My brother and I are gonna swap out his 35c and put in a 44 from a IH Scout. Is it true that the width of a 44 from a Scout is 1.5" less than a 35c? Also, why is the 5x5.5 bolt pattern better than the stock 5x4.5? Anything else I should know before I begin the swap?
:jeep:
and yes, I am considered a newbie in here----->:flipoff2:

You may want to look at what side the diff is on the IH D44. It is a passenger side diff and a YJ is a drivers side :eek:

No, I'm talkin about the rear Dana 44. What you were talking about is the Dana30 up front. Rear Dana 44 from an IH Scout is offset the same as a YJ's Dana 35c-I'm pretty sure about that.

Duh, I will take my head out of my a$$ now. I just got done looking at the waggy swap in YJ thread and was thinking of the same thing here.

The IH rears are actually centered diff. The pinion is just on one side of the ring gear. The axle shafts are the same length.

The IH is going to be about 2" narrower than stock.

Are you going to run a different lug pattern front and rear?

A Scout rear will be narrower than your stock rear so you might want to look under a IH Travelall. They have 60-2's and are 61-63 depends on the year or mid 60's Ford F100's they also have 60-2's that are pretty narrow for a fullsize. A 60-2 is a semifloat 60 5X5.5.

We were thinking of getting it re-studded or whatever to the stock 5x4.5 bolt pattern, just because he doesn't want to buy new rims with the 5x5.5 pattern and have to change the front to that bolt pattern. I heard the 5x5.5 is stronger, but that is more money. Also, should we just get wheel spacers for the rear so it is the same length? What are the pros and cons of those, and where's the best place to get them?

You can send the axles to moser or dutchman and they can redrill the bolt pattern and it is pretty cheep. Or you can get wheel spacers that will bring you out to the width you want and might also change the patten. Try OX trax or performance wheel.

Another question. Say we re-studded the rear Dana44 to the regular 5x4.5 bolt pattern. Couldn't we just use the stock YJ (Dana35) drum brakes, because the bolt pattern is the same? I think it would be an easy swap, but my brother isn't sure if it's possible. Aside from that, should we just rebuild the drum brakes on the Dana44 since they are bigger and would give him more stopping power? The brakes on his Dana35 are in good condition, and he wants to do the cheaper of the two. Which one's is the cheapest (I'm guessing they're both pretty cheap)?
:jeep:

Toss the D35 in the trash and forget about it. Go disc on the rear instead of rebuilding the drums (TSM makes a kit or DIY, several writeups on here... use the SEARCH if interested). Use spacers to adapt to your 5x4.5, that way you get the width you want plus in a pinch you could borrow somebody's 5x5.5 spare if needed.

Better to swap them both IMO and do away with any lug-matching issues. Waggy axles work well for this. Just a thought...

I agree completely with Eric.

Convert that rear to disc brakes... you won't regret it. I just finished mine using mostly used parts from the wrecking yard and its great!


:flipoff2:

oh yeah...

forgot one thing. I would bet that you could pick up a pair of those black steel "rockcrawler rims" for less than it would cost to get the rear hub drilled...

am i right?

whats up? the rear scout 44 is 58" wms to wms the dana 35 is 60" , both are centered and you can use the same u joint. I would keep the 44 brakes. Moser will redrill them to 5 x 4.5 for 35 dollars. Spider trax has some awsome wheel spacers for 100.00 theyt are billet not cast and are 1" wide plus anodized. you can redrill the axle yourself just take the 35 drum and machine the index hole to fit the dana 44 index circle then trace the pattern and drill very simple and accurate:D :D :D

I have an 89 yj that i swapped a 44 out of a 87 cherokee w/a tow package . I got the axle at pick n pull for $100.00 and it is the same width wms to wms as your yj. Also the same lug pattern ... just cut the pirches off and install new ones in the right position .... it worked great on mine ! search the for sale forum FRAMETWISTER has one of these axles for sale. :flipoff2: the wheel spacers do it right............ I also did the rear disc conv on this axle it was completely bolt on & basic I got the kit from TSM for 249.95 and all you buy is calipers from 87 caddy sevelle rear . If you don't want to go disc the plus of this axle it has bigger drums then your yj... the ph.#for TSM is(303)688-6882

The big advantage to a 5x5.5 bolt pattern is really just applicable to the front axle. The bigger bolt pattern allows you to run "real" hubs. The 5x4.5 pattern will only let you run the plastic ranger hubs which aren't as strong. In the rear, I don't see a difference.

If you want to get fancy about it you can get some info from Brent Orton. He set his Scout II D44 up to be a full floater with disc brakes using some junkyard parts and a little bit of machining. An added bonus was that this compensated for the width being less than stock and brought things back out to where they were supposed to be. The downside is going to be the custom axles that you will need, but the pros outweight the cons unless you are cheap or broke. Being a college student, I'm both broke and cheap :D Drums will have to do for now.