I know the late 70's 1/2 ton small bolt pattern front axles had the crappy bearings, but I wanted to know if the 3/4 ton dana 44's had the same bearings. Thanks

If you are inquiring about the fulltime 4wd D44, then yes, both the D44 and D44HD used the same wheel bearing design. Actually, the design is very similar to the 94+ dodge ram unit bearings.

They did have the parttime 4wd as an option (rare) in those years, but it uses the larger bolt pattern 5 on 5.5.

steved

Yea, I'm replacing my 5 on 4.5 half ton crap axles with these 3/4 ton axles. I was hoping the 3/4 tona axles had better bearings, as I'm running 38's and they'll chew up those bearings. I guess I just need to find a newer 8 lug axle for it. Wish I had the money for a 60. Maybe I'll just find a chebby 8 lug 44 for the front instead.

What I did was took a GM eight lug setup and use my axle to convert to eightlug. I had drums which use a different knuckle than yours...I didn't need to swap knuckles like you will. I believe the only problem you will have will be the tie rod...they use the same 3 mounting studs for the stearing arm...just swap the arm onto the chevy knuckle. The tierod is the only thing I never measured...I don't know if they are different lengths (dodge versus GM) and whether they have enought adjustment to get lined back up.

Or if you find a complete GM axle, you can swap it in...spring perches are like 1 inch off or something like that.

steved