waggy 44 axle swap - jeep tj

[ausjeep]

Hi there,

Just considering a 44/60 swap for my tj and wanted to see if anyone else had tried this.

The 44 is a waggy, disc brake, drivers side drop and my plans are to run warn hubs, warn allow axles, ctms and a non-flipped dana300 tcase.

Questions I have are as follows:

Can I use my rear detroit and gears from my tj 44 in the waggy diff?
Can I convert the front to 8 lug easily?
What spline count are the waggy diffs? this is a 79 and 4.09 ratio I believe.
Any advice on how to mate the steering to a tj setup?

I am basically starting off my research and there is no local knowledge or parts down here in Australia so getting it right the first time is important.

Also anyone have a really good source for looking up dana b.o.m's? I can't find the rear 60 at all

cheers

z

[Tumbleweed]

This may help, kind of hard to use.
http://www2.dana.com/expert/wc.dll?DSD~deabill~

[Kris]

Originally posted by ausjeep
Hi there,

The 44 is a waggy, disc brake, drivers side drop and my plans are to run warn hubs, warn allow axles, ctms and a non-flipped dana300 tcase.

Driver drop as in the right side (Aus driver) ?
If it is a '79 or earlier then you are fine.

Questions I have are as follows:

Can I use my rear detroit and gears from my tj 44 in the waggy diff?
Can I convert the front to 8 lug easily?
What spline count are the waggy diffs? this is a 79 and 4.09 ratio I believe.
Any advice on how to mate the steering to a tj setup?

1. I would say yes, about 99% sure.
2. yes, you will need 70's GM parts from the spindles out. See link... Mr N's d44 Knuckle Page...
3. 30 spline
4. You can use the stock draglink and tie rod or convert to hi-steer which is also on the page linked above. Either way you will need to get a pitman arm with GM large taper to use the waggy stuff. Or just do something custom.
With the lift laws that you have to deal with there is really no reason to do hi-steer, so just find a way to use the stock waggy stuff. Your frame is 1" narrower than the waggy, only mod mght be to the draglink to shorten it a bit . No more than 1" though.

Also anyone have a really good source for looking up dana b.o.m's? I can't find the rear 60 at all

The expert is really the only bet. I ave found that not every BOM shows up on it. Kinka hit-and-miss but worth a try.

kris.

[ausjeep]

Originally posted by Kris
Driver drop as in the right side (Aus driver) ?
If it is a '79 or earlier then you are fine.



1. I would say yes, about 99% sure.
2. yes, you will need 70's GM parts from the spindles out. See link... Mr N's d44 Knuckle Page...
3. 30 spline
4. You can use the stock draglink and tie rod or convert to hi-steer which is also on the page linked above. Either way you will need to get a pitman arm with GM large taper to use the waggy stuff. Or just do something custom.
With the lift laws that you have to deal with there is really no reason to do hi-steer, so just find a way to use the stock waggy stuff. Your frame is 1" narrower than the waggy, only mod mght be to the draglink to shorten it a bit . No more than 1" though.

The expert is really the only bet. I ave found that not every BOM shows up on it. Kinka hit-and-miss but worth a try.

kris.

Kris,
Thanks for all that. Just the sort of info I am after.
It is a 1979 waggy so things are looking good.

I am a bit worried about the rear and not being able to find the b.o.m as I can't research and don't want to buy it sight unseen as I definitely want to be able to do a 35 spline conversion at some point down the track.

Does anyone know if there are wheel spacer/adapter that can take the 6 on 5.5 to 5 on 4.5 so I can run my current beadlocks until I can find a rear 60?
Or a cheap alternative to make the waggy and my current d44 rear end match up for a short period of time?

cheers

Zach

[Kris]

So, you cant find info on the BOM, or you cant find the BOM on the axle ?

On the ff d60's I know that most of them cant be bored out for the larger axles. Best bet is to find a d70 donor for the spindles when the time comes.
Another alternative is to go to a ff 14 bolt from a 3/4 or 1 ton GM. They come in 67" and 63" wms/wms versions. They are much stronger than a 30spline d60 and you wont need to upgrade it later...
Heres info...

BillaVistas 14 Bolt Bible

For your front end, you wont find any adapters to go from 6 on 5.5 to 5 on 4.5 as you'l never get a 5 on 4.5 wheel over the 1/2 ton d44 hub.

There is a company making 5 and 6 on 5.5 hubs for the d60. Can't remember their name but Im sure they are pricey...

kris.

[ausjeep]

Originally posted by Kris
So, you cant find info on the BOM, or you cant find the BOM on the axle ?

On the ff d60's I know that most of them cant be bored out for the larger axles. Best bet is to find a d70 donor for the spindles when the time comes.
Another alternative is to go to a ff 14 bolt from a 3/4 or 1 ton GM. They come in 67" and 63" wms/wms versions. They are much stronger than a 30spline d60 and you wont need to upgrade it later...
Heres info...

BillaVistas 14 Bolt Bible

For your front end, you wont find any adapters to go from 6 on 5.5 to 5 on 4.5 as you'l never get a 5 on 4.5 wheel over the 1/2 ton d44 hub.

There is a company making 5 and 6 on 5.5 hubs for the d60. Can't remember their name but Im sure they are pricey...

kris.

Kris,

I have got the b.o.m, well what the seller gave me anyway and it doesn't check out anywhere

I was under the impression I could use 14 bolt outers on the D60 centre. Regardless, a D60 30 spline is going to be a hell of a lot stronger than my 44

I may well just go the 14 bolt rea end but if it wasn't too hard I was going to stay with the 60 for the configuration options with gears and lockers later down the track.

Thanks for all the great info.
Things are never simple...