Converting a Dana 44 Axle to Fit Your YJ
Written by Kerry Embry

There are a few candidates for a Dana 44 swap into a YJ.  I built my axles basically from the ground up from salvaged axles and new wear parts - new ball joints, u-joints, bearings, R&P, lockers, brakes, etc.  Total cost was around $2700 for completely rebuilt front and rear Dana 44s with 4.88s and ARBs.

The cheapest way to do it is to do only the rear axle.  Here are the options I'm aware of:
Find a rear Dana 44 from an XJ.  It's rare, most are Dana 35s, but it has the right track width, lug pattern and the only thing you have to modify are the spring perches, I believe.  I've been told it was available with 3.54, 3.73 and maybe 4.10s.
The ZJs came with a Dana 44 option also, but YOU DONT WANT IT!  It has an aluminum diff housing and a non standard R&P and C-clip axles which means expensive gears, and limited locker choices.
The YJs also had a Dana 44 option, but it was only available in Canada and extremely rare.  IF you can find one, it should bolt in without modification. I'm in the process of finding out if a Scout II rear axle can be redrilled for the YJ lug pattern.  If it can, then the brake hardware from a YJ Dana 44 should bolt on.  Not sure about this one yet - I suspect it won't work.

If you want to do both front and rear then forget the above options because you won't find a Dana44 front end with a YJ (5 on 4.5") lug pattern.  The YJ pattern is too small to fit Dana 44 hubs.

If you have an automatic tranny, you can get the matching front and rear axles from a Scout II.  The front diff is on the passenger side, so you'll also need to get the Dana 300 t-case from the Scout as well.  The Dana 300 will bolt onto the auto tranny, but not the AX15.  You'll have to  be careful of the front driveshaft and the exhaust, however.  Larry Soo from the Jeep list has a web write up on this.  I think his e-mail is lhsoo@off-road.com

The route I took:
Front end needs to be from a '80-'82 narrow track Grand Wagoneer.  '79 and earlier had the diff on the passenger side and '83-'85? had a vacuum disconnect that was built into the diff.  This is bad because it uses a stub shaft with a C-clip in the diff so you can't use some lockers.  If you plan to keep the front end open then it won't be much of a problem.  I don't have much info on the '86+ Wagoneer front axles, but examine them closely - not all Dana 44s are created equal and I suspect they might have the smaller u-joints.  Anyway, the only thing that *needs* to be modified on the axle is the spring perches.  They are 1" farther apart than the YJ so you'll need to weld/redrill the center pin holes 1/2" inboard of the stock location or move the perch altogether.   Nothing is perfect... the caveats of this swap are: The shock mounts are a little higher than the YJ, but work just fine as they are.  You'll need to get a Pitman arm from Tri-County gear to use the stock Wagoneer steering linkages.  Turning radius is reduced if you don't fabricate custom steering linkages or find Dana 44 knuckles with a shorter radius arm. You'll also need castor shims on the springs for good steering.  The other thing is the gearing:  Wagoneer axles were only available with 2.73 and 3.31 R&P from the factory so you'll likely have to change it.

The rear I used from a Scout II which has a 5 on 5.5" lug pattern as opposed to the 6 on 5.5" pattern of the Wagoneer.  So I had Moser weld/redrill ($50) the flanges to match the front and used Wagoneer drums.  Scout axles were available with 3.07, 3.54, 3.73, and 4.10 from the factory.  I used a Scout axle because the differential on the Scout is actually centered, but the pinion is in the same location as the YJ - offset to the passenger side by about 1", maybe a little less.  Most people assume the YJ's pinion is centered, but it is not.   I needed the correct pinion location since I run a CV driveshaft, but if you don't run a suspension lift over 3" or CV then you could use other axles with centered pinions.  They will just increase your drivline angle.  These include: The matching AMC 20 from the narrow track '80-'82 Wagoneer front end.  They are not the same as the CJ AMC 20s.  They have one piece axles and are near YJ width, but are limited to 4.56 gearing max.  You could also get a Dana 44 from an '86+ Wagoneer and it will match the front lug pattern.

All of those options require new rims for the lug pattern change and the rears require spring perches and shock mounts to be moved and/or added.  The front I bought for $250 and the rear was $125, both in "good" condition, and could have been used almost as-is.  The better you want the axle to be, the more $$ you'll spend in new parts - I replaced all common wear items.  You'll also have to shorten both of your driveshafts by about 1".   Fortunately, this means if you have the 4.0L then the front driveshaft from a 2.5L YJ will fit perfectly.  It should mean that if you have a 2.5L, the rear driveshaft from a 4.0L will work, but I haven't verified it.  Otherwise it's about $60-$80 to have a driveshaft re-tubed.

But wait, there's more...  Those are only the swaps available that are close to the YJ track width.  You could also swap in full size axles from a truck. They'll be about 3" wider on each side, but can be cheaply and easily found.  I would only recommend this route if you're going to run a minimum of wide 35" tires and it looks goofy without large extended flares to make the jeep look proportional.  Maybe Jason Head can provide more detail if you ask him nicely.

Anyway, I tend to ramble... I figure I saved myself between $2000 and $2500 by doing it all myself and finding good deals.  A really decent place for professionally rebuilt custom axles is Tri-County Gear: 909-623-3373 in CA.  If I had the cash, they would have built my axles.  Dynatrac and Currie just want too much money!

Kerry Embry