

autos should be 3.55 and manuals 3.07?? (please correct me if im wrong, experts)



disconnecting a d44 is simple, and CAN be done by yourself if you bring a cart... but i recommend a friend,

to disconnect:
shocks
brake lines
u-bolts
drive shaft (remove caps from u-joint.... 4 bolts)
ebrake lines (these should be removed from mid-way down the body, where it meets the ebrake handle assembly....

im no pro, but removing one of these in the junkyard is dead simple.... i did one in 45 min, alone, and even loaded into the back of my jeep alone.

::STRUTS::

I have been looking for one for a few months now, every two weeks or so i go by the yards to take a look, for 2 bucks its worth it, and i usualy end up with a few hose clamps and fuses too. But i havent found one. i havent even found an xj missing its rear axle yet, meaning that i might have gotten there too late. good luck finding one, but i hope i get there first!

if your ever up in northern cal I have 2 in my garage. I have one that I just put disc on and 4.10 gears and a locker.But its going in my jeep in about on week. I am going to put disc on the other one and sell it.

Well, I went this moring. There was one there, but I wasn't too sure on it so I passed.

It was a manual tranny (wrong gears)
Someone yanked the drums off it while I was there. (probably no big deal)
The Yoke was gone (??)
The cover was suspiciously clean, two of the cover bolts were about 1/2 way out and there was was sealant hanging down. When I turned one axle there was a clicking sound (locker?) I figured it had been messed with too much for me and will wait until I find an unmolested one.

I did score a factory front skid and t-case skid. There was a gas tank skid, but it was pinned under the hitch which was what the XJ was being supported by..so I passed.

I found mine at my local u-pull-it. It shouldn't take more than 30 min to get that thing off, and even if it's missing a few parts it's not anything you can't find at www.rockauto.com they have been the best OEM part source I have found yet. I got all the parts to rebuild the brakes on my 87 D44. The e-brake cables and drive shaft will bolt rite up.

I'm in SoCal as well, and ended up having one shipped out from Massachusetts. However, I didn't put a tremendous amount of (diligent) effort into looking locally - it was more of an on-again, off-again thing depending on time and finances, and given the spec of the axle that I eventually bought it worked out about the same as finding one locally and building it up. Truth be told, I'd been buying parts for the axle before I even had it; all I really knew was that I'd settled on the XJ D44, and by having a pile of things sitting there waiting to go in it it basically kept me from vacillating between different axle options.

They are out there, but it's pot luck as to whether you find one or not. One thing I did notice in my treks to the local scrapyards was that everyone going through the Jeep section was looking under the rear ends for one. Then again, the yards in my neck of the woods have guys there full-time who know what's interesting on different vehicles and grab them as soon as they're inside for resale. Vultures, IMHO.

sinse theres activity here, guess ill post my junkyard d44


4.56 w/ aussie + crown vics
it still needs brake hard lines setup, and its ready to install