Dana 44 swap zj

[JeEpGrAnD]

Ok so i bought a dana 44 that is originally out of a xj an i'm going to swap it into a 98 zj....i'm just wondering if anyone on here has done this swap before and can lead me in the right direction i'm going to buy new cromoly shafts a spartan locker and 4.88 gears...Iand i want to try and save some money so i also wanted to know if someone that has done the set up before would give me a hand (there will be beer ) let me know thanks.

[FiEND]

while you wait you may read this.....

[SwampSinger]

That's a big job man...

Why does people come here and expect free stuff...Is this the CFSJA?   Who are you?  




If I understood right... You're going from an axle that had leaf springs to one that will have coils and arms....


Just to give you an idea ... gearing an axle is a minimum of 8 hrs labor per axle in a shop. That's what National use to change more or less. I'll let you do the math.






You definitely didn't do your homework >.....


This is NOT a beer job.

[JackstandJohnny]

heres a place to start.  http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-ZF88BK&Category_Code=ZDT

other bracket options will be to cut everyting off your old axle and reuse those, or just order this kit.  i'd email IRO and ask for directions.  its a lengthy process.  (i'm assuming you know its not a bolt in replacement)

for your locker/gears setup,  just pay someone who knows how to do it,  as stated, its not a 'beer' job. its quite an intricate and complex job for a firstimer; 

when/if you have questions along the way in your buildup, there will be many people willing to answer your specific questions, but as stated this is not an 'afternoon' kind of job.   and frankly, you should probably save the beer until your done otherwise nothing will get done!

[cLAY]

Do NOT reuse the old backets. If you are wheeling the unit hard enough to justify an axle swap then the stock brackets aren't beefy enough.

Do some searching on these two site to further educate yourself.

www.nagca.org

www.mallcrawlin.com

[JeEpGrAnD]

Ok so i'm not an idiot to start i realize that this isnt going to be a direct swap and that it will take some time to do the gears but what i meant is that i would pay someone with beer and money (i'm not a total cheap arse) secondly i'm going to be buying the parts that i need all in one shot brackets...gears etc i was just hoping that someone could give me a hand more or less i am a machinist so i understand everything with the gears i just have never done it myself....what ever happened to people wanting to help out there fellow jeepers. Thnaks to the other comments though i have talked to iron rock and the 8.8 bracket kit they offer will work for the dana 44 swap i just wanted to see if anyone had done it and what problems they had thats all...

[JeEpGrAnD]

oh and by the way they quote 6 hours on a gear setup not 8 maybe you should do your homework....

[FiEND]

nowhere in this does it say you are a mechanic.  nowhere does it say you are willing to pay with ca$h.  your post makes you sound like a complete noob looking for freebies.  we get em almost every day here.  we were nice to you given your post.

Ok so i bought a dana 44 that is originally out of a xj an i'm going to swap it into a 98 zj....i'm just wondering if anyone on here has done this swap before and can lead me in the right direction i'm going to buy new cromoly shafts a spartan locker and 4.88 gears...Iand i want to try and save some money so i also wanted to know if someone that has done the set up before would give me a hand (there will be beer ) let me know thanks.

[Rubi03 jef]

the only time people will come and join you for a beer is if you are bolting on a new bumper and you need a hand to lift it in place  or maybe a roof rack

easy jobs for an easy beer ..

as for your swap . do lots of reading .. watch youtube vids of gear set ups  get used to tearing apart your set up because u will do it over a dozzen times befor you get it right

i did my gears and on my own and my rear diff was a headach .. lots of put together check pull apart remeasure re shim put back together . oh now its to tight re do all teh previous steps

after doing my rear diff i had it down good fron diff took 4 hours and its dead on       as for suspension and your new brackets do you have a welder . cuz that will be your biggest tool for that job . best thing would be pull out your stock diff put the new 44 in front of it and weld your brackets exactly where the other ones are make it look the same and it should be good ..
are you swapping the breaks out as well or does the new 44 have full set up   things to consider     and if you can do your gears when the diff isnt under the truck ull make your life way easier     dont forget you got to regear your front as well .

lots more into it then you think ..

[Possum]

I did this exact swap ( XJ D44 -> 98 ZJ ).  Found a stripped down ZJ D44 with the aluminum housing.  Had National swap the brackets from the ZJ D44 to the XJ D44.  They did a decent job, but a machinist may have wanted it more perfect.

Didn't want to down grade to drum brakes so I bought a disk conversion kit from terraflex.  There is likely a way to swap in the stock ZJ D44 disks, but I was looking for easy bolt-on.

Here are the issues I ran into:
- the terraflex kit requires that you install a ring spacer between the outer axle shaft bearing and the plate.  It's difficult to get in place without using some silicone to hold it.
- the XJ D44 doesn't have an ABS tone ring.  There may be a way to press on a new tone ring and fabricate a way to mount the ABS sensor, but I gave up on that and am looking to disable the rear ABS.
- the axle leaked out of the one side.  I was told that the old XJ shaft was pitted and gear oil was seaping out.  I ended up buying new superior axle shafts. 

Lost track of how much money I spent, but it's roughly$2000 - $2500 including the gear swap. 

If you're doing the fab and gear work yourself you could probably do it for $500 or so.  Lots of labour though.

Hope that helps

[AV.NINE]

I wish someone would finish my diffs for beer....

[WhiteOut]

Why not just get a 44a out of a ZJ and swap it it?

[Possum]

Most guys won't touch them cause of the aluminum pumpkin.  You'd probably be better off with the D35 if you plan on doing any wheeling.

[cLAY]

Aftermarket support for the D44a is pretty dismal. I think there is only one, maybe two lockers available for it.

[CatSplat]

Most guys won't touch them cause of the aluminum pumpkin.  You'd probably be better off with the D35 if you plan on doing any wheeling.

There's no way the D35 is better than the 44A for wheeling. The 44A internals are a hybrid of D44 and D60 designs (and identical to those used in the Dodge Viper), and while the Al center section isn't ideal, a simple $150 bottom truss eliminates any section flex and section damage. I agree that locker selection is limited to lunchbox units, but for the price and ease of install the D44A is a logical upgrade for people with ZJs "blessed" with the D35.