will a D44 be a direct swap to the 8.25? like w/o any, or very little, fab?

 

as long as you get a dana 44 that was built for the XJ...then yes it is a direct swap..you can do it in less then an hour....the thing that took the longest was bleading the brakes and changing the pads (well almost 2 hours for changing the brake pads)

 

do you know what kind of gear ratios came in the d44's? imtrying to find an axle that will be a direct bolt in to the 8.25 and have around 3.73 gears

 

they usually came with 3.55 or 4.10. the one i picked up had 4.10's in it and a Detroit, so i just reused the Detroit locker and went up to 4.56 gears. it was still fairly new if not almost brand new.

 

almost (if not all) XJ D44s had 3.55s

 

would you have to get a different sized driveshaft? how much more does the pinion stick out than a D35 or Chry 8.25?

 

so the d44 wouldnt have 3.73 gears? howw about the 8.25 did they come with 3.73's?

 

the dana 44 stickes out about 2 inches more, i had to get a shorter driveshaft, so i just pulled one off a v8 grand cherokee, it was perfect length

 

it sticks out 2 inches? like the wheelbase is longer?

 

no i mean the pinion is longer....so you will require a shorter driveshaft. it has the same wheel base, same bolt pattern, same mounting location, some everything except it has a longer pinion and is a whole lot stronger then that little sister dana 35

 

The ZJ D44 is a hybrid axle. It has an aluminum center section, and steel tubes. Last time I checked there was very lil aftermarket support for this verion of the d44.

The Xj axle will bolt right in to any xj. Be advised that when you order brake parts you have to specify an XJ d44. they have wider brake drums, and different mastercylinders. They just so happen to be the same as a D35 C clip axle.


YOu can swap crown vic disc brakes with minimum mods, or you can swap ZJ discs on with some machining work.


As far as I know 8.25 with 3.73's would be a rare find.