Ok , My friend is looking at a 1984 Grand waggoneer, It has the Dana $$'s under it , and the ole boy who is selling it says it has the true trac , or someting like that in it...It doesn't have locking hubs on it , and it is all activated from the inside of the waggy... Question is this .. Will it need to have Hubs and lockers put on it , or is it already a full fledge locked front axle when it is engaged ?:confused: My guess is that it will need lockers front and rear , But my friend argues that it wont ... Which is right ? We need help before we murder one another here... Thanks for any help...Also , is the rear locked ? or will it need them to ???:rasta:

Thats Dana 44's not Dana $$'S sorrry about that , just got home from having a few :beer: you know how it is , We have been argueing about this for the last 4 or 5 pic of beer ...Seems my typing has been impaired :flipoff2:

Must be contagious. I just am home from a few :beer: :beer: 's myself. Stay away from those axles. The '83-84 models had the vacuum disconnect center section in the front. Parts for them aren't interchangable with other 44's and can't be converted to be like any other part time 44. The rear would be ok (actually a model 20 not a 44), but shy away from the front axle.

To answer your question, no the front isn't a full fledged locked axle and the true trac is a limited slip.

From what I have heard, some of the 83-84 s did not have the vacuum disco, so I would check it to be sure.

You can check by looking for the vacuum diaphragm coming out of the centersection.....it's not on the long tube like other axles.

Also, most GWs had drive flanges rather than locking hubs (those that had the NP 229, has a full time auto option).

Oh, and what is this company 'Warren" you speak of in your sig? :flipoff2:

Also, most GWs had drive flanges rather than locking hubs (those that had the NP 229, has a full time auto option).

OK , I Just woke up , and i have somewhat of a hangover, so be nice when i ask this Question.. What are the drive flanges that you talk about , I havent heard of this before, And you also said this has a full time auto option, Does this mean that it is totallt locked when it is engaged , or what ... Thanks for all the advise so far

Havent you heard , WARN has changed there name to WARREN...:emb3: :flipoff2: Remember , I'm hooked on phonics ...

i doubt if it has true trac anything on it.more like a quadrtrac (full time all wheeldrive). drive flanges are in place of locking hubs. doesn't mean "lockers". does this help?

Havent you heard , WARN has changed there name to WARREN

now there's a quailty cross-ref to an older thread.

make sure you look in the yokes of the front axle. I've hears (but never seen first hand) that some of the waggys had CV's up front instead of u-joints.

Thanks Larryboy, but is that like a locker, does it mean that all the wheels pull as if they had lockers in them.. Sorry to sound so dumb, but this is totally diffrent than my jeep..And are thosedrive flanges any good , or should or could you replace them with WARN hubs ?:confused: Or , is this axle thing just a hunk of junk ? My friend has a 97 TJ, and he is looking for something other than his jeep to make a toy out of , he is doesnt want to mess up his jeep, I told him to build his jeep, butwere trying to see if the waggy would be cheaper... We can gett the waggy for about 900, dollars , and it runs good , and has the V-8 in it. So what would be best to do ????Any suggestions... or anymore info on the axles.... All help is appreciated:D

If it's an '84, then the rear axle should be an AMC20, not a Dana 44, shouldn't it? I was under the impression that 86+ had rear 44s. I know my 87 did.


If it is 'activated' from within the cab, then he's probably talking about the quadratrack, which if I am not mistaken, not only had vacuum disconnect, but also an offset rear axle for the quadratrack transfer case. I think there's a dial type switch inside the glove box or something??

Anyway, that's what you want to check out:

Does it have a D 44 or an AMC 20 rear?

Does it have vacuum disconnect (visible on the short side - driver's - of the housing right near the pumpkin)

Is it an offset rear axle?

If it's an AMC 20 that might not be bad, it should be the heavy duty model - as long as its not offset with vacuum disconnect.

hubs are no big deal, just replaces the drive flanges that are stock.

lockers are up to you, I guess.

Course doesn't really matter that much if you're never going to swap the axles out into something else.

Ok the first thing you need to do is determine if it has the vacuum disconnect or not. As Charly said, some of the '83-84 models didn't have it, but most did. If it has it stop wondering about it and move on to another front axle.

Second, Quadratrac is a full time 4WD system. It doesn't mean that lockers are present. If one wheel loses traction, it will still receive all the power and spin and you go nowhere just like any other open diff. All wheels receive power in most cases.

Drive flanges are stronger than hubs, but your front axle will spin all the time if left in. Remove them and replace with lockout hubs if you want to disengage the front axle internals.

The rear axle will definitely be an AMC model 20, not a Dana 44. Dana 44's weren't used until the '86 model year. It will be centered and not offset. The Quadratrac transfer case with the offset rear output was discontinued after the '79 model year. A New Process transfer case with a centered rear output replaced it even though they still used the name "Quadratrac".

Originally posted by cmegoup
Ok the first thing you need to do is determine if it has the vacuum disconnect or not. As Charly said, some of the '83-84 models didn't have it, but most did. If it has it stop wondering about it and move on to another front axle.

Second, Quadratrac is a full time 4WD system. It doesn't mean that lockers are present. If one wheel loses traction, it will still receive all the power and spin and you go nowhere just like any other open diff. All wheels receive power in most cases.

Drive flanges are stronger than hubs, but your front axle will spin all the time if left in. Remove them and replace with lockout hubs if you want to disengage the front axle internals.

The rear axle will definitely be an AMC model 20, not a Dana 44. Dana 44's weren't used until the '86 model year. It will be centered and not offset. The Quadratrac transfer case with the offset rear output was discontinued after the '79 model year. A New Process transfer case with a centered rear output replaced it even though they still used the name "Quadratrac".

EXACTLY.

I must say, you have consistently posted correct info .....(at least what I've seen....lol:D ) and I thank you for that.

Not all '86s came with D44 rears. The '86 Wag I got my D44 front out of had an AMC 20 rear. If you can afford to buy the once piece axle shaft conversion, I'd go with this axle over the 44. That's the only real flaw in it. You might want to check the spline count on it though, I'm not sure on it, it could be real shitty. But converting to the one piece shafts probably isn't even worth it for the larger ring and pinion.

As far as the vacuum disconnect goes, if it doens't have hubs (if it just has dust caps), don't get it. My wag came with the auto hubs. I haven't switched them out yet, but will once everything else major is done.

Ok...two things.....just because a Wag/GW has the "dust caps" in the hubs (covers the drive flanges) does not mean that it necessarily has the vacuum disco......

....and the Wags/GWs have one piece shafts already, so I have no idea why you would make that comment, especially if you supposedly have one.

The AMC 20s found in Wags/GWs are considered similar, if not equal to the strength of a 44, unlike it's weaker namesake found in a CJ.

This waggy most likely has the np 229 selectrac t-case, vac disco, and amc 20 rear. Not the best stuff for hardcore use.

Originally posted by Charly
Ok...two things.....just because a Wag/GW has the "dust caps" in the hubs (covers the drive flanges) does not mean that it necessarily has the vacuum disco......

Right! The Waggies/Cherokees from the original Quadratrac era (7?-79) have the "dust caps" and the vacuum disconnect axle had never been used yet. Take a look at a full time Chevy truck from the mid-70's. They have the "dust caps" and no Chevy ever had a vacuum disconnect front axle.

If you have a passenger drop Jeep and want to swap in a Waggie or Cherokee 44 you're almost stuck with one that has the dust caps. Very few of the '74-79 models didn't have them so avoiding the "dust cap" versions really narrows down your selection. You simply remove the cap, pull out the drive flanges, and replace them with locking hubs. The thing to avoid isn't the caps, but the big, ugly vacuum module mounted on the center section on most '83-84 models. It's not hard to identify at all, so don't just rely on what the outers look like.