I am simply a uninformed poster from the chevy section(I hate mini's you suckers) trying to help out a friend. Flame me all you want but give me(or him) good advice. Looking for a manuel locking hub conversion kit plus a 2 piece stub shaft eliminator(or a vacuum actuator eliminator). The tough part is this all has to be fairly cheap(bone yard parts) other wise we might rather go looking for a reverse rotation D44.


Charlo

Well shit,as far as I can tell a reverse rotation D44 does'nt exhist. Son what do you jeepers run instead? Prolly easier to change Xfer cases I suppose.

Charlo

What are you on??? A RC Dana 44 doesn't exist? Ever see a Ford Truck before?

Anyways...hub conversions are like $800 bucks and NOT worth it. Does the 44 have to be reverse cut?

You can swap in a Waggy 44 Standard Rotation with Drivers drop relatively easily.


You can go the harder route with the Ford RC 44 and have it cut down if you want to keep the stock width.

Brackets for the Coils run about $300. For what its worth theres no reason to not go with a 44 in teh front. :D

High Pinion is nice, but look at the front drive shaft, it's three freaking feet long, a Low pinion Dana 44 out of an '81 and newer Wagoneer will be plenty beefy, but you're out fo luck if you want to keep the 5 on 4.5 wheels, you're looking at either 6 on 5.5 or 5 on 5.5 with some hub and spindle swapping

Originally posted by 4Bangler
High Pinion is nice, but look at the front drive shaft, it's three freaking feet long, a Low pinion Dana 44 out of an '81 and newer Wagoneer will be plenty beefy, but you're out fo luck if you want to keep the 5 on 4.5 wheels, you're looking at either 6 on 5.5 or 5 on 5.5 with some hub and spindle swapping

Man, you missed it this time. I think that is a first for ya, I really watch your tech.

high-pinion will keep your driveshaft outta the rocks
All frontends should be high pinion, Ford is just the only one who didn't fuck that up.

Hopefully we can meet on the trail sometime as I think we would have a good time watching the big displacment boys :nuke: .

CYA
Collin

HP 44s in 77-79 (I believe) had the welded on C clamps for the radius arms (as oppoesed to the cast). These are the desireble ones to get. They are 6 lug outers, but can be swapped for 5 on 5.5. Since your XJ has the smaller 260 u joints, I would say that the hub conversion is not cost effective compared to building a D44.

Good luck

Originally posted by SeanP
HP 44s in 77-79 (I believe) had the welded on C clamps for the radius arms (as oppoesed to the cast). These are the desireble ones to get. They are 6 lug outers, but can be swapped for 5 on 5.5. Since your XJ has the smaller 260 u joints, I would say that the hub conversion is not cost effective compared to building a D44.

Good luck

77 1/2 to 79 1/2 tons were all 5x5.5 outers to the best of my knowledge. The 3/4 ton version were eight lug with spring pads.

Originally posted by Norm


77 1/2 to 79 1/2 tons were all 5x5.5 outers to the best of my knowledge. The 3/4 ton version were eight lug with spring pads.

sweet, even better. My friend just built a D44 from that year truck and he is running 6 lug wheels. He must have changed something out.

SeanP

Originally posted by charlo
Looking for a Manuel locking hub conversion...


Charlo

Are those the new Mexican hub locks I read about in 4-Wheeler?

Personally, I'm holding out for the Jose hub conversion. It should be out by next spring...

:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Originally posted by JEEP_TJ_FREAK


Man, you missed it this time. I think that is a first for ya, I really watch your tech.

high-pinion will keep your driveshaft outta the rocks
All frontends should be high pinion, Ford is just the only one who didn't fuck that up.

Hopefully we can meet on the trail sometime as I think we would have a good time watching the big displacment boys :nuke: .

CYA
Collin

I gotta go with 4bangler on this one. 19 times outta 20, it's the shafts (U-joints) that go on a 44 anyhow so the extra strength in the pig is a moot point. (and really, it's only stronger when you're traveling in a forward direction--think about a scenario when you're backing up out of something and there's MORE weight on the front axle than the rear... isn't it better to have the added beef then rather than when you're going up a hill forward and most of the weight is being carried by the rear axle...?)

Sure the RC keeps the pinion outta the shit and that's definately a good thing, but the front driveshaft angles on an XJ are plenty fine even with the standard cut diff up front, especially if you've swapped in a longer transmission.

So I say go with the Waggy front. Leave it 6-lug and throw in a Waggy 44 rear to match. You can keep it cheap or you can do the CTM/Warn shaft thing up front, throw in some Chromo axles in the back. Best part is, you end up with something that doesn't weigh a gazillion pounds when you're done (i.e. 60s).

My $.02 USD,
Jake

I dunno, that extra couple of inches you gain under the front shaft with a HP axle doesn't seem worth it. Build a better driveshaft, I've had my whole Jeep resting on my front shaft, yeah it's got some scrapes, and I try not to do it all the time, but it didn't break, and I made it through. I would have run HP in my junk but I couldn't get 5.38's reverse cut at the time, now they are becoming available, so my custom width axle may be a HP, but then I gotta buy new gears again, and I've never had a problem with the LP

Hey, thanks for watching my tech, didn't know I had a fan club. Hope to wheel with everyone on the planet some day, I love watching anyone blow their junk up, even when it's me on video tape. The only thing I love more is to watch someone take on a seemingly impossible line and make it look like pulling in the driveway, or watching a newbie make it through any technical section for the first time with a big smile on their face, that makes it all for me.

Hopefully we can meet on the trail sometime as I think we would have a good time watching the big displacment boys :nuke: . Well This is for my friends XJ not mine. I don't wheel my 2wd XJ thats what my K5 with a 383 is for. You can watch that blow up instead. I think I talked him into a waggy front but hes already got a locked 44 rear. So can we get the spindles and shit from a "77 1/2 to 79 1/2 tons were all 5x5.5 outers to the best of my knowledge. The 3/4 ton version were eight lug with spring pads. "???
Thanks for the good advice.


Charlo

Are those the new Mexican hub locks I read about in 4-Wheeler?
I am surprised they have not come out with an automatic locking hub conversion kit to replace the vacuum shit those XJs come with. I see problems all the time. Some jeeper is losing traction so he floors it and @ wide open throttle he looses manifold vacuum and sometimes his 4 wheel drive right when he needs it most. I can't imagine what it would be like on a carburated jeep with a rough idle cam.


Charlo

Originally posted by charlo
Well This is for my friends XJ not mine. I don't wheel my 2wd XJ thats what my K5 with a 383 is for. You can watch that blow up instead. I think I talked him into a waggy front but hes already got a locked 44 rear. So can we get the spindles and shit from a "77 1/2 to 79 1/2 tons were all 5x5.5 outers to the best of my knowledge. The 3/4 ton version were eight lug with spring pads. "???
Thanks for the good advice.


Charlo

He should get the waggy rear44 to match, and swap the gears and locker from the XJ 44. Then sell the XJ 44 to offset the cost of both of the waggy 44s :flipoff2:

Originally posted by charlo

I am surprised they have not come out ...

I was just making light of your misspelling of the word 'manual' and changing it to 'Manuel' which is a common Mexican first name. (pronounced man-well)

:beer:
Jake

Originally posted by charlo
So can we get the spindles and stuff from a "77 1/2 to 79 1/2 tons were all 5x5.5 outers to the best of my knowledge. The 3/4 ton version were eight lug with spring pads. "???
Thanks for the good advice. That's bad advice.
Stay away from 1/2 ton 78-79 axles. Junk (search the Ford section)
The 77.5-79 F250 axles are good, just 1" longer on the pass. axle shaft.
If you keeping the Ford brakes go with a 76-77 disk set up.
If you goin with Chevy brakes go with 73-75 to save ca$h.

Originally posted by SeanP
HP 44s in 77-79 (I believe) had the welded on C clamps for the radius arms (as oppoesed to the cast). Nope, the 78-79 have the all in one casting crap. Again stay away UNLESS your staying with the Ford coil system.


Jakesteramalamajama, that argumment on the Reverse Spiral being weaker. It's simillar the argument of keep it in two wheel drive until you get stuck then stick it in four wheel drive to back out.