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Dana 44

This is off of a 1987 Jeep Cherokee Wagoneer Limited


Dana 44 opened

Dana44.jpg


Dana 44 Cover is on the Right

Dana4430.jpg


Dana 44 installed I was filling it when i took the picture

Dana44-1.jpg


Hope this helps
 
Well with an 87 you will have new problems every week or so lol... Nah my bud maybe has a problem ever couple of months. Me i am still rebuilding. 87 seems to be a solid year though. It all depends on how the truck was treated through the years but i like working on it. Although it is a love hate relationship :repair:
 
XJ Stryker--Did all the 87 Wagoneer models come with D44's? I found a parts vehicle (87 Grand Wagoneer) that I may buy for the axles if that is so. Also, what would be involved in converting them for use on the regular cherokee chassis? I'm interested in upgrading my 92 XJ.
 
wavingpine11 said:
XJ Stryker--Did all the 87 Wagoneer models come with D44's? I found a parts vehicle (87 Grand Wagoneer) that I may buy for the axles if that is so. Also, what would be involved in converting them for use on the regular cherokee chassis? I'm interested in upgrading my 92 XJ.
Click to expand...


Grand wagoneer as in the full size deal? They also called some XJs wagoneers, which is confusing!!


If you can get front and rear 44s out of a wagoneer, you'll have to regear them, get different wheels for the bolt pattern, and weld on brackets/perches to get them under your XJ. If you're gonna build it, this is a good route to go! They're easiest to throw into YJs (leafs front and rear) but can go in anything you want. The only downside is that they mostly came with really ghey gear ratios, so you can't just throw them in and be happy.
 
This is a funny coincidence. I just found a 87 XJ at the salvage yard, its got a D44! It took me 5 seconds to them move it so I can get it out. I'm going to get it tomorrow! 150 bucks!
 
Not all XJs came with D44s in any year. It was an option in the towing package to 1988, and in the Metric Tonne package in the MJ (I don't know what year they stopped doing that. AMC was bought out in 1988, but ChryCo may have kept that going.)

Note that the SJ was called the "Grand Wagoneer" 1984-1992 or so, and it's going to have (I think) either 30/44 or 44/44 axles front/rear. SJ "Grand Waggy" (often just called "Waggy") axles are a common swap into the XJ, and they're only a couple inches wider.

If you pull a D44 from under an MJ, it will be the right width and lug pattern, but you'll have to move the spring pads and possibly the shock mounts (the MJ uses a "spring-under" setup, while the XJ is "spring-over.")
 
The driver side of my D-44 has 3 very obivious ribs showing on it, as an ID sign. If you try to just go by the fact that the rear cover has a threaded in fill plug, be aware that the early D-35 used a threaded plug, also. The FSJ that 5-90 is referring to came with the 44/44 combo. Some of those had a vacumn motor right on the top of the diff. housing, and parts for them are kind of hard to find, but the normal style diffs. are more common and very easily re-geared.
 
The one I'm considering is definitely the full size version, not the downsized XJ as I have come to know and love it.
 
wavingpine11 said:
XJ Stryker--Did all the 87 Wagoneer models come with D44's? I found a parts vehicle (87 Grand Wagoneer) that I may buy for the axles if that is so. Also, what would be involved in converting them for use on the regular cherokee chassis? I'm interested in upgrading my 92 XJ.
Click to expand...

I cannot say yes or no. I know that all of the 87 cherokee wagoneers., (Not the Grand) That i have seen are 30/44 but i cannot say whether or not all are like that. Mine didnt have a towing package, but was stock. The tag reads 3.54 gearing for both front and back. I did think that was strange since every one talks about 3.55 gearing on most stock XJ's although mine looks to be called a JC on the VIN.
 
Next question--can you get a set of D44's in the back of an XJ (with the seat down!), or do you need to find alternate means of transportation?
 
wavingpine11 said:
Next question--can you get a set of D44's in the back of an XJ (with the seat down!), or do you need to find alternate means of transportation?
Click to expand...

Lay them in carefully, you should be able to. The average D44 that is going under an XJ is around five feet long (XJ WMS-WMS ~60.5".)

Unless your Lou Ferrigno, you're going to need a stout helper to position them, tho. And, it's easier if you're laying in a bare housing...
 
5-90 said:
Lay them in carefully, you should be able to. The average D44 that is going under an XJ is around five feet long (XJ WMS-WMS ~60.5".)

Unless your Lou Ferrigno, you're going to need a stout helper to position them, tho. And, it's easier if you're laying in a bare housing...
Click to expand...
you can fit a d44 in an xj..

2-44s.jpg
 
gregmondro said:
you can fit a d44 in an xj..
Click to expand...

I know you can get two in if you're careful - I had two FS Dodge D44 Fronts in the back of my 87 once. The guts were loose in milk crates - made it easier to load them in (since that made them about 100# lighter. I needed that break - it was just me loading the damned things...)
 
So from the pic, it seems like while one D44 will fit in the back of the typical XJ, getting two in there would require some pretty precipitous stacking, which no sane driver would involve himself in. . .
 
I'm just trying to figure out the logistical aspects of this. I'm outside of Philly while the prospective axles are in Jersey, still attached to their original host. I've redone the springs on the back of my 92 XJ, so I know how to get the rear axle off--pretty easy, ignoring rust issues. The obviously more complicated front end I have no experience with.

The larger scenario is this guy in Jersey has the truck, with a blown motor, and he wants to sell it whole for $500. I already have a parts XJ in my driveway, and may be moving soon, so I hardly want to spend extra money on something that will have no interchangable parts with the XJ family I've been collecting, and may have to ditch soon anyway. But the axles. . . that's another story. So I offered him $100 per axle if each is in fact a D44 and then he said, let me wait a few days to see if anyone will take it whole, and also see if a junkyard would pick it up in an axle-less state. So this isn't solid yet, but I'm definitely interested in going with a stronger axle for my 92 XJ. Here would be a good chance to get two matching width axles on the cheap. . . if he goes for it. I'm hoping he does, but I'm just trying to figure out the best way to 1) Remove them, mostly thinking about the front axle, and 2) get them home. I think that getting them home is probably going to be do-able, after considering the comments already made here. I'm thinking that removing the rear axle under time pressure will be fine, too. Now the front, I'm a bit more worried about that. I guess I need to investigate that more.

Can anyone suggest a typical time frame for removing the front axle on something that almost certainly has rusted fasteners?
 
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