kkhernandez21

So I wanna upgrade my axles,right now I have a rear dana 35 and a front dana 30. So I wanted to go to a dana 44' so I was reading online I can find me some at my local junkyard but when I was reading people where saying not all dana 44 are compatable to my jeep (cherokee xj 2000) and looking for them was sometimes tricky. grand cherokees had a week housing, and you can find them in older cherokee models with tow pacakages but how can I tell if they had a tow pacakage . I just wanted some guidance on how to find me a front end and backend dana 44 thanks!

Gee oh Dee

Moved to Chat.

D44s came in 87 XJs with tow packages. Just look under it and see what it has, simple as that. They do not look like a D35.

Depending on where you are located you can sometimes find them on Craigslist.

kkhernandez21

Would that go for the front too? Or would that need some modification?

Gee oh Dee

Chances are if you find a truck with a 44 rear it will also have a vacuum disconnect front axle. Less desirable than a non disconnect for most people.

Good thing is little gearing variations are out there. It was basically all 3.07 for all manual XJ or 3.55 for all auto XJs. So if you find a D44, just look at what it came from, and make sure you know what gears it has. Find a matching gear set and you will be fine.

kkhernandez21

So if I wanted to get looking hubs I would have to find a axle that is non disconnect

Xj88

XJs never came with a D44 front.
The only D44 that you could bolt in to an xj would be a TJ rubicon 44..which are stupid expensive, and harder to find.

The rear dana 44 is getting harder and harder to find. For the price and trouble of finding a rear xj 44 you might as well just buy a 29 spline 8.25. The 44 is marginally stronger, and the 8.25 can be had cheap, and are easy to find.

Gee oh Dee

Locking hubs?

Why would you want that? Most override the disco, myself included. Either way our hubs work great.

McCaffrey

For the hopefuls out there. I had a little software bot that I wrote to search inventories and alert me on 87's. After looking at every junk yard 87 XJ in the area for about 6 months I found a D44 about a 3rd of the time. They're not as rare as I had thought.

My buddy and I were pulling them all for our own XJs and our friends until we got our fill and then just started leaving them or just pointing them out to other people in the yard snooping around XJs. A D44 going to the crusher is the last thing we wanted.

kkhernandez21

Really appreciate the help, and the quick responses thank you!

kkhernandez21

Did u get both front and back? What was the price u got them at? Was it a quick disconnection?

Gee oh Dee

You will have to modify a front d44 to work with your Jeep. No XJ Cherokee came with a D44 front.

kkhernandez21

Sorry one more question when it come to locker and gears what would u suggests for a daily drive and a weekend wheeler, I had in mind 4:56 with lockers but im worried that wont let me go the distance I want and worse mess everything up

Gee oh Dee

Gears depend on your transmission (auto or manual) and the tire size you run.

Lockers are decided by preference and budget.

wiggles

What size tires are you planning

kirknd4spd

You are not going to find a front D44 that will bolt right in, except for the D44 out of a Wrangler Rubicon. I've seen stock D30 front axles hold up fine with lockers and 35's though, the D30 is a decent axle.
The factory rear XJ D44 is hard to find. I haven't found one yet. If you want a bolt in axle, 8.25 would be an upgrade over the D35. Or if you're willing to do a little work, a Ford Explorer 8.8 rear axle is a great upgrade.
For gearing, what engine do you have, what transmission do you have, and what size tires do you want to run?