Any advice on what years of vehicles to look at for axle upgrades?

[ck85abc3]

Just want opinions...

I have a 89 yj with a chevy 350 motor, turbo 350 transmission, np 231 transfer case, dana 35 rear and dana 30 front, and 38.5 inch TSL boggers on 15 inch rims.

I want to put a HP dana 44 up front, dana 60 rear or comparable???, and a slip yoke eliminator for the NP231. what year and size fords should I be looking for for the dana 44 front? What should I be looking for for the dana 60 rear? or comparable? I would also like to not spend the money on gearing upgrades (the np231 should help with that) So finding axles with 4.10 or so gears would be nice. I would also like to spool, detroit lock, or weld the spiders. I plan on doing spring over and want to stay as narrow as stock as possible and don't want the tires to rub on the front springs. Any years with disk brakes?

comments? Good/bad/dumb?

Thanks

[crashnzuk]

Look at late 70s-early 80s Ford 3/4 tons. They should have HP44 with disc and a 60 out back. The only way to keep it reasonably narrow is to run wheels with lots of backspace, but I don't think that'll work for you either because your tire size will most definitely hit the springs.
Travis..

[ck85abc]

Originally Posted by crashnzuk

Look at late 70s-early 80s Ford 3/4 tons. They should have HP44 with disc and a 60 out back. The only way to keep it reasonably narrow is to run wheels with lots of backspace, but I don't think that'll work for you either because your tire size will most definitely hit the springs.
Travis..

Thanks for the input.

I think 80-85 does not have a solid front end, so will late 80s work? Does anything come stock with rear disk brakes?

I can always put a 4 link up front, are there any good junkyard springs? Or do I need to buy aftermarket?

[crashnzuk]

Yeah, I forgot about the TTB stuff. You pretty much have to look before they started using it to get straight axle unless you want a dana 60 front. I'm not a Ford guru by any means. You should research what year Ford trucks came with what. If you don't mind swapping to a passenger t-case, you can use older Chevy, Dodge, and Jeep front axles. It depends on how easy or involved you want to make it. You also aren't gonna find rear disc brakes until the early 2000s, but don't use a Super Duty rear from that vintage unless you are using the front axle too due to wheel bolt pattern differences.
Travis..

[BJA814]

http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/web_rs44.html

Lots of great D44 front info here.

[406 YJ]

I didn't want to hear this the first time someone told me. After you are done you will have almost the same amount of green in a dana44 front as a dana 60. Pay the extra 400$ up front and post up in a few years thanking me for the info.

I only wish I had listened back then

Start with reading this. Get a kingpin axle and call it good. Again.... Thank me later.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...nt/index2.html


Looks like you edited your post...... If you want narrow and dana 44 your simple answer is a set of jeep rubicon axles. Look to drop around 4 grand on them and keep a ton of axle shafts on hand if you plan on running v8 power and a 39" tire.

[mechanicalmongoose20]

Originally Posted by 406 YJ

I didn't want to hear this the first time someone told me. After you are done you will have almost the same amount of green in a dana44 front as a dana 60. Pay the extra 400$ up front and post up in a few years thanking me for the info.

I only wish I had listened back then

Start with reading this. Get a kingpin axle and call it good. Again.... Thank me later.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...nt/index2.html


Looks like you edited your post...... If you want narrow and dana 44 your simple answer is a set of jeep rubicon axles. Look to drop around 4 grand on them and keep a ton of axle shafts on hand if you plan on running v8 power and a 39" tire.

Truth

[ck85abc3]

Originally Posted by 406 YJ

I didn't want to hear this the first time someone told me. After you are done you will have almost the same amount of green in a dana44 front as a dana 60. Pay the extra 400$ up front and post up in a few years thanking me for the info.

I only wish I had listened back then

Start with reading this. Get a kingpin axle and call it good. Again.... Thank me later.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...nt/index2.html


Looks like you edited your post...... If you want narrow and dana 44 your simple answer is a set of jeep rubicon axles. Look to drop around 4 grand on them and keep a ton of axle shafts on hand if you plan on running v8 power and a 39" tire.

Thanks for the comments, narrow is the least of my concerns. Another thought I had was dana 60 front and dana 60/70/80/14 bolt rear with hummer 16.5 inch rims with the 7 inch offset. I would have to sell my tires then and buy other tires/rims. Plus it seems like dana 60 front is more like $700-$1000 more.

[crashnzuk]

Yeah, I just tryed to answer your question, but these guys are right. You'll destroy a 44 with tires that big and some power. The 60 is expensive, but by the time you buy chromos and stuff to make the 44 almost as strong as a stock 60, you could have bought the 60 and had money left in your pocket.
Travis..

[deanschool]

personaly i wouldnt waste time with a 44... do a 60 and thank 406 YJ when your done. i drove a 99 tj with the 30/35 combo, now i drive a rubicon with the 44/44 combo and now im swapping my 44s out for 60 front and sterling 10.25 rear. 1 tons are worth the little extra $ and youll definatly be happy.

look for a 78-79 ford because they had the nice kingpin, high pinion 60. they are spendy but if you find someone with little knowings of what they have you can score the entire truck for $1000. even less if its only axles and frame/body.

just a little IMO information.