Talk me into waggy 44's...

[YeaItsSlo]

i was looking for just a 44 rear but came across front and rear waggy's for 300 bucks.. my plans are to only run 33's do i really need to go through the work to put a 44 in the front?? Or just keep the 30? And whats the deal with waggy 44's?

 

[Skullver]

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101344

 

[XJ_Jeeper01]

If you are only going to run 33's I'd just stick with the D30. But if you think you might go bigger down the road and will be upgrading axles, then I'd grab them and then take all the time you need to build them up. Wheel on the 33's until you get them built and ready to put in. The only problem with the waggy axles is that the rear is narrower than the one in your XJ. The front is about 61.5" WMS-WMS and the rear is 58" WMS-WMS. So you would need to run spacers. The front is nice because it's not much wider than the D30 and you get real hubs, bigger shafts and U-Joints, ring and pinion and can go high steer. Probably the biggest advantage would be the high steer. But people will argue that the D44 isn't that much better than a HP D30. It's all opinion. I would have just gotten a HP D30 if the rear I got wasn't 6 lug. So I built a D44 to match the rear. Let me know if you have any questions. Also, 53guy on here did an awesome write up on putting a Waggy 44 up front and a Isuzu 44 in the rear. Definitely check that out if you go the D44 route.
-Matt

 

[Ramsey]

If you are only going to run 33's I'd just stick with the D30. But if you think you might go bigger down the road and will be upgrading axles, then I'd grab them and then take all the time you need to build them up. Wheel on the 33's until you get them built and ready to put in. The only problem with the waggy axles is that the rear is narrower than the one in your XJ. The front is about 61.5" WMS-WMS and the rear is 58" WMS-WMS. So you would need to run spacers. The front is nice because it's not much wider than the D30 and you get real hubs, bigger shafts and U-Joints, ring and pinion and can go high steer. Probably the biggest advantage would be the high steer. But people will argue that the D44 isn't that much better than a HP D30. It's all opinion. I would have just gotten a HP D30 if the rear I got wasn't 6 lug. So I built a D44 to match the rear. Let me know if you have any questions. Also, 53guy on here did an awesome write up on putting a Waggy 44 up front and a Isuzu 44 in the rear. Definitely check that out if you go the D44 route.
-Matt

You sure about that?

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

You sure about that?

As a blanket statement, I think that's true. I seem to remember someone saying that starting in mid 96 the D-30 shafts were sized for bigger (297x?) u-joints.

When I was forced to go with some parts store joints on my 97, I know that their computer had the wrong size by far (listed a MUCH smaller joint).

I had to bring one of my bad ones in and match it to what they had to offer. It was the second largest one they stocked.

 

[DirtyMJ]

Umm...


While I could have measured somewhat accurately, I didn't bother. I think somebody has the numbers... This is what I got looking at my junk pile with a pair of $6 calipers.


The stock wag shafts are 'aggressive neckdown' after the splines, so they're only about 1.11" there (maybe the caliper slipped - hard to tell). The neckdown on the tudy shafts is much less, so they're about 1.125 there... The wag outers are 1.125... I don't have a turdy outer.

The newer turds use the same 297X/760X joints as all the older D44s. Save the closed knuckle ones...


Stock for stock, the wag stuff isn't an improvement really.

 

[Ramsey]

Stock for stock, the wag stuff isn't an improvement really.

Exactly

 

[DirtyMJ]

Oh, low pinion diffs suck.


I'm thinking about building a HP one now.

 

[artsifrtsi]

What is the width of the stock rear axles? I've read that the waggy rear 44 is narrower than stock XJ, but how about wide-track Cherokee axles... they are about 3 inches wider than wags....

 

[YeaItsSlo]

I have a 8.25, do i even need to go to a 44 rear? Id love to not worry about breaking...

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

Exactly

Learn something every day, I was under the impression that any 44 shaft would be beefier than a 30.

Shouldn't have revealed your knowledge base, because now I have questions!



Out of curiousity, is the waggy 44 a significant upgrade over a 35?

I don't know snot about 35s, all I hear is trash about them.

The 87 cherokees with tow pkg and coveted stock 44s (about which we hear so much), I would presume that these are the same as the waggy 44s? Or do the front shafts not thin out so hard after the splines on those?

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

I have a 8.25, do i even need to go to a 44 rear? Id love to not worry about breaking...

Depending on year and tire size, you might not want to bother.

97+ are 29 spline axles, which are widely held to be alright for up to 35s open, less locked, though everyone has a cousin that runs one with 54" TSboggers spooled, and has for 750,000 miles without so much as a hiccup.

Swapping to discs is easy and cheap, so that's a plus, the main downside unless you're looking at building something BIG, is gear depth.

4.56 is as deep as is offered for a 8.25, so make of that what you will regarding what's acceptable for tire size.

All around though, the 29 spline 8.25 is a comparable axle to the d44 as far as strength goes, and the main advantages with the 44 are gear depth and aftermarket support.

 

[Ramsey]

Anything is better than a 35. I'd be comfortable running 35s locked on an 8.25. I run 34 ltbs beadlocked on mine without a worry and have watched terry give it hell welded with 35s. Spare shafts should be carried regardless.

 

[DirtyMJ]

What is the width of the stock rear axles? I've read that the waggy rear 44 is narrower than stock XJ, but how about wide-track Cherokee axles... they are about 3 inches wider than wags....

I'm gonna say stock rear is 59.5". That's where my money would be...

Waggy rear D44 is 58.5" - similar to most other narrow vehicles (I can think of a few axles that are exactly the same width).

And I'll say 62.5 or 63 for rear W/T axles. The fronts are about 64.5".

Out of curiousity, is the waggy 44 a significant upgrade over a 35?

Yes. They didn't neck down the rear shafts like the front ones, IIRC. But - it's been a while since I looked at one. I would think they are almost identical to the XJ D44 shafts, other than length.



But, if you're gonna mess with a waggy D44 I can think of an axle that comes stock with disk brakes, 4.56 gears, optional LSD or 4.77 gears, and is the same width, but uses a larger R&P, yet has more clearance, and has larger axleshafts... Oh, and you can find them cheap.

 

[xrayjeeper83]

Ok I plan on going to 35's-36's when my 33's are worn down, I have a waggy 44/20 combo that I was going to put under the XJ. Would it be worth it or would the 30/8.25 be ok?

Andrew

 

[kewlkatdady]

if your not going any bigger than 35"...stay with the 30 and if you just have to change out an axle...put in a 8.8 from a '96 or newer exploder.

5x4.5 (same as your current axles) plus disc brakes.

all you need it to figure out the brakes (which you can easily do with a little searching on here)
cut and weld new spring mounts and shock mounts
get the flange adapter for the driveshaft thingy (again you can find part numbers for this on here also)

 

[DirtyMJ]

Ok I plan on going to 35's-36's when my 33's are worn down, I have a waggy 44/20 combo that I was going to put under the XJ. Would it be worth it or would the 30/8.25 be ok?

Andrew

IMHO, yes.


But, I couldn't keep my D30 together with 35s. So I got a waggy 44 and put some chromos in it... Besides, highsteer and selectable hubs are good things.


Oh, truss that eaton M20.

 

[xrayjeeper83]

I planed on trussing and welding the tubes to the housing to keep them from spinning.

Thanks for your input, after reading the first part of this post I was beging to think I wasted money LOL

Andrew