jeepster96

hello im looking to do a front d44 swap on my xj what would be the easiest swap iv heard wagoneer but im not sure what year and they seem kind of hard to come by any other ideas and what year waggy?

jaqattack02

Apparently it's not an easy swap.

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

dellstopjeep

None of these swaps are to difficult if you have a good welder and good fab skills.

THe easiest swap out there is shipped to your door ready to bolt in D44 for 5 grand.
The waggy swap requires adding brackets, cutting off old mounts, possibly upgrading gears, lockers and hubs. And then deciding on what to do for steering. Stock waggy steering will work tho just ream out pitman arm. Problem is this axle is low pinion so why spend the money on it???
Best way to go is a late seventies ford hp 44. All steps from before apply except then you need to decide if you want to go full width or narrow and rotate inner c's to except waggy shafts. But its a true 44!
Sorry a lot of info here hope it helps.

jeepster96

Thanks for the info. yeah i dont have the cash to buy a dana 44 already set up prob get one from a junk yard. I was going to go with the re 5.5 long arm kit do you think i should make this work with the dana 44 or should i go another route any info will help thanks

dellstopjeep

any standard long arm kit for a cherokee will work with the 44 if using a re or rustys bracket kit.

jd4x426

if your gonna do it make sure its done right get a high pinion itrs a little more work as getting it to fit but worth it in the long run this will take alot of fabrication especially if you are planning on narrowing the axle i would recomend checking out pirate there are tons of threads over there discussing these swaps and those guys have swapped in almost every axle imaginable

jeepster96

Thanks for the info i went to the junkyard yesterday to look for a d44 rear end out of a 87-90 cherokee with tow pkg and a font d44 out of a late 70s ford but i couldnt find any, the cherokees seem purty rare i did find a 89 4door wagoneer, now is that rearend the same as what comes in the 87-90 cherokee and would it work fairly easily. I was thinking about taking the front and rear axles off they only want 400 for both this way the gears would already match along with the lug pattern. Im going to clean them up mount them and leave them stock while i save up for some new gears lockers and what ever else. I have the welding and fab skills so what else would i need beside a re bracket kit to make this work. thanks alot for the help i realy appreciate it im kind of new at this.

nojreyd

Probably cheaper to run a super-30 alloy kit on your Dana 30. 30-spline chromoly axles are supposed to be good for up to 35" tires with a locker no problem. I guess if you are going bigger than that (39's or something) than you would want a bigger axle, but for the hassle upgrading your D30 with better axles, u-joints, and a truss might be a better bet...

COSXJFAN

FYI, the track width is different on the XJ D44, and a Waggy D44 by a couple of inches. You should find a good donor vehicle, such as the Fords you mentioned, and take both of the axles from it. That way you have the same width and the same lug pattern. Ford put the 9 inch in those trucks, and they are super easy to modify, because there is no cast iron on them to worry about having to weld. They are VERY strong, and heavily supported in the AM. HTH!!

jeepster96

thanks. so tjere is no way it will work? Exactly what ford trucks and what would need to be done.

OnlyInMyXJ22

Late 70's Bronco's and F-150's.

Where are you located? I might have access to a 44/9" out of a '79 Bronco with steel wheels and some worn 33's. Only worth it if your close though probably.

dellstopjeep

your asking simple questions that mean you just need to search.
go to www.naxja.org. THere is a sticky there in the mod tech forum on building dana 44's for cherokees. look it up

jeepster96

santa paula (ventura county) ca

nick_n_ii

Why may I ask are you looking to put a D44 front axle in your XJ?

You'd be farther ahead with less cost to do a HP D30 with alloys in the front and a ford 8.8 in the rear.. And that package won't hurt your pocket book very much..

jeepster96

yeah im pretty far away i wish i could those and thanks for the offer. i think im gona go with the waggy its not that much narrower and i can get some offset wheels to. thanks