D44 swap

[country_boy454]

I recently purchased an older Wagoneer with D44's front and rear. I purchased it for the D44's to swap under my 97 Grand Cherokee. The Wagoneer has no motor/trans and has major front end damage. Paid $200 for it. What all do I need to do to the D44's so I can put them under my ZJ. They have leaf springs. Can I just cut those off and weld up brackets for my current springs? This is my first build up and don't know much about the whole swap. What all do I need for them to bolt into my ZJ? Any help would be appreciated!


I just realized too that the wheels are 6 lug and not 5. Are these D44's or was I misinformed?

[Zj95Maxx]

You need the brackets to hook it up, look online for them..they run for around 200-250

[5.9dreamer]

They are dana 44, just different lug pattern and width. Sounds like a sweet project! Good luck! [smilie=bal_cool.gif]

[OUTCAST]

Originally Posted by 5.9dreamer

They are dana 44, just different lug pattern and width. Sounds like a sweet project! Good luck! [smilie=bal_cool.gif]

The rear could also be an AMC 20, you you'd have to be pretty slow not to realize it. The 20 has a large Hemi-spherical cover. The FSJ 20 is not a bad thing its has upgrades that make it much better than the 20 used in cj's. It is comparable in stregnth to the d44, but with a larger ring gear. The front is definitely a d44 though, that's the only front axle ever offered in the waggys.

Stupid question, is your front pumpkin on the correct side for your swap? the waggy's came both ways. [smilie=bal_ask.gif]

The spring pads will grind right off, just be care full not to grind into the axel tubes too much. As for attaching them to your zj it cant be that hard, but i wouldnt know, i like leaf springs.
good luck.

[naturalbornmudder]

Outcast brings up a good point. The front 44 could be either drivers side or passenger side drop. They did come both ways. Your GC came with a drivers side drop Dana 30 so if the Waggy did not have drivers side drop, the swap will be a lot more extensive. You would have to go with a flipped Dana 300(or other T case but I would go with the 300) transfer case, re route the exhaust, shorten one driveshaft and lengthen the other, modify the crossmember mount, etc.
If you have a drivers side drop, then what I recommend is putting your GC on jackstands, unhooking all lines,take note of pinions angles and pre pics before you go cutting, plaz off the bracketry off your stock axles with all of the control arms, sway bars, and track bars connected. Clean all of the stock bracketry off of your Waggy axles, when roll em under there and start tacking them in. Dont do full welds yet. Align the axles, tack them in just barely, re check your alignment and pinion angle, then re check them all again before you weld.
I did this with my D44a last spring and it took about 2 days to get the rear axle in perfect.

Another point to bring up before you even get started is, what gears did the Waggy have? Do you plan on running whatever was in there? I wouldnt. Some of those Waggys were geared pretty high. If you want to re gear and or add a traction device like a locker, it gets a little more spendy. Hypothetically, let's say that you want to re-gear both axles and add a locker to the rear axle:
Front axle
$120 for 4.88 gears
$90 for master install kit
$110 for new carrier because IIRC, the carrier break in a front 44 is 3.54
do you install your own gears? If not, this is not cheap. Our local gear gurus charge $600 an axle. I know a guy who will do it for $400.

rear axle
$120 for 4.88 gears
$90 for MIK
$110 for new carrier
minimum of $250 for a lunchbox style locker, the cheapest on the market, or you can negate that by buying a full carrier locker and eliminate the cost of the stock low gear carrier, but full carrier lockers start out at a minimum of $450

Now, I am not trying to talk you out of doing it or make it sound negative because I have seen full width GC's and they look awesome and perform very well, but I just want to save you the pain I learned. I ended up paying about $650 just in parts for my 44a

[OUTCAST]

Originally Posted by naturalbornmudder

Your GC came with a drivers side drop Dana 30 so if the Waggy did not have drivers side drop, the swap will be a lot more extensive. You would have to go with a flipped Dana 300(or other T case but I would go with the 300) transfer case, re route the exhaust, shorten one driveshaft and lengthen the other, modify the crossmember mount, etc.

D300's are normally passenger side drop, they only need to be flipped for drives side drop applications. If his new front is a pass-side drop he would need to conver to a un-flipped d300 or a custom atlas. If the new 44 is driver side drop he can use the original t-case in the grand.
Otherwise you are absolutley spot on with the advice. The Waggys can have anywhere from a 2.72 (yes Two Seventy Two :!: ) down to 3.54's depending on year. If it doesnt have a amc 20 rear, you are probably more likley in the 3.07 to 3.73 range, since the really dismal gear ratios didnt come around untill the late 70's when gas was tight.

ITs alot of work to swap in axles like this, but definitely a nice upgrade. I'm slowly convincing myself that my cj needs a d60/14b combo. :mrgreen:

here's some waggy info from http://www.universityofjeep.ca/wag_f...4_install.html

Years to look for Waggy front 44's:
>
> 75-79 are passenger side pumpkin, disk brake 62.5" WMS to WMS. These
> years have the factory flat toppped knuckles Common ratios
> (2.72,3.08,3.54)
> 80-91 are driver side pumpkin, disk brake 62.5" WMS to WMS. Common
> ratios (2.72,3.08,3.54)
>
> These axles are all stock 6 bolt and considered half ton.
> Note: Some 80 and newer, (up till 83-84) had a vacuum disconnect for
> the two piece long side shaft. -STAY CLEAR OF THESE...you will notice
> the vacuum line going to the top of the pumpkin.
>

[naturalbornmudder]

good catch outcast, that is what I meant to say. I have D300 flip on the brain cause I dont wanna lose my DSD Dana 30.

[country_boy454]

The waggy is a '90 and it has driverside drop. Got lucky on that one. The rear is a d44 not the amc 20. It has 3.73 gears and i will not be using those gears. Was considering the 4.10 - 4.88 range for gears. Thinking about a detroit locker for the rear but haven't set my mind on it yet. Working on this a little bit at a time. Kind of a budget thing! Appreciate the help!

Now I need to get my ZJ running properly again!