Front Dana 44s for a TJ questions

Jakemd98 said:
you have to shim under the race otherwise the bearing itself will hit the housing due to the race being skinnier.
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The first JK gear swap into a TJ I performed was into a TJ Rubicon, about an 05 vintage IIRC.
On that one, being my first attempt, I placed all of the shims under the bearing. This was due to 2 things. First, not having any instructions to go by and second, due to me not being to remove the race without having to take pretty extreme measures (due to it's dimensions in the journal).
This install was on @sammi_davis's TJ approx 2 years ago and it has been trouble free over that time
Maybe some applications are different from TJ D44s as all of mine have been on them.
 
sammi_davis said:
My LJ is still leak free and very quiet with the JK gears though I should have listened to you and gone with 4.88's instead of the 5.13's.
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Just run bigger tires and youll be fine.
 
Jody Treadway said:
The first JK gear swap into a TJ I performed was into a TJ Rubicon, about an 05 vintage IIRC.
On that one, being my first attempt, I placed all of the shims under the bearing. This was due to 2 things. First, not having any instructions to go by and second, due to me not being to remove the race without having to take pretty extreme measures (due to it's dimensions in the journal).
This install was on @sammi_davis's TJ approx 2 years ago and it has been trouble free over that time
Maybe some applications are different from TJ D44s as all of mine have been on them.
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I guess i should clarify, when i say shim i meant the spacer... spacer needs to go under the race between it and the housing. You can shim between the pinion and bearing and should be fine.
 
Any one have a front waggy 44 for sale ?:D
 
What's a Waggy conversion with RCVs and JK gears going to cost....?
 
shawn said:
What's a Waggy conversion with RCVs and JK gears going to cost....?
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Waggy 44- $250
RCVs - $1300
JK D44 gear set- $200
JK D44 conversion bearing kit- $300
Labor for the above- $400-$500

$2500 is a fair representation IMO

EDIT: Above is just to get it on stands so to speak
 
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Plus TJ bracket kit, plus welding, plus new hubs and ujoint and rotors and brake pads...
 
So, at $3500 turn-key plus new rear shafts, seems like there are a lot more attractive options.
 
Also with a D44, don't forget steering configuration. My advice is to find one already set up for a TJ/XJ/ZJ and save some cost. A D44 is almost as much as a D60 once it's all said and done.
 
+ locker cost
 
drkelly said:
I agree. I have seen sets of ton axles with lockers, gears, high steer, etc for sale on this site for less than that.
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There's a reason I'm putting a D44 in the front of my TJ :D
 
Id be curious how many ppl are breaking d30/hp30 gears? Unless you are wanting the additional width or deeper gearing, the cost to go d44 in one doesnt seem reasonable over doing a 30 spline shaft/RCV upgrade in the 30?

shawn said:
So, at $3500 turn-key plus new rear shafts, seems like there are a lot more attractive options.
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Exactly. Even if you wanted to stay lighter than tons, there are nicer options vs a polished 30 yr old axle.
 
not really fair to compare a d44 w/rcvs to a generic HP 30. If you start comparing apples to apples a d44 really is not much more than rebuilding a broken lp30 and adding hubs. d60 parts are insanely expensive and the innitial purchase price is hard to swallow, then you still have to do steering, gearing, lockers, drive flanges, change rear to match (and all d60 parts are forged in gold) so a 60 will be at least $1-2k more than a d44 all said and done.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Also with a D44, don't forget steering configuration. My advice is to find one already set up for a TJ/XJ/ZJ and save some cost. A D44 is almost as much as a D60 once it's all said and done.
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I have been running wagoneer factory steering on mine for the last 6 years.
 
Jakemd98 said:
not really fair to compare a d44 w/rcvs to a generic HP 30. If you start comparing apples to apples a d44 really is not much more than rebuilding a broken lp30 and adding hubs. d60 parts are insanely expensive and the innitial purchase price is hard to swallow, then you still have to do steering, gearing, lockers, drive flanges, change rear to match (and all d60 parts are forged in gold) so a 60 will be at least $1-2k more than a d44 all said and done.
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No, it's more a question of following the problem out to its logical conclusion. The D44 has pretty much the same shaft options as the D30, so it's not bringing anything to the table there (and it doesn't sound like the OP is breaking D30 shafts on the reg anyway). You could throw some cheapie alloys in the D30 and run it. But you could do the same with the D44. To get a real strength upgrade, you've got to go RCV. But now the R&P and the housing are the weak points. The D44 R&P is a bit stronger, but the JK44 R&P is a whole lot stronger. So now you're into a JK gear conversion and RCVs in a Waggy axle and sleeving it and trussing it, when you could just go buy a JK Rubicon front and run it. It damn-near bolts up, and matching F/R pairs can be had for $3500 or less, with lockers included.
 
Jakemd98 said:
I have been running wagoneer factory steering on mine for the last 6 years.
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Agree, that's why I said configuration. Keeping it stockish is pretty much free, but people like shiny things like flattop knuckles and steering arms and 1 ton steering and hydro assist and and and...haha.
 
shawn said:
No, it's more a question of following the problem out to its logical conclusion. The D44 has pretty much the same shaft options as the D30, so it's not bringing anything to the table there (and it doesn't sound like the OP is breaking D30 shafts on the reg anyway). You could throw some cheapie alloys in the D30 and run it. But you could do the same with the D44. To get a real strength upgrade, you've got to go RCV. But now the R&P and the housing are the weak points. The D44 R&P is a bit stronger, but the JK44 R&P is a whole lot stronger. So now you're into a JK gear conversion and RCVs in a Waggy axle and sleeving it and trussing it, when you could just go buy a JK Rubicon front and run it. It damn-near bolts up, and matching F/R pairs can be had for $3500 or less, with lockers included.
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Exactly my point. HP30 vs LP/HP44, the gears and knuckles are the difference, IMO. So unless you are having issues with that, I dont see the need for upgrading.

Jakemd98 said:
not really fair to compare a d44 w/rcvs to a generic HP 30. If you start comparing apples to apples a d44 really is not much more than rebuilding a broken lp30 and adding hubs. d60 parts are insanely expensive and the innitial purchase price is hard to swallow, then you still have to do steering, gearing, lockers, drive flanges, change rear to match (and all d60 parts are forged in gold) so a 60 will be at least $1-2k more than a d44 all said and done.
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It all depends on what you run across or want. The initial price of a 60 is more, but you can pickup balljoint/SD HP60s fairly cheap still. If you didnt want the width you could narrow it. Bracket costs are a wash. Gearing/locker costs are a wash. You wont need to beef the housing near like you would a d30/44. Likely dont need RCVs so you save a bit on shafts. You need to match the pattern with a 44 anyway, so youll spend a little more with a 60 doing that. Steering is basically a wash.

I would bet that if you were smart with your money the 60 would cost the same or less. Were not talking junkyard everything, doing it all yourself with nothing new. This is apples to apples having to get new parts, other than the axle itself.

Now, theres more weight, and less clearance around the diff, but you have added significant beef with room to upgrade from there. A JK geared, RCV'd 44 is as good as youre going to get with that axle.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Exactly my point. HP30 vs LP/HP44, the gears and knuckles are the difference, IMO. So unless you are having issues with that, I dont see the need for upgrading.



It all depends on what you run across or want. The initial price of a 60 is more, but you can pickup balljoint/SD HP60s fairly cheap still. If you didnt want the width you could narrow it. Bracket costs are a wash. Gearing/locker costs are a wash. You wont need to beef the housing near like you would a d30/44. Likely dont need RCVs so you save a bit on shafts. You need to match the pattern with a 44 anyway, so youll spend a little more with a 60 doing that. Steering is basically a wash.

I would bet that if you were smart with your money the 60 would cost the same or less. Were not talking junkyard everything, doing it all yourself with nothing new. This is apples to apples having to get new parts, other than the axle itself.

Now, theres more weight, and less clearance around the diff, but you have added significant beef with room to upgrade from there. A JK geared, RCV'd 44 is as good as youre going to get with that axle.
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In my opinion, the hot setup would be a late 70's D44HD with 1/2" tubes, JK gears, locker, shafts, hi-steer, hydro assist, full width, 8 lug. Or a JK housing with trusses and gussets. Desired width and lug pattern would be the driver for that decision, as both are going to be pretty similar. I personally like 8 lugs and 65"+ width, no particular reason other than I think it looks good.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
Exactly my point. HP30 vs LP/HP44, the gears and knuckles are the difference, IMO. So unless you are having issues with that, I dont see the need for upgrading.



It all depends on what you run across or want. The initial price of a 60 is more, but you can pickup balljoint/SD HP60s fairly cheap still. If you didnt want the width you could narrow it. Bracket costs are a wash. Gearing/locker costs are a wash. You wont need to beef the housing near like you would a d30/44. Likely dont need RCVs so you save a bit on shafts. You need to match the pattern with a 44 anyway, so youll spend a little more with a 60 doing that. Steering is basically a wash.

I would bet that if you were smart with your money the 60 would cost the same or less. Were not talking junkyard everything, doing it all yourself with nothing new. This is apples to apples having to get new parts, other than the axle itself.

Now, theres more weight, and less clearance around the diff, but you have added significant beef with room to upgrade from there. A JK geared, RCV'd 44 is as good as youre going to get with that axle.
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I agree with you on that. if the d30 is still in one piece run it until it blows. I personally destroyed my d30 r&p on 33's and was not ready to jump to 40s. a d44 swap was really only a little more, gave me selectable hubs and a overall stronger set-up that i could reasonably thrash on with less worries. THat all being said... i do have d60 envy...
 
jeepinmatt said:
In my opinion, the hot setup would be a late 70's D44HD with 1/2" tubes, JK gears, locker, shafts, hi-steer, hydro assist, full width, 8 lug
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So you get the weight of a D60, the knuckle strength of a D44, shaft upgrade costs, etc, etc.

Why not just buy a Superduty D60 for fitty bucks and run it?
 
shawn said:
So you get the weight of a D60, the knuckle strength of a D44, shaft upgrade costs, etc, etc.

Why not just buy a Superduty D60 for fitty bucks and run it?
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Because its still lighter than a 60 by probably 150lbs (probably 250lbs lighter than a SD 60), and has more ground clearance, and the hubs don't stick out as far. (I made that last one up because I like to have 3 reasons for things)
 
shawn said:
No, it's more a question of following the problem out to its logical conclusion. The D44 has pretty much the same shaft options as the D30, so it's not bringing anything to the table there (and it doesn't sound like the OP is breaking D30 shafts on the reg anyway). You could throw some cheapie alloys in the D30 and run it. But you could do the same with the D44. To get a real strength upgrade, you've got to go RCV. But now the R&P and the housing are the weak points. The D44 R&P is a bit stronger, but the JK44 R&P is a whole lot stronger. So now you're into a JK gear conversion and RCVs in a Waggy axle and sleeving it and trussing it, when you could just go buy a JK Rubicon front and run it. It damn-near bolts up, and matching F/R pairs can be had for $3500 or less, with lockers included.
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Factory Jk 44 housings are weak too. So you'd have to figure in a truss and inner c gussets. Unless you go with an aftermarket housing, then you're going to just be getting started at 3500 bucks.
 
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