D44 axle question

[BLUTO]

Well, I think I'm going to quit "pissing in the wind" and put a D44 axle in my 2000XJ to replace my D35 (before I go out and buy new gears and LS diffs ).
Most of the threads that I've read, talk about using a '86 thru '88 XJ Wagoneer axle (and probably the easiest swap). I've also stumbled upon a few Bronco transplants. Some had radius arms .
My question is: What should I be looking for when going to buy a D44 to replace my rear D35C? Low pinion/High pinion? Only 5 on 4.5" stud pattern? Which vehicles (other than Waggy) are swappable?
I know that I probably have to relocate spring perches - no problem! I don't want to have to cut or splice anything to bring it to proper, usable lenght.
Thanx,
BLUTO

[BUCKYXJ]

'86 THRU '89 XJ rear axle will be a direct bolt in. The FSJ(full size jeep)waggy D44 will be wider than stock (not that I care but some people do). I am not sure on the Waggy years either. All rear D44's are standard pinion if I remember correctly. Look for 5 on 4.5 unless you wanna convert to it or run different bolt patterns on your wheels which would mean 2 spares. After saying all that I would go with an XJ D44 or a ford 9" rear out of a bronco.
HTH

[XJWheelie]

What about a Dana 44 from a Scout?

Robert

[zjmike]

Originally posted by XJWheelie
What about a Dana 44 from a Scout?

Robert

Scouts are narrower and have 5x5.5" bolt pattern.... they are narrower by about 1.5" or so..

You could also do the 8.8 from an explorer, 31 spline shafts, and disc brakes already

[FarmerMatt]

Your 2000 XJ should have an 8 1/4 rear, not a 35 unless DC had a real old rear end lying around. I wouldn't imagine they would have switched back to them. The 8 1/4 is a good rear end for most.

Matt

[Jeepin Jason]

Originally posted by FarmerMatt
Your 2000 XJ should have an 8 1/4 rear, not a 35 unless DC had a real old rear end lying around. I wouldn't imagine they would have switched back to them. The 8 1/4 is a good rear end for most.

Matt

Matt, Matt, Matt... DCX used the D35 in the XJ all the way to the end. Our old '01 XJ had the D35 rear axle, and it was built in May of '01. A good friend of mine also had the D35 in his '01 XJ as well.

I wonder why they never put the 8.25" in the TJ? Or the Grands for that matter...

Oh yeah, to address the original question, a D44 out of an '87-'89 XJ would be a direct bolt-in, that's what I'm running in my '95 now. The Bronco D44 swap with radius arms is a front axle, not the rear. All in all though, a late model Ford 8.8" out of an Exploder would probably be the best swap. It's 31-spline vs 30-spline (D44), it's already got disc brakes, and most can be had with 4.10 gears and a limited slip already in them. M.O.R.E. makes an 8.8" swap kit with all the brackets and stuff that you'd need.

[Patriot]

'93 - Current Rodeo's carry a rear disc 44. They may have carried them even before '93, I can't remember for sure. Post-'95 have the wider axles, 60" wms-wms I think. A friend and I pulled a '95 and it's wms-wms was 58". I was going to use it, then I decided to swap in some wider axles, so we pull a 9" off a bronco, 65" wms-wms.

[Jeepin Jason]

Rodeo axles are 6-lug.

[FarmerMatt]

Sorry about that guys. I could have swore all the later ones were 8 1/4's. Thanks for clearing that up Jason.

Matt

PS
I hope beezy isn't looking or I might get whacked with the SPOBI paddle.

[Jeepin Jason]

Matt, most of the '97+ XJ's DID come with the 8.25", but not all of them, and there was no rhyme nor reason as to which vehicle got which axle. Our old '01 Limited was loaded, every option by the engine block heater and ABS, and it had a D35. A friend of ours has a 2wd '01 XJ, bought it the same day we got ours, and hers has the 8.25"... Go figure.

[Eagle]

Originally posted by Jeepin Jason
Matt, most of the '97+ XJ's DID come with the 8.25", but not all of them, and there was no rhyme nor reason as to which vehicle got which axle. Our old '01 Limited was loaded, every option by the engine block heater and ABS, and it had a D35. A friend of ours has a 2wd '01 XJ, bought it the same day we got ours, and hers has the 8.25"... Go figure.

There is a rhyme and reason -- they used the Dana 35 in the XJs with ABS, and the 8-1/4 in the XJs without ABS.

[Jeepin Jason]

Originally posted by Eagle
There is a rhyme and reason -- they used the Dana 35 in the XJs with ABS, and the 8-1/4 in the XJs without ABS.

That's not always the case though... My '01 didn't have ABS, but it did have the D35. My friend with the 4wd '01 didn't have ABS either, and he also had the D35.

[jjvande]

This may be a dumb question...why would spline count matter.?..shouldn't we use axle diameter instead?...cant splines be different sizes ? thus, more splines could fit on the same diameter shaft.

-The Ford 8.8 is also a C-clip differential..so thats one drawback.


-J

[Jeepin Jason]

generally speaking more splines = bigger DIA shaft. The 8.8" does have slightly larger DIA shafts than a standard D44.

Also, I could be wrong, but I think splines are a pretty standard size. I think there's like 2 sizes, a "fine" and a "course". ? I'm sure someone on here has the actual details regarding this though.

[Patriot]

Originally posted by Jeepin Jason
Rodeo axles are 6-lug.

As are the Waggys.