dana-44

i put a new axle in my jeep this weekend!
it was a lot of fun and i am very pleased.

i have wanted a rear dana-44 axle for so long!
i even had a fish named dana-44 when i lived in florida and chicago.

dana-44 had a friend named princess zelda.

they hated one another.

in summary, i had a pet fish named dana-44:and here is dana-44's namesake, a great axle, the dana-44:

i used to have a dana-35c
now i have a dana-44

the dana-44 is a superior axle to the d-35c

the axle wall tubing is thicker metal.
the center section is larger and stronger.
the differential carrier is larger and stronger.
the ring and pinion gears are larger and stronger.
the brake drums are larger in both diameter and width.
the axle shafts are thicker in diameter and have more splines.

the dana-44 was rarely equipped in a stock jeep cherokee.
it is only found in the 1987-1989 years with the towing package.
so now i have a '87 axle in my '97 jeep.

trouble with my dana-35 rear axle

six years ago in florida my d-35 blew a carrier bearing.
this in turn chewed up the spider gears and i had to replace my differential.
i no longer had the traction advantage from the factory limited slip.

last week, a bad u-joint caused my d-35 to spit out my rear driveshaft.
the resulting failure tweaked the d-35's pinion seal.
these problems are a testament to the weaker nature of my stock dana-35c axle.

i needed to fix my axle immediately.
jeep cherokee dana-44's rarely appear for sale online.
rachel knew i would get one, though, no matter how rare..
..and she was right! and it was in seattle!
and i got it for a good price - $300.00


i belong to an online community of cherokee owners.
click the logo for a wealth of jeep knowledge:
i found my new dana-44 in the northwest chapter for sale forum.
it has the same gear ratio as my current axle:
3:55


the swap
i met the seller two years ago camping and four wheeling.
his name is joe.
joe has a few jeeps, and is getting rid of one of them.
he is scrapping it because of engine and transmission problems.
however, it has a dana-44, and he knew it had value!
joe was glad to sell it to me, as a member of naxja.

he just needed my axle to tow his jeep away.

we met at his house to do the swap.


we took both axles out of both jeeps at the same time.

here is a comparison image:
the dana-35c above
the dana-44 below
first we pulled the d-44 from under the donor rig with the bad engine
then we pulled my 35
my jeep is ready for the 44 (the d-44 is on the left)

notice the larger drum brakes on the dana-44 (left)
the d-35 driveshaft (left) is similar to the d-44 shaft (right)
however, you can see the output yokes are different lengths.
this results in different driveline angles from the transfer case.
the d-44 shaft has a shorter output yoke, decreasing driveline angle.
i will keep the extra shaft as a spare in case of emergency.

here is my new dana-44 installed and in seattle

i am very pleased with the performance.
after i did the axle swap, the jeep felt very solid and stout.
the brakes stop me quicker and feel more substantial.