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D44 up grade possible?

Down under

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Australia
Pick your brains guys.....
I have a 97 xj, and know I can get my hands on a D44 out of a 2002 WG V8.
Cutting off the coil spring mounts etc and welding on some leaf spring mounts I think I should be fine with, but.........
What other issues am I going to hit?
Has it got the same width axle?
Wheel stud Patten the same? As they did come out of with 17" wheels.
What's the tail shaft compatabiltty
Currently running an 8.25
 
WJ axles are 63.5 wide and have a 5x5 bolt pattern, so you’ll need wheel adapters for the front or rear (depending if you want to run your existing 5x4.5 wheels or new 5x5 wheels) The D44 out of a WJ is a D44A, so it has some downsides, limited traction device support and with the aluminum housing you really need to truss the axle - if not hard wheeling can cause bearing problems and you can never jack up your vehicle from the housing. If you are going through all the trouble and fabbbing, it would be better to just grab a Ford 8.8 out of an Explorer, heavier duty, same bolt pattern and lots of aftermarket support.
 
Pass on the WJ, keep the 8.25 way better axle.
 
8.8 dude. Disc brakes, much stronger, a dime a dozen at the junk yard. If your not gonna go bigger than 33s (35s with chromos) the 8.25 is fine.
 
What paulhead said!

To get rear disc brakes and 31-spline axle, you need to look for a 1995 to 2001 Explorer or Mountaineer. Earlier years use drum brakes and may be 28-spline. Also, Explorer SportTracs with production dates of August 19, 2002 through June 29, 2005 are equipped with 31-spline axles and rear disc brakes. Before Aug 19, 2002, the Sport Tracs were equipped with the smaller 28-spline 8.8 axle shafts and used drum brakes. After June 29, 2005, Sport Tracs were produced with an Independent rear as found on 2002+ regular Explorers.

I don't know if you have as many in the junkyards in Australia as we do here in the states, but over here there are tons of them! I picked mine up from a local junkyard here in Los Angeles for $125.00
 
Just realized you're down WAAAY south. Yeah I wonder what your junk yards are like. (he's probably sleeping right now, HA!)
 
Ha! Awake now! Thanx guys, scrapping that idea!
The main reason for a swap is because the 8.25 here in OZ is that they a very rare, extremely hard to get even out bearings for. Yet all 30/35 And 44's arnt so bad.
The few XJ 's that had the 8.25's exported here all had LSD fitted.
The star gears in mine are worn out a bit, the clutch packs are stuffed as well.
I would really like to just fit an Aussie/Spartan auto in it and be done with the star gears etc.
But yeah I need the open center. Non existent here.
Yet an importer on eBay here has one sitting on the shelf!
I've sent him a message explaining the situation to him, letting him know it might be staying on that shelf for sometime......
And if he can import an open center to suit at a decent price, I will buy both.
Been a long headache chasing bits here!
The Dana 35 down grade is even ticking in the back of my mind, readily available here.
 
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