a buddy of mine has a 97 jeep 4.0 sport 5.5 rubicon express long arm 35x12.50x15's dana 44 rear axle now i cant remeber if he has a 30 or 35 up font. he wants to run 5.13's but i dont think the R&P will last long. im a chevy guy so i dont know much about them. what i want to know is what jeep can i get a dana 44 out of that will have as little fab work as we can get away with only welder we have will be a lil 110 mig. and if they have one that has man. locking hubs would be awesome please let me know thanks.

well a wagoneer 44 is the same width as stock, has manual locking hubs, and as far as doing as little fab work as possible, well treks offroad makes a truss/axle swap kit which all you have to do is set ontop of the axle, and weld it to the axle, and your good to do.

about the gears, 5:13s, on 35s will be fine. my 44 5:13 pinion was still larger then my stock dana 30 pinion

There is other Dana 44s out there, so dont limit it to Jeep only.I dont think anything is going to match the rear width.Bolt pattern for your rear Dana 44 is going to be different than a Dana 44 that ha locking hubs.Your best bet is to sell the rear Dana 44 and buy a rear from the same vehicle you get the front outta.That way the bolt pattern matches.

If the waggy width is the same as a TJ Dana 30 width,then I learnt something today.But you would still need to change the lug pattern on the rear or get new axles for the rear.

This may get into the "too much trouble" category but there are plenty of folks swapping Wagoneer D44s into the front of their CJs (me included, one in the garage waiting to go in now).

Some are pulling the long side knuckle, cutting 4 inches from the long side axle tube, reattaching the knuckle, and sending the long side axle shaft in to be shortened and resplined. Presumably this is to keep from having to move the leaf springs outboard of the frame rails.

I had decided against this approach - my D44 is a narrow-trac from a 1976 Wagoneer - but a driver-drop later Wagoneer axle is wider than mine.

I think the driver drop waggy axle is narrow too, like 61"ish. It just cant be from a Cherokee Chief or Waggy with the big flares, those are wider. He could use a waggy axle and swap on Ford or Dodge hubs to make it 5 on 5.5". This way he could get aftermarket axles for the rear with 5 on 5.5" to match.
Travis..

a 44 out of a rubicon will bolt right in. lets keep this simple:D

a 44 out of a rubicon will bolt right in. lets keep this simple:D

He did say locking hubs would be awesome. You get simple or awesome, not both.:D:flipoff2:
Travis..

a buddy of mine has a 97 jeep 4.0 sport 5.5 rubicon express long arm 35x12.50x15's dana 44 rear axle now i cant remeber if he has a 30 or 35 up font. he wants to run 5.13's but i dont think the R&P will last long. im a chevy guy so i dont know much about them. what i want to know is what jeep can i get a dana 44 out of that will have as little fab work as we can get away with only welder we have will be a lil 110 mig. and if they have one that has man. locking hubs would be awesome please let me know thanks.

PM me. I have what he wants sitten in my garage collecting dust.

For the cost of the brackets and labor to make "other" axles fit, he could buy the Warn lockout hub conversion for a Rubicon front 44. Direct bolt in except maybe the front driveshaft length.

Simple and lockout hubs........:smokin:

I agree with Scooby. I drove mine for years like that. I finally sold it to go to 60's though. The Dana 30 is darn near as strong. Buy the lock out kit for that axle. Is it any more simpler? I wouldn't run 5.13's with 35's. The pinion is way to small in the 30. The 4.88 would be sufficient. The difference in rpm isn't that much different between the two.

For the cost of the brackets and labor to make "other" axles fit, he could buy the Warn lockout hub conversion for a Rubicon front 44. Direct bolt in except maybe the front driveshaft length.

Simple and lockout hubs........:smokin:

The Rubi 44 is Hybrid Axle with D44 center with D30 tubes and Knuckles right? Never understood if that means it has D30 axle shafts also.

Edit, After looking I believe it uses the outers from the D30 so I would say, You just gain a large Ring Gear and Pinion with Rubi 44, Thats not saying I wouldn't put one in place of my D30 if I came across one.

Biggest difference TJ Dana 30 vs. Dana 44 is that the lowest gear you can do in the Dana 30 is 4.88 due to the small size of ring and pinion. The other difference is 27 spline (D30) vs. 30 spline (D44) axle shafts, but if you go to the Super30 shafts, you can get 30-spline shafts (assuming you get a 30 spline locker to go with it).

Frankly, unless going to tires bigger than 35", I'd just stick with the Dana 30, go 4.88 gears with an ARB 30 spline locker and 30 spline Super 30 shafts , and run with it. Or if doing an Aussie Locker, stick with 27 spline Super 30 shafts, plenty folks run 35's with that setup for years with no problems. 5.13's aren't enough lower than 4.88's to warrant the time and expense of an axle swap, in my opinion, unless you're trying to build the ultimate rock crawler or something in which case you're going with tires bigger than 35's and you don't want to mess around with D44's anyhow. But with 35's, 4.88 is fine. A friend is even running that on an old 4-banger with an AX-15 with no problem with 35's. No problem.

he said it dosent really need manul locking hubs he is not intending to run a locker. but he really feels the need to run 5.13's dont ask me why thats just what he wants. and all i can do is give him the information so a rubi dana 44 will bolt right in? did those all come with a locking front axle? or are some just open? thank you all for the information. oh whats this super 30 kit i want to look it up for him so i can give him options. well ill just search for that lol thanks again

he said it dosent really need manul locking hubs he is not intending to run a locker. but he really feels the need to run 5.13's dont ask me why thats just what he wants. and all i can do is give him the information so a rubi dana 44 will bolt right in? did those all come with a locking front axle? or are some just open? thank you all for the information. oh whats this super 30 kit i want to look it up for him so i can give him options. well ill just search for that lol thanks again

The Rubi 44 comes with an Electric Locker and 4.11 gears.

Here is the Super 30 Kit by Superior Axle and Gear - Super 30 Kit (http://www.superioraxle.com/axles.html#super30)

IMO I think it would be cheaper to get the Rubi 44, The Super 30 goes for around $1700 - Quadratec's Listing it right around that (http://www.quadratec.com/products/16120_450.htm)

The Rubi 44 comes with an Electric Locker and 4.11 gears.

Here is the Super 30 Kit by Superior Axle and Gear - Super 30 Kit (http://www.superioraxle.com/axles.html#super30)

IMO I think it would be cheaper to get the Rubi 44, The Super 30 goes for around $1700 - Quadratec's Listing it right around that (http://www.quadratec.com/products/16120_450.htm)

weren't the electric lockers in the jk not the tj and lj. i was thinking the bolt on for his would be and air locker (tj/lj)

weren't the electric lockers in the jk not the tj and lj. i was thinking the bolt on for his would be and air locker (tj/lj)

the tj/lj rubicons have lockers in their 44's

the tj/lj rubicons have electric lockers in their 44's

If by electric, you mean an electrically operated AIR PUMP that actuates the lockers then yes........:D

If by electric, you mean an electrically operated AIR PUMP that actuates the lockers then yes........:D

They are air lockers in the fronts and rears of tj rubicons.