I was looking at using a waggie 44 in a SUA YJ but the spring center is 32" so what did you do to fix this or did you just move the springs 1/4" and bolt them in. SOA is not going to happen but I bet that is how everyone has got around this. Need some ideas.

on the pumpkin side your gonna have to re-drill the centering pin hole and grind out a place for the spring to fit in. on the other side just cut off the old spring perch and re-weld in the right spot. i am sure there are some other ways, but this is prolly the best.

http://www.jeeptech.com/convaxle/sjd44yj/

Originally posted by JiveTurkey
on the pumpkin side your gonna have to re-drill the centering pin hole and grind out a place for the spring to fit in. on the other side just cut off the old spring perch and re-weld in the right spot. i am sure there are some other ways, but this is prolly the best.

Thats certainley the easiest. Works too. Helped do that once.

Originally posted by JiveTurkey
on the pumpkin side your gonna have to re-drill the centering pin hole and grind out a place for the spring to fit in. on the other side just cut off the old spring perch and re-weld in the right spot. i am sure there are some other ways, but this is prolly the best.
This is what I had in mind. YJ's have 31.5" spring centers or 31??

I JUST PUT A 44 IN THE FRONT OF MY CRUZAH THIS PAST WEEKEND......THE SPRING PERCHES ON THE AXLE WAS 27.5 AND CRUZAH SPRINGS ARE 27"......I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA HAVE TO DO SOMETHING BUT SET EVERYTHING IN PLACE AND I DIDNT NOTICE ANY DIFFERANCE.........

WITH ONLY A TOTAL OF 1/2" I WOULDNT WORRY .....BUT LIKE 1" UMMMMM MIGHT NEED TO MAKE THE AXLE CENTERING HOLES INTO OVALS.......

31.5 whats a half inch between freinds

stock chevy Dana 60 31.5
stock chevy Dana 44 31.5

good swap for full width


Adam,

if its a 1/2' who gives a crap? seriously that is no big deal

Originally posted by NE-RokToy
if its a 1/2' who gives a crap? seriously that is no big deal

yep!!!:flipoff2:


Adam,

well i know you said SUA but I put a waggy housing (chevy knuckles, spindles etc.) in my YJ although i did a SOA conversion at the same time. here are a few pics.


http://www.thejeepsite.com/SOA/SOA-19.jpg
http://www.thejeepsite.com/SOA/SOA-20.jpg
http://www.thejeepsite.com/SOA/SOA-22.jpg
http://www.thejeepsite.com/SOA/SOA-18.jpg

since i was going to have to mount one of the perches on the cast iron diff i had to grind off a descent size notch out of the cast housing so that the u-bolts would fit. the cast housing was i think raised 3/16" higher than the axel tubing so to level that out i added a 3/16" plate to the perch that was to be welded into the tube. It was a pretty big pain but oh well.

Originally posted by 66CJdean
I was looking at using a waggie 44 in a SUA YJ but the spring center is 32" so what did you do to fix this or did you just move the springs 1/4" and bolt them in. SOA is not going to happen but I bet that is how everyone has got around this. Need some ideas.

Dean,

I did this exact swap. The difference between YJ and Waggy spring position is actually closer to 1 inch so you have to move the holes 1/2 inch a piece.

First, you have to drill two new pilot holes. each hole should be 1/2-inch inboard from the original hole (center to center). You also have to grind 1/2 inch of material out of the edge of the pumpkin like JiveTurkey said.

I also "built out" the inboard edge of the passenger side spring perch 1/2 inch as well by welding in some material. You could probably skip this step and get away with it... Your spring will just hang off the edge of your perch a little.

Last, you'll need to notch the outboard corners of the passenger side spring perch with a right-angle grinder or a die grinder to allow room for the U-bolts to go through.

As simple as these mods are (they probably only took all of an hour) I think it'd be stupid to try to "spread" the springs to fit a bone stock waggy axle... although I know that's what a few people on this thread have suggested. A suspension that is binding probably won't flex as well as one that isn't. And having the springs cocked at an angle has gotta be hell on your bushings and (especially) your shackles, IMNSHO.


HTH,
Jake Harsha

Jakessetiublaahblahblah, is correct.

When I did mine, I filled the pin hole in the housing with weld, and "inboarded" it about 1/2 an inch. (You will have to drill out some of the webbing where the u-bolt goes through on the "inboard" side of the pumpkin. I just used a 3/4" bit and went to town)

For the perch, I welded a piece of 1/2 inch to the inside of the perch, and filled and re-drilled. And then cut "notches" on the outside of the perch to allow the u-bolt to sit in there.

If you try to spread the springs, like jake said, they do bow out considerably, and would waste the bushing very quickly.

I just kept working at it until my shackles were at a 90* angle when the axle was bolted in.

Out

Originally posted by IndyCJ
You will have to drill out some of the webbing where the u-bolt goes through on the "inboard" side of the pumpkin. I just used a 3/4" bit and went to town

Ditto. Forgot that step. I just notched the webbing with a grinder.

EDIT - filled in the original holes with weld like Indy CJ did too...

Jake

My YJ's waggy acle was originally SUA. What I did was make 2 plates 2 X 3 inches out of 1/4 plate, with a hole in the center for the pin. Then I ground the webbing off the diff, positioned the plate so it was 1/2 inch inboard, and welded it in place. Voila! inboarded 1/2 inch, easy to drill.

For the pass side, I took an old perch off another axle, cut it in 1/2, then welded it to the inside of the original perch. Put another 2X3 drilled plate on top of that, welded it, and voila! done. Only thing is to notch the outside corners of the original perch for u bolt clearance.

Was very easy. waggy axles are the best swap under a YJ IMHO (if you want 44s).

Thanks everyone for the the info. I didn't know how much it was off. If it was by 1/4" then that isn't a big deal but 1/2" needs to be done right and as far as the spring pad goes I'll cut it off and just replace it. I haven't figured out if I will use the portaband saw, grinder, or milling machine to remove the extra material but at least I now know about how much work this will be.

Thanks for the input.

its a pain but it's worth it.

I don't doubt that.
This will be a side job project so I needed to get an idea what it is going to take and what everyone who has done it did.

just get a good grinder and a few blades...actually it isn't that bad. Mine was a pain becuase I had to cut off the Warn brackets that were on my 44. that was the real pain. actually all you have to do is grind a bit off the cast housing and notch a few places for the u-bolts and weld on a couple new perches and you got yourself a dana 44. oh ya you know that it will be 62" not 60" like a stock jeep axel right? semi sort of kinda full width:flipoff2:

I am about to do this into my YJ in a SOA setup, looking for info on this too!

Oh the Joy of Hi Steer an Manual Hubs!

Thanks

check out www.thejeepsite.com/SOA

I have a few pics of my SOA converion and hi-steer junk

The 1/2" does make a difference...you can totally tell that the perches are not in the correct place...like you already said 1/4" no big deal...1/2" let do it right:D