I am putting a front d44 from a 75 waggy in my cj7. I am going to keep this axle fullwidth so I will be outboarding the front springs. My question to anyone who has done this is am I going to lose some of my suspension flex by outboarding the springs? The new axle is 5" wider than stock.

Theoretically you might lose some, but your axle is a little wider as well. Depending on how much you have to outboard (less then 2.5" each side) i would say probably not. If by some chance it is, you won't be able to notice it more then likely. AND If by some chance u do notice it the good news is, its fixable just by tweeking the spring packs. I run a waggy 44 in my YJ and ive never heard somebody say or even thought for that matter, "wow, that CJ7 flexes SOOOooo much better then the YJ" You should be fine.

Hope this helps.

i don't see an issue here.

Done it twice, not an issue at all. The good news is road handling and sidehill/rollover stability is vastly improved!

I am putting a front d44 from a 75 waggy in my cj7. I am going to keep this axle fullwidth so I will be outboarding the front springs. My question to anyone who has done this is am I going to lose some of my suspension flex by outboarding the springs? The new axle is 5" wider than stock.
Yes, any time you move the spring location out it will affect axle travel.

However your wider axle will make up for this, and anyone telling you not to outboard your springs sees more time on a keyboard than on a trail. Make sure you address how to mount your longer shocks, and brake lines!

Below are some shots of mine, the first time out. Seems to flex well :D

Note: I'm SOA with 2" lift springs (front has sagged to 0" lift) and a 2.5" body lift with 38.5" tires that measure 36". I moved the axle ~4" forward in the front, and 2" backwards in the back. I'm a fan of keeping the stock look.
http://littlekeylime.com/MrN/img/AP/ap_avf_july07_29.jpg
http://littlekeylime.com/MrN/img/AP/ap_avf_july07_18.jpg
http://littlekeylime.com/MrN/img/AP/ap_avf_july07_19.jpg
http://littlekeylime.com/MrN/img/AP/ap_avf_july07_21.jpg

Mr. N Can you post some closeups of your front and rear shock mounts? What'd you use for towers?

use ford shock towers. My jeep is amazing on the highway with fullwidths,super stable. You are gonna have to mount your rear shock tabs torwards the bottom of the axle on the rear so you can get more compression out of them. What ever you do dont get long travel shocks for the rear unless you are goin to to add hoops to the frame. 8 inches of droop and 3.5 inches of compression is plenty.

use ford shock towers. My jeep is amazing on the highway with fullwidths,super stable. You are gonna have to mount your rear shock tabs torwards the bottom of the axle on the rear so you can get more compression out of them. What ever you do dont get long travel shocks for the rear unless you are goin to to add hoops to the frame. 8 inches of droop and 3.5 inches of compression is plenty.

So you used Ford towers on the front and kept the rear mounts the same?

So you used Ford towers on the front and kept the rear mounts the same?

That is what I did...replaced the front with hoops and kept the rear the same with new mounts welded on the rear...

Yup thats what I did. Everyone says long travel this long travel that but if you dont change the upper mounts on the frame you gonna eat those long travel shocks for the rear. I can raise the front tire 3 feet of the ground which isnt much but I still had a half inch of compression in the rear shock. The size of the shock body is really important for the rear

I'm running full width Blazer axles, Alcan springs, and F-250 shock towers, front & rear. No problem with flex.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/roadwarriorsvt/Kaenapoint017.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/roadwarriorsvt/Kaenapoint014.jpg

Mr. N Can you post some closeups of your front and rear shock mounts? What'd you use for towers?
Front Ford F250, mid 80's. $11.95 each. 14" travel shocks, don't mount the axle bracket so you've bind, many people do.
Rear: Made a custom cross-member, mounted shocks at ~40* inward.
Stock CJ Heavy duty springs.

Love the 65" wms-wms my Ford Dana 44 & 9" give me.

Here are the F-250 shock mounts, front.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/roadwarriorsvt/rearshock001.jpg

rear

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/roadwarriorsvt/rearshock003.jpg

i was planning on outboarding and the only thing i came up with during research is that there is more leverage on the spring when they are closer together, allowing more flex. How much more i couldnt tell you. But as stated earlier a little loss in flex is easily made up for by removing a leaf. In the end i bought a bare housing that had the spring pad width i needed and then converted the parts from another 44 i had. Much easier, at least in my opinion.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z98/millertime_photobucket/DSCF2331.jpg

Dana 60's, front and rear, rolling on 38" Tsl's. 1.5" springs mounted outside
of frame SOA. Ford shock towers front. TJ flares front and rear. 14" travel
Ranchos. Redneck Ram steering assist.

Couple of things I'd suggest. When you outward mount your front spring
hangers I would also move them 1.5"-2" forward. This seems to allow for
larger tire and wheel fitment. I would also replace the stock gearbox mount
with a HD one from either Sam's Offroad or M.O.R.E. Sam's is $99 delivered
and moves the gearbox an 1 or so forward.

I am putting a front d44 from a 75 waggy in my cj7. I am going to keep this axle fullwidth so I will be outboarding the front springs. My question to anyone who has done this is am I going to lose some of my suspension flex by outboarding the springs? The new axle is 5" wider than stock.
The FSJ 74 Dana 44 has the passenger side pumpkin. I sure hope it has disk brakes (you could get drums that year). I can't remeber if that year offered a wider axle for the Waggy, but don't think so.... SO your full width is really not at full ;)

Why not find a Chevy Dana 44, and cut down the long side?
Pros
- You wouldn't have to out board your leaf spings

Cons'
- Cost of shorting housing (if you or a club member can't do this)
- Cost of custom length axle.

"I am putting a front d44 from a 75 waggy in my cj7. I am going to keep this axle fullwidth so I will be outboarding the front springs. My question to anyone who has done this is am I going to lose some of my suspension flex by outboarding the springs? The new axle is 5" wider than stock."

Done that with the exact same axles, works wonders with stability.
When started this project I had the same doubts about flex. In the outboarding procces I also changed the springs, used some chevy (front, almost flat) ones can't remember if those are 46 or 42". Lost a couple of grades in departing angle in the procces.

One thing you have to pay attention is your turning radius, I keep smashing my tires against the outboarded springs.