I have a dana 44 that came out from under a Jeep and was wondering how tough these rears are? Plans are to use it under my HA/GR. It is a 427:1 ratio and is a peg leg. Do they make a spool that can be used with these rears? What worries me is the size of the axle housing. They are only about 2 5/8" in diameter.
There's a mini spool on ebay now with no bids and no reserve and a buy it now of $59. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33728&viewitem=&item=7941710206
Dana 44's are very tough with alot of gear choices and locker options available. I ran a set front and rear in a IH Scout I used to mud race, most ScoutII's came with a limited slip in the rear from the factory, plus alot of the older Jeep Wagoneer's were 44's front and rear. Reider racing also has posi's, spools, etc. for the 44.
Danas have been used in lots of very tough 4 x 4s. Currently I believe the 44 is the front and rear standard axle for the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. In the more base model Wranglers it is the axle upgrade choice from the rear 35. Most Jeepers do very well with the factory 35 until they start getting into serious modifications. Because there is such a large aftermarket Jeep parts selection you should have no problem finding parts. Everything should be available you'd need to make whatever it is you're putting it in climb up a wall like Spiderman. Those serious Jeep guys are nuts!- and they have a ton of fun! Professor Killington
lots of stuff made for the 44 .in a car -hot rod it should do very well.there are allot of axle shaft upgrades as well as gears ,lockers ,posi's.you can go up to a 1350 series you joint.also some disc brake convertions...
I've seen 44s live under fullsize 4x4s with 38" Superswampers wich are F'ing HEAVY, with a "hey y'all watch this!" driving style in the ROCKS. Should be fine in a HAMB dragster.
I do believe it is the one piece type. A guy had it under a t-bucket that he was running on the street. I was worried that hammering it off the line all the time would possibly break something as it looks like a light duty rear. And I am going by the axle tubes when I say light duty. The ranger rear that I have under it right now has 3" axle tubes, and this one measures 2 5/8" on the tubes. I have not been into it to see how big the bearings are, just going by the looks on the outside.
probably not a 44, look on the housing for a number, the 44 will have 44 cast into it. Pictures are a help too, you know....
oh, ok! The 44 center is pretty strong, comparable to a chevy 8.5" ten bolt, not sure about the axle tubes and axles on that particular one though.
yes you can get a spool for it. yes its a tough rear. I don't recall for sure but unless I'm mistaken they came at one point with a keyed axle like an old rambler rear. If you have that setup you'll need to loose that setup they shear keys all the time. They make a floater hub setup for it that is fairly cheap (like around 150.00 - 200.00) that cures the [problam. it'll make it have that big narly race looking hub sticking out of the center of your wheel. The upside is that you can drop the axles and flat tow old school style.
you could get a dana 44 in a early fifties Lincoln... the splines were different I think (not as many?) Heres a pic from a 52 Lincoln... They're a strong rear from all reports- I think they came in some corvettes too- you can get finned aluminum covers from wilcap-
Thanks Tuck, I kept starring at the rear in my 53 Lincoln, thinking it looked like a 44. Axle splines different? Posi's available? Thanks, Mike.
they used coarse spline axles in the old days, and also there are different variations that look like a 44 but aren't, like the 40 that came in my 59 chevy pickup, and has different size pinion bearings.
Dana 44s also came in some Effies. I know my 55 still has the one in it that came from the factory.Jaybes
Well since this thing is usually used in 4X4 applications it brought up another question I have with Hotrodders. Why wouldn't we use an air operated or perhaps electrically actuated lockker in this or any type rearend? Peg Legs are great for normal driving. The locker would effectively make the rear a spool when straight line traction was necessary. The Air bag folk should have air available and the rest of us have electricity. so is it price or something else that people shy away from? I was thinking of the moser Dana 60 setup but any 9 inch should have the ability to accept a selectable locker as well.
i had a CJ-8 with a built 360. We put a Dana 44 in the rear after the original blew up and it held up fine. I was not nice to it either!
I can't think of any reason to use a selective locker, since a ratcheting locker works fine for higher hp cars, and a limited slip works fine for less powerful cars, and the air bag guys usually don't care about gofast
I suppose tire wear might be the only advantage and the cost differential between a standard posi or detroit locker and an ARB air locker or otherwise could pay for a few tires
Ahh, something I can almost help out on a) Yes, the newest Jeep Rubi's have D44's front & rear. b) In the four weel drive world, they're usually considered "adaquate" unless you're really playing hard. c) My stock Rover axles are considered fairly wimpy, but they've been filled with hi-zoot alloy axles and a Detroit carrier in the rear. d) If you're going to have any sort of wide sticky tires on this drive axle in a vehicle of any significant weight, you're going to be buying a new carriers and axles before too long. Finally, I'm pretty sure that Eaton markets an electric locker for the D44, I know that ARB has an air locker .... neither are cheep ... that's why there's a Detroit in my Discovery and another one in the old Series IIa Rover ... btw, the old one has a Brit copy of a D60 in it, known to Rover folks as a Salisbury. Keith
Nope, if you do a search on HA/GR, that is what it's going into. 6" bias ply tires with a 170ci slant six in front of it. Thanks for all the feedback, it will go in the car and I will be looking for a locker for it. As it will only see the 1/4 mile, it will be fine locked all the time. Thanks, Robert
In that case you only need a spool, much cheaper than a detroit locker. Or if you are very cheap you can weld the spider gears together and make a home spun spool. But I would not recommend that.
Shouldn't be a problem since the 427 Cobras had'm too. Hudsons,Studes and others also. I wouldn't be scared of a dana 44 at all.
Interesting thread because I have an old mail jeep dana 44, 3.73 posi to use under my 55 VW with a 283, T-5. I was planning to use some big tars on the back and I was a little spooky about dana's after breaking the one under my old 49 ford 1/2 ton, twice. The pickup was a heavy pig with a little mustang 289 in it but I snapped an axle shaft once [drunk & stupid] and blew up the ring & pinion 2 months later...errr, again, drunk & stupid. It should be ok with a featherweight project...
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