Aluminium 44 in rear of WJ

Just out of qurriosity how strong are the aluminium diffs in WJs.

About the equivalent of a D35!Run,run away quickly.It also is a bastard 44 with not much aftermarket suppport.

Ive heard nothing but bad things about them.

Find a 44 out of a Wagoneer or a J-10 truck. There is a 44 under Izuzu Rodeo and some Honda Passports. They dont take that much work if you know how to weld and can read. The article all about it can be found in JP magazine or online. There's tons of thes 44's lying around in junkyards and most people don't go looking for axles under foreign SUV's like that.

Here's the article link for you:

http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/drivetrain/axletech/154_0705_used_jeep_dana_44_axles/index.html

Hope this helps!

I posted a bunch of information about that axle here:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=950443&highlight=viper

To summarize though...the shafts are decently strong (30-spline D44 sized), however they're C-clip, and the wheel bearings are the same as used in the D35. The ring & pinion are huge compared to standard D44 stuff, and the aluminum center is the same as used in the Corvette and Viper rears. The conversion to a solid axle w/steel tubes is what killed the rigidity of it though, and contribute to it eating bearings.

Major drawbacks are the strength of the housing itself, lack of aftermarket support, c-clip shafts, small wheelbearings, and typically shorter-than-usual bearing life.

At least on the WJ they're not c-clip. For one, no mention of it in the FSM and having replaced one on an '02 WJ a few months back, no sign of a c-clip anywhere. Glad for that, less work.

Here's a pic of the old axle shaft:

Isn't that the one that bends if you jack it up under the pumpkin?

correct they are non c-clip. I had one apart about a month ago