Johnnyxj76

Ive searched and searched the threads and cant find anything. I have an '87 xj and im looking to do some axel swaps. I want to put a Dana 44 in the front end but im not sure what im looking for. Is there a make out there that will virtually "Bolt up", or something that I wont have to mod to much?
Or if there is a thread on this already can anyone post a link to it?
Thanks Guys!!!

Atmos

only 'bolt on' swap is from a rubicon wrangler. here's a thread with some good stuff in it
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/go...4/#post1788762

Johnnyxj76

Thanks, that thread helped a bit. A lot of confusion in there though lol. I picked up a ford 8.8 from a 93 explorer. I was looking at a waggy 44 for the front but everyone tells me it is way to wide, but i have seen quite a bit mentioned on here about the waggy 44 and nothing about it being to wide.

Jeepineasy

The problem I see with the 8.8 waggy combo is the waggy is wider that stock(not by much) and the 8.8 is narrower that stock. So It might look funky

Johnnyxj76

So maybe some spacers for the 8.8 to even it out?

99 Purple XJ

The 8.8 is just a hair smaller you wont even notice the difference and beside the wrangler 44 is just a 44 housing with dana 30 u joints axle tubes and outer Cs not worth the upgrade look for a mid 1970s ford dana 44 much stronger and its a real dana 44

nickxj94

If going 44s why not go all out and go 60 front and 14 rear and be done lol,If your going waggly get both front and rear that way you have the same 6 lug bolt pattern and there only maybe 4 inches wider than stock,

Atmos

...

Johnnyxj76

I would like to go 60's and a 9 inch but to much money fo us po folks. I already have the 8.8 too. If the waggy 44 wont work with the 8.8, would the mid 70's ford d44 match up best? Out of a bronco or f150 im guessing?
Thanks again for the help fellas

nickxj94

The d30 is a stout axle if you throw some chrome moly axles in it, but all depends on how your going to wheel it. If your hard core I would just do the waggy front and rear swap sell that 8.8 to fund the d44s

Johnnyxj76

I hear what you are saying. I think i may look into that. Thanks for the help guys!

Johnnyxj76

Dont most of the waggy 44 rear axles have the pass side off set?

93XJLI

*chromoly.

And a wider front axle will give you a tighter turning radius and better handling on the road. My front axle is ~3" wider than my rear.

N20jeep

TJ RUBICON 44 is the only 100% direct bolt on. And with some stronger shafts and a truss/gusset kit it will be plenty strong. BUT, these axles can be pretty pricey and are hard to find.

But other popular non-bolt on options are a waggy 44. Which is 6 lug. BUT, You can convert it to a 5x5.5 bolt pattern and then just get some adapters to convert the 8.8 to that bolt pattern and that will get the widths pretty close to the front 44.

Also the ford 44's from the 70's are a great option, and many had the 5x5.5 bolt pattern or 8 lug which can be converted to 5x5.5 also.
You can find them with weld on wedges which means you can cut the wedges off and weld up factory placed control arm mounts to make it bolt in.
And then there is the cast wedge 44, which is very strong but forces you to run the ford radius arms. But the arms are easy to modify to work very well offroad. And makes it a very easy axle to swap in imo.

Gorillaxj

the waggy front axle is 61.5" WMS-WMS
the stock XJ is 60.5" WMS-WMS (IIRC)
thats only a 1 inch difference.

the Rear XJ axle is 59.5"(D35,8.25,D44) WMS-WMS
the waggy rear is 58.5" WMS -WMS (1 inch narrower then stock width)
the F8.8 is 58.25" WMS-WMS (1.25" narrower then stock width)

the rear being more narrow will cause the vehicle to track tighter on turns, and cause better turning radius. most axle setups have 1-2" difference front to rear width for this reason. On the wagoneer they did 3" to give the large SUV a feel of a smaller vehicle while driving it and parking it as it could turn more responsive and sharper then most counter parts.

But you will most likely end up with a pretty even match after you put wheel adapters on to make them both 6x5.5 lug pattern. adding 1" the each side of the 8.8 making it 60.25" wide. so a 1 inch difference.

the difference is not much, or even very noticeable. I run the waggy D44's F+R. lots of info on the swap in my build thread (in my sig) pic to show the width isn't very noticeable.