Project
Front Dana 44 Cut
To 54" with D30 Knuckles. This is the first "narrow track" D44 project I have
seen on the internet or elsewhere for that matter. Every other project I have
seen are either full size or wide track dimensions. The narrow track dimension I
chose caused a few problems with the cast perch and took some modifications to the
perch to make it all work and still retain narrow track dimension or as close as
possible.
| Praise: Top
quality work, perfect fit. |
| Criticism: None. |
| Ease of installation:
Not easy and very time consuming, takes advanced fabricating
skills to be successful. |
There are pros and cons to the way I set up this
Dana 44. I will try to list a few. |
| Pros: |
Cons: |
| 1. |
Ease
of assembly. The D30 outers are easily adaptable to the Dana 44 knuckles
and you already have them. |
1. |
Strength.
D30 outer are not quite as strong as D44 but real close. D44 knuckles
require new steering linkage. |
| 2. |
Replacement
parts. The short side axle is a stock size. |
2. |
Custom
shaft. The long axle is a custom length. |
| 3. |
Didn't
have to outboard my springs. 1" drive shaft offset works fine at
any speed. Still narrow enough to fit thru the tight spots. |
3. |
By
not out boarding my springs, I had to settle for a 1" drive shaft
offset. The wider stance would give more stability but restrict drivability
in some areas. |
If you still have questions about the cast perch modifications after reading
the following information, please email
me
Here we go!!!
What it was:
1976 Wagoneer D44, Flat top knuckles, 6 on 5.5 lug. It was also buried
4" in the dirt on my fathers property he just purchased. Buried treasure
you could say!
Modifications:
Cut 6.25" from long tube. The short tube was untouched.
The knuckle was cut
off with a torch and the tube was shortened with a chop saw. The small
piece in the knuckle took 25,000 pounds to press out.
Welded with my 220 MIG, 4 passes. I used
"Century" brand wire .030, part# 307020, Heat 5005427, Alloy ER7056.
Compared to the factory weld, my welds are probably overkill. The factory weld
was a single pass with very little penetration.
| NEW!!
Here are a complete set of scans of the Ring
and pinion installation manual supplied by Precision Gear. They can be
handy for the do it yourselfer. |
| Page
1 - 364kb |
| Page
2 - 321kb |
| Page
3 - 294kb |
| Page
4 - 302kb |
Here are some pictures of the front drive
shaft clearance and 1" horizontal offset. The 1" offset is spread over
a 31" drive shaft and has caused no adverse affects after much testing and
a few high speed runs. The slight offset allows me to use a stock Wagoneer short
side inner shaft, which will be handy for spare parts purposes. The long inner
shaft is the only custom length shaft.
   
| The original D30 measurement was 53" wheel mount to wheel mount. I
actually didn't use the wheel to wheel distance for sizing, I used it only
for the overall goal. |
| For measuring I used: |
| 1- Ball joint center to ball joint center (top and bottom). |
| 2- Perch center to perch center. |
| 3- Pinion
center to ball joint centers. |
| 4- Pinion center to perch centers. |
| 5- Ball joint centers to spring perch centers. |
All measurements were constantly compared to the old D30 for consistency.
I cut the D44 to 54" wheel mount to wheel mount so that I could utilize
as much of the cast spring perch as possible and stay within 53-54" inches wide.
If I were to use the cast spring perch without modification, the overall length
would have been 56" instead of 54" or I would have had to shorten the
short side tube and inner axle as well as the long side, which I didn't want to do. This
allows me to use a stock Wagoneer short side inner shaft, which will be handy
for spare parts purposes.
Here is a picture of the new D44 dimensions. Use at your own
risk!!
I welded in a piece of 3/8"
plate - 1/2" wide to the side of the cast spring perch to give the spring
full support. The spring is 2" wide. If you don't weld in a 1/2"
support piece, the spring will sit on only 1-1/2" of the cast perch. You
could probably get away with only 1.5" of contact but I chose to do the
perch modification anyway.
The complete u-bolt assembly on
the cast side had to be moved 1" toward the knuckle. I had to grind the cast
perch quite a bit, in a couple of places, to accept the u-bolt's new location.
| You can see in the
pictures below where I ground the perch, welded in the new spring support piece, and
drilled the new spring bolt hole 1" toward the short side knuckle for the spring bolt. You can also see the old u-bolt hole
where the u-bolt passed through the cast housing. The stock narrow track perch
to perch width is 27.5" spring bolt center to spring bolt center. |
  |
| |
| The outer u-bolt was very close to the edge of the cast perch so I
fabricated and welded in a piece of 3/8" plate to help retain the
u-bolt. This also might not be necessary but I wanted to be safe. |
  |
| |
| I installed Warn hardened outer shafts and a 26.75" long side inner shaft.
Very strong! |
 |
| |
| The custom spring plates are made from 3/8" plate. |
 |
| |
| The shock mounts were cut from the old spring plates and welded to the new
spring plates. |
 |
| |
| Had to adjust (lengthen) my custom steering rods a little. Here is the
finished product! |
  |
| |
 |
| Old D30
Surgery !! |
|
Caster
Explained
To
understand caster you need to picture an imaginary line that runs through
the upper ball joint and extends through the lower ball joint. From the side
view, the imaginary line will tilt forward or backward. The tilting of this
imaginary line is defined as caster.
Caster is measured in degrees by using a caster camber gauge. If the
imaginary line described above tilts towards the back of the car, at the
top, then you will have positive caster. If the imaginary line tilts forward
then you would have negative caster.
Positive caster provides the directional stability in your vehicle. Too much
positive caster will make the steering effort difficult. Power steering will
allow you to run more positive caster. Negative caster requires less
steering effort but can cause the car to wander.
| Here is the
first casualty since the D44 install. It held up very well up until the
end. At least I didn't break another u-joint, and believe me I was
trying! |
  |
| Here's the
new hub (Warn Premium). Hopefully It's a little stronger than the
factory hubs. |
 |
| Here's the latest carnage 06/20/03 |
 Tip
of axle stuck in my ARB Broken
axle |
| Here's hopefully the fix |
   |
| CTM's - NEW CHROMOLY AXLE FROM CURRIE ENTERPRISES. |
|
D44 parts so far
: |
|
REIDER RACING: |
| ARB
Air locker - 530.00 |
|
R&P - 4.09-1 Precision 150.00 |
|
Install kit w/bearings - probably not needed. 89.00 |
| Ball
joints - 60.00 |
|
|
NAPA: |
| Ball
joint socket - Part# 278-2030 20.00 |
|
|
4X4 HARDWARE: |
|
Stainless differential cover. 69.00 |
|
|
CURRIE ENTERPRISES: |
|
Inner axle seals - 26.00 |
|
Custom cut Warn Alloy inner axle - long side 26.25" yoke eye to shaft end.
120.00 |
| 2ea
Spicer 297x U-joints - 20.00 |
| 2ea
Warn Alloy outer D30 shafts with 297x u-joint yokes - 198.00 |
| 1ea
2-3/4 x 2" Spring perch - 24.00 |
|
|
TOM WOODS: |
|
Premium front drive shaft with 2" tube and 6" slip yoke. (no more broom
stick!) 250.00 |
|
|
SUMMIT RACING: |
| ARB
Compressor- 169.00 |
|
|
BITS AND PIECES: |
| Old
drive shaft shortened - (for a spare shaft) 80.00 |
|
Spring Plates - 3/8" plate 12.00 |
| Used
Waggie U-bolts - 0.00 |
| New
Nuts and Washers for U-Bolts - 10.00 |
| Old
long shaft to be shortened for spare - 60.00 |
| Updated
02/29/2004 |
COPYRIGHT © CHRIS C. AND CALL ENTERPRISES 1999-2000
THIS
PAGE WAS UPDATED
02/29/2004 This site is about my
Jeep. My goal is to help you to better your Jeep through my experience.
Thanks for visiting.....
Trailhed.com
JEEP PARTS FOR SALE
DISCLAIMER:
Any usage or adaptation of any or all of the information provided here or on
any or all of my web pages is purely at your own risk. You must take into
account your own circumstances and vehicle requirements when attempting to
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I assume no liability or responsibility for any results, damage, or unforeseen
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the aforementioned information. Enjoy
|
