bronco 44 & 9in
 

For 300 bucks? good/bad? I'd like to find a Jeep D44 rear, but yeah.. havent had much luck with that.
I think i can probably get the D44 off him for 100-150, but he said around 300 for both. What do you think?

What year that will make a big difference?

Its off a '79

and another thought, if i end up just buying the D44 front off him (im not sure of the lugs right now) but will i have a problem, if it ends up being 6 lug, matching that to a jeep d44 rear?

I just realized i posted this in the 'jeep builds' section, sorry, admin can move to tech.
thanks.

300 is a good score for those axles.
it is a high pinion 44 that have basically flat top knuckles that can be machined and tapped for high steer arms.
the only downfall is the cast in wedges. not a big deal, but will prolly be stuck using the ford radius arms. custom arms will work fine with a new cross member and will flex like long arms.
the rear is mega strong and a bit lighter than a d60.

the bolt pattern is 5 on 5.5

i have a set of these axles in my garage i'm gonna put in my xj.

IIRC the bronco's ran a 5x5.5 bolt pattern in '79 and had cast on wedges for the radius arms and chances are they have 3.50 gears

they are worth $300 to me.....get on pirate 4x4 and check our xjcrawler's build and talk to him about using those axles

I understood about 90% of that, i have lots of buddies that could take care of the fabing for me though. How much work is involved to just get these under the xj and working, without doing the 'flat top knuckles' and all that stuff, or would i have.. to have all that stuff you talked about done in order for the front d44 to work?

Is is a streetable Jeep or plan on keeping it on the road to drive it to the trails? Or are you just gonna dedicate it to a trail rig and tow it?

reason I ask is....check your DOT laws about fender issues...some states (and it can even differ from county to county) have laws about the tires sticking out from under the fender or the fender not covering the tire completely. You're planning on swapping full width axles from an FSB into a Cherokee...the tires are gonna stick way out.

Unless you can get your buds to shorten the axle tubes to a stock Cherokee width:dunno:

The later Bronco's (TTB front end...non solid axle) have the 8.8 rearend and so due Explorers. Some Explorers came with 4.10's and disc brake rearends and are a bolt in swap to an XJ....also have the same bolt pattern as the Cherokee ( 5 on 4.5)

Just some thoughts.....

It's going to be my full DD, but i dont want to spend money on axles and have to break down the road, i'd rather save/wait and find a badass setup to begin with, better in my mind. how much longer are these axles than my stock ones? and how much work is envolved in shortening them? that means i have to get new axle shafts, the inner part that goes out to the wheel thats inside the metal tube of the axle?

IIRC you've got to basically strip down the axle to just the tubes and cut a few inches out on both sides..then weld the outers back on with like a 220 volt welder to insure you get enough penetration to make it hold and then put the outers back on and weld back on the leaf spring tabs and shock mounts.

you could get away with finding the same axles ( D44 and 9") from an early Bronco (66-77). That would be closer to the same width, same strength, etc. But finding them might be more pricey....as anything with "Early Bronco" on it is like gold these days.

My money...find the 8.8 I was telling you about and spend less time fabbing and more time wheeling as it is a bolt-in swap..Look for the disc brake one (might have to pay a little more up front) cause disc beats drum anyday!!

Hope I've helped and not been a wet blanket on your plans

8.8 isnt exacty a bolt in swap. you have to weld new spring perches on, and shoock mounts. Definatley a good choice though and can be picked up in the 150-200 range. they also have 31 spline axles and the axle thickness is the same as a d60. They only thing that makes them weaker than the d60 is the carrier. Swap in a full locker and you have a very, very stong diff that is comparible to a d60 but a whole lot cheaper and easier

8.8 is 31 spline or 9"?

Not an exact bolt in yes, but a helluva lot closer than the 9" same bolt pattern better brakes, very similar strength to 9", less work ( worth it right there if you ask me:)

You can get a 9" with the same bolt pattern as your Jeep just has to come out of a car or Ranchero. Not quite as strong as a truck 9" but real close and uses same parts except axle shafts and can be upgraded to massive 40 spline. BTW the Bronco and F150 Dana 44 knuckles can't be machined safely to use high steer arms but the F250 Dana 44 knuckles can.

the 8.8 from the explorer is 31 spline

whats the advantage of high steer arms, and how much longer is the 79 axles compared to my 88 stock xj?