Waggy D44 help! in a hurry!

[PaleBlue90]

you are reading the exploder/d44 combo correctly. get the specs on the waggy d44 and find out the total width from hub to hub and find a 8.8 of similar width. i dont know the waggy specs off hand but there are enough choices of 8.8 widths you should get close enough in width. if you have the time find a matching gear ratio in the 8.8 (if it is acceptable for your uses) to save on re-gearing. if you or one of the people helping you have never done gears it is best off sent to a proffesional. i would reccomend rebuilding the d44 and your rearend of choice before install to help minimize the down time of your truck. when i say rebuild i am including brakes, fluids, calipers, hubs etc. you will be best off building the front or the back of the truck completely before you start on the other end. this allows you to build the lift height to match and helps prevent the saggy or nose down stance.

86

couldnt have said that better

 

[LittleBigFoot]

Thanks 86Ford. That's what I had in mind. I'm not goin at this a lone. I have some good help I can count on. I think if I'm going to have to buy spacers or find axles with the 5x5.5 I'll just buy spacers and wheel on my stock 8.8" for a while. It's done me well on some pretty gnarly trails, so I don't mind keepin it around for a while.

The thing I'm not sure of is if the doner is the fullsize wagoneer or the downsize. The downsize uses a D44 with a 5x4.5 lug pattern. (Correct me if I'm wrong) That would be a real nice find if it was.

I'll check the width and look for a good width.

I'm just pondering out loud here, but didn't the f150s use the 5x4.5 in the early eighties? Like, '81 and '82? I'll go research it.

Thanks for your help guys. My mind's been all over the place with this today and I had forgotten some of the basic things to keep in mind. I was so rushed with "will this work?" questions and the price that I was pretty scrambled.

 

[351ranger]

You sure the wagoneer bolt pattern is 5 on 5.5? A friend of mine had two, one a 85 and one a 76 and I thought the 85 was a six lug....Not positve though, it could have been the other way around. If it's not a fullsize wagoneer its a cherokee and it won't have a dana 44 it will have a dana 30.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

Good point. I called him. It's a full size.

He says he's pretty sure it's the D44, and from what I've read it's a D44 .

Jeeps got all confusing at that time with the Wagoneer and the Grand Wagoneer and the introduction of the cherokee. I think your right about the 6x5.5 pattern. I'll find out tomorrow. Either way I have to do somethin about it.

I was looking at replacement axle assemblys on some website and it got me thinkin...

Could I keep my ford 8.8 diff. and use axle assemblys from another vehicle with the correct width and lug pattern?

 

[LittleBigFoot]

I feel like a moron. I posted a list of jeep axles by year along with characteristics and lug patterns. I went and dug it up and it answered my question.

JEEP SJ- FULL SIZE CHEROKEE, JEEP WAGONEER, & JEEP PICK-UPS
Production: (1962-1991)
Identifying Characteristics: Full size wagons available in both 2 door and four door versions and pickups in both long and short wheelbases.
Windshield: Curved glass.
Suspension: Leaf spring suspension, front and rear.
Wheel Bolt Pattern: 5x5.5” thru 1973 on Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Wagoneer and ½ ton trucks (J10), 1974 and later 6x5.5”, J20 8x6.5
Wheelbase: J Trucks 116-131 inch, Wagons 109”

It's the full size Wagoneer. I'm sure, cause I asked the guy if it had the front leaf spring suspension opposed to coils wich were used on the downsizes and cherokees. The full size have the D44 so I'm good to go.

Props to 351Ranger! Your right pal, they're a 6x5.5 pattern. The earlier ones had the 5x5.5 and the smaller/cherokees had the 5x4.5. I guess thats why I got so mixed up.


So my next question is: Whats a good rear axle choice with a 6x5.5 lug pattern? And, like I said in my post before this, would I be able to keep my 8.8" pumpkin and throw on new axle shafts with the 6x5.5 pattern?

 

[86ford]

chevy, yota, and jeep all have 6 on 5.5. you mite want to look into putting spacers on the front that convert it to a 5 on 5.5 and just use a full size f150 rear. you can also look into ordering axles for the earlier d44 front that are the 5 on 5.5 pattern (if they will fit, i dont know). i would imagine you will have issues finding axles for your rearend that are 6 on 5.5 since that isent even a ford pattern. dont jump into it and start buying parts until you have it all planed out as well as you can because nothing sucks more than trying to return used parts!

86

 

[Toreadorranger]

Im building my 2000 with a 86 Front waggy d44 and a EB (spec) 9". my 9" is a custom Currie Housing built to EB specs, I have 31 spline alloys in it. I converted my Front waggy to 5x5.5 using chevy flat tops and chevy small bearing spindles with F150 rotor and hub assembly.

 

[Toreadorranger]

chevy, yota, and jeep all have 6 on 5.5. you mite want to look into putting spacers on the front that convert it to a 5 on 5.5 and just use a full size f150 rear. you can also look into ordering axles for the earlier d44 front that are the 5 on 5.5 pattern (if they will fit, i dont know). i would imagine you will have issues finding axles for your rearend that are 6 on 5.5 since that isent even a ford pattern. dont jump into it and start buying parts until you have it all planed out as well as you can because nothing sucks more than trying to return used parts!

86

axles in the front have nothing to do with lug pattern, its all about the rotor and hub assembly. Thats what holds the studs.

 

[86ford]

duh i need to sleep....

 

[Natedog57]

For $225 you can get custom "stronger than stock" shafts (dutchmanms.com) i.e. 6 lug alloy axles for the 8.8, don't have to worry bout a new rear axle. There are lots of options if you look.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

Thanks Natedog57, howd your sas go?

the stronger then stock shafts look like a good choice. After 4 hours of research, I found that the only 5x4.5 to 6x6.5 spacers are 2" thick and 100 bucks a piece. New shafts sound like a good idea to me.

 

[SuperRob]

I did this and made all the mistakes in March.

If it has the CAD vac assembly in the diff.....pass it up. If it has the CAD on the Passenger side axle tube....Pass it up. Basically if it has a CAD (Center Axle Disconnect) you dont want it....its gonna be a bitch.

The AMC 20 is a strong as hell rear end....or rather the gears are, the axles suck and so do the tubes, but a little bracing on the tubes and they'll be good to go, and if you get 1 piece axle shafts then you'll be good to go.

Some of the Dana 44 fronts that had the CAD on the drivers side makes it very difficult to mount under a ranger because of the extra width of the diff housing and the lack of available axle tube to mount to. No to mention that a CAD isnt a very good system anyhow, it uses a sleeve that disconnects 2 halves of a given axle, thereby allowing for 0 resistance on the stub shaft coming out of the carrier and treating the front end like an open differential....all power goes to the stub shaft which in fact goes nowhere at all until you engage 4WD and the sleeve connects the 2 axle halves again...problem here....sleeve isnt very strong, and you're 37's WILL **** it in no time.

My suggestion, look for a REGULAR D44 front end without the CAD system, you'll save yourself MILES of heartache.

Any other questions, PM me....


ALSO....those 6 bolt wheel pattern is no good for Chev wheels, you need 'Yota wheels because the hubs are about 4 inches across and the Chev wheels dont have a big enough hub hole to clear!