Dana 44 Axles

[KevinXJ]

Has anyone ever tried to put the rear axle from a Isuzu into a 89?cherokee?? I read in a mag that they are the same width(1/2 in narrower). I know the mounts all need to be modified but they have rear disk brakes. THey also have 6 bolt wheels so that would also need to be changed to fit my wheels and the fact that they have a 4:30 ratio. Also..is there a dana 44 out there that is the same width(or close) for the front?

[MJMA]

I haven't heard of anyone swapping in a D44 from an isuzu, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. There are, however, a lot of issues that you would need to address to get it to work right. New axle shafts with 5 lug. the width difference is negligable. My mother has an isuzu rodeo and when you take a look at the undercarriage it is obvious that they were not designed to be wheeled, everythign is very vulnerable. The rear D44 on my mothers isuzu has a finned diff cover, it appears to be aluminum. This is good for a road vehicle but for something thats taken offroad, these fins are way to vulnerable, I can see them getting snapped right off, and maybe cracking the cover open in the process. Also, 4.30 gears, you would probably be changing them out because I don't think there is anything availible for the front at that ratio.

For the front look for D44 from a wagoneer or an old school Bronco, one of the ones that doesn't suck. Also from IH scouts. I saw a movie today, Zoolander, and these gay model guys had a sick old school bronco, they totally didn't deserve it. They blew it up too, cause they were dumb.

[Ryan, aka: CheapXJ.com]

why not swap the front and rear axles out of a newer grand wagoneer? driver drop d44 front and rear amc20 (with one piece shafts) or d44 rear. make sure it's not a quadratrac model (the rear differential will be offset, and it won't work very well in an XJ)

both are d44s. the scout front d44 won't work in an XJ unless you swap in a passenger side drop transfer case or have it retubed to make it driver drop.