skeptical about a used rear.

[Mbxmitch]

So I found a Dana 44 on craigslist I want for my truck but I am kind of hesitant to get it as it it is not in a truck so I don't know it's conditon
Basically it's from a 79 it has 4.88s and an arb air locker the guy says I cam open it and see the gears and also he will hook the locker up and prove it works

He wants 1000 bucks .. would you do it ???

 

[SenorNoob]

IDK anything about the price of those, but that seems awfully high to me.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Well to buy an ARB air locker you are looking at around $800 for the locker alone...

 

[cdawall]

I wouldn't buy a D44, but that's just me.

 

[Mbxmitch]

I looked up the locker it's about 1000 minus the pump makes it 800 gears say 200 instal kit 100 axles ?? Install gears 500 seems like the way to go , I'll be picking it up tmrw and droppin the truck off at the gear shop for the rear .

Seems Dana 44 is the way to go , I've never in my life heard of someone doing mild off roading such as what I do actually hurting the rear.
Anything more would be a huge waist of money .

Now my rear is the weakest point on my truck , hopefully one day I can change it over to a dana 60 but I'm not worried about it right now

 

[cdawall]

A 31 spline 8.8" isn't exactly a weak axle compared to a d44 more of a side grade than an upgrade.

 

[kryptonitecb]

I wouldn't but that's me, my wallet isn't that deep.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

 

[4x4junkie]

A 31 spline 8.8" isn't exactly a weak axle compared to a d44 more of a side grade than an upgrade.

It's way stronger than a D44. However a '79 (assuming this was a fullsize Ford) should've had a 9" in the rear.

 

[cdawall]

It's way stronger than a D44. However a '79 (assuming this was a fullsize Ford) should've had a 9" in the rear.

I wouldn't say way stronger...no cclips in the d44 possibility of an 8.9" ring gear 35 spline shafts etc.

 

[Mbxmitch]

So i bought the dana he showed the locker was good the gears looked great and over all in good shape I got it for 900 which I think is high but whatever . The local shop told me I shpuldnt built my 8.8 I should go get a 9 inch .

I can get a 31 spline 9 inch for 200 bucks should I grab it ? Whitch is stronger ?

 

[cdawall]

Just run the d44 with the locker. If your nervous about strength look into swapping for a jk d44 gear set and there is a company that can rebuild the arb for 35 spline shafts.

Considering you are only running radial 37's mostly on the street I wouldnt worry much.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I'm partial to the 9" they are easy to work on. You can rebuild one in like 45 minutes. They have the largest aftermarket following of any diff and can come in any width with ever type of axles you can think of. Also you can regear them cheap.

 

[Mbxmitch]

Having a hard time finding 4.88 gears .

My tires are almost 100 lbs a pop. And I they aren't radials

 

[cdawall]

Military BFG Baja T/A's 37's are radials. The only 16.5" military bias plys are 36x12.50's and most of those are gone.

As for the 8.9" ring gear for a d44...here. Make sure to look on pirate for the how to on installing 8.9" jk ring gears in a normal housing.

 

[4x4junkie]

I wouldn't say way stronger...no cclips in the d44 possibility of an 8.9" ring gear 35 spline shafts etc.

Was talking about stock-for-stock. Most of the 8.8" (and 9", for that matter) stock parts are much larger than those of a D44. And c-clips don't have any bearing on axle strength, they just affect what happens after a shaft breaks.

The local shop told me I shpuldnt built my 8.8 I should go get a 9 inch .

I can get a 31 spline 9 inch for 200 bucks should I grab it ? Whitch is stronger ?

What is the D44 for? (your thread title says rear )
If the D44 is for your front, then $900 isn't too out of line with it having an ARB and it being geared, and it's in good shape (better still if it's got alloy shafts).

The 8.8" and 9" are overall very similar in strength (again, speaking of OEM units). The 9" does have better aftermarket support though (things like aftermarket housings, 35-spline conversions, etc.). The 8.8" has less internal friction (better for someone not running a V8 engine) because it doesn't have near as much pinion offset (which steals driveshaft clearance too).
I'd use the 8.8" myself.