jeep-e

HI Fellow jeepers-

Found the 'proverbial' little old man jeep. Just under 81k. He was hit in the front & they totaled it. His son is parting it out. He wants $500 for the rear axle. d-44 (A??) Its a 97 orvis edition. V-8.

So my question to you is this a good find for the price? It is quite a bit higher than others I have seen. Mostly d-35s w/ alot more miles.

I have a 96 4.0 w/ a d-35. Jeep is great & runs like a top. No other mechanical issues except a loud rear axle. Bad wheel bearings & ring & pinion. They are not toast yet but show their 215,6++ miles. Been noticeable since I rescued her from being sent to the scrapper 30,000+ miles ago. In a perfect world I would like to keeper as a toy/ winter vehicle, so I dont mind investing the $.

Would you buy a whole parts jeep for a few hundred more instead?? (Assuming it has a good rear end)I have some cosmetic knick knacks that I wouldnt mind scoring as well.

Thanks for your input.

Bustedback

The D44A is not really as good as you think, it's stronger than the D35, but has very limited aftermarket support. If you're just looking to replace the worn out D35 and don't do any wheeling, it should work out fine. 500 bucks is a little high, but I would bet that axle would be less of a gamble than pulling one from the wrecking yard, and it's still less than rebuilding the D35. I would offer 300 dollars and see what happens. Just make sure it is the same gear ratio as the front axle though. If you can score the whole Jeep for a decent price, it might be worth having for all of the orvis goodies.

dnuccio

if you can get the whole thing for a decent price, i would go that route. that way you get all the upcountry suspension stuff and whatever else you want (nice interior, engine parts, etc). 500 seems pretty steep for just the axle, are brakes and everything included as well? if so, then it might not be too bad a deal, since at a junkyard, your gonna pay extra for every brake component.

jeep-e

No wheeling for now its my DD. Ive learned from this site that its not a superior axle. I was just thinking like BustedBack said that it might be less of a gamble than a junkyard/ used axle. Gear ratios are the same. (= Not sure of the orvis goodies besides the upcountry. I have a 4.0 laredo. So I wasnt thinking of picking up the whole thing. Still considering it but also feel I could find a whole jeep w/ more parts for not much more. Thanks again.

Metlic53

I have the D35 in mine running 32in super swampers and wheel it very hard and is street driven and it holds up great. Seems too high for a D44A. i got a dana 44 for 300 bucks off a older cherokee. Just gotta weld some stuff up.

dave1123

Just a thought. Didn't I read a post about the driveshaft u-joints being different sizes on the D44 and the D35?

country_boy454

Are you 100% certain your 96 has the 3.73 gears that the V8 orvis has? Most of the 4.0s came with 3.55 gears. Dont want to see you grab the axle thinking they are the same and end up spending more $ just to use that axle, or try and sell it for your money back. You could do a complete interior swap into yours and have the nicer leather seating, infinity sound, etc etc.. Buy it all if its not much more, sell the 318, 44re, and NP249 and you would recoup most of the cost spent on it. After its all gutted, scrap yard the rest and get even more money back!

Bustedback

But if he gets the whole Jeep for a song he'll have the driveshaft to go with the axle.

freegdr

Should be same 1310s i believes the number

dave1123

This is a true thing you have said.

ok93zj

X2 on the axle price being a lil steep. If I were you I would throw a couple more hundred in there and get the whole jeep.

I paid $138 for a d44a from a junk yard. Complete except for the control arms. Should have took them too if I knew I was gonna get a price like that.

country_boy454

The 98 5.9 has the bigger 1330 u-joints on the rear driveshaft as do some of the 318s. Mine came with the same size u-joints as the 5.9s. I went through hell finding this out when my rear driveshaft let loose.

If you have a 1310, you can use an adapter joint, or get a ranger flange adapter that uses a 1310 joint.

jeep-e

Well both my diff tags say 3.73 & it has the tow package. I have not physically counted the gears. Just was under the impression it was offered as an option on some 4.0's.

If he is that steep on the rear axle & wants $600 for the d-30 I didnt even bother to ask him about the whole thing. Its far away & not drivable. So probably more work to mess w/ to recover my cost than I have time for.

Thanks for all the helpful input.

country_boy454

The tags are more than likely correct. It was an option on the 4.0s. I have one with 3.55s and one with 3.73s.

$600 for the d30 and its a low pinion at that, the guy is out of his mind.