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Axle Swap... Need Help

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  cibholder03 
#1 ·
I have a 53 Willies and will be lengthening it about a foot and a half. I also want to swap out my axles and put something wider put do not want to do much modification to the axle. I want to gain serious width but obviously cant put on full width axles since my CJ-3A is not very wide. My stock 25 in the front and stock 44 in the rear have held up fine over the years. I don't need beefy axles or full width axles but was wondering if anyone knew what a good donor vehicle would be to find something I could easily swap without cutting. I also want to keep the 5 x 5.5 lug but this is something I might ignore since I eventually will want beadlocks anyway. The axles also need the offset pumpkin because of my t18 transfer case. I was thinking wagoneer or CJ-7 stock axles may work. Any advice?
 
#2 ·
you could always go with scout axles. they are dana 44s front and rear, and wider than CJ widetrack axles. the old school full size bronco came with a 9" rear and a dana 44 up front with 5x5.5. but they had the dana 20 with a drivers drop.
toyota axles from an FJ have the rear offset like you need. but generally have a 6 bolt pattern.
just look for a front dana 30 from someone with a later model CJ that they are throwing away. 1981-1986 are the wide track years. then buy wheel spacers for the rear. i would keep your rear 44. i have a dana 30 from my 85 i am trying to get rid of...just saying....
 
#3 · (Edited)
A good set of axles that will give you a little width, but not full width are the 74' to 79' Wagoneers D44's (find one the had D44's F & R). They mearsure about 59-60" wms to wms ( a little wider then CJ widetracs) and I believe if you find a Quadra-Trac equipped axle the rear is offset to match your t18 tc. The downside id they are 6 lug. I know people convert the front to 5x5.5 using Ford D44 stuff, but not sure how they match the rear. Run a lot BS and it will tuck the tires even further under the jeep. I have been researching a lot about axle strength and width and have found if you don't plan on running over 37's and you don't want to go full width or have custom axles ($$$) made these are about your best option. I am putting a set under my 78' CJ7. They are relatively easy to find are had pretty cheap. I just picked up a whole running 89' Wagoneer with a 360/727/NP229 and D44's for $400. It's rusted to crap and the front D44 on these later Wagoneers are driver's drop, but I have a line around the corner already from the YJ guys who want to buy it. I will sell it or swap it for the early Waggy D44, outboard my front springs and go SOA with stock YJ leafs and will be good to go.
 
#4 ·
If you can find some the 80s xj had a 44 5 lug but finding a front is hard at times like mentioned above the waggy 44s are 6 lug and may be easier to find I run the waggys on both my Toyota and xj makes it nice wheels interchange
 
#5 ·
Early '70's Waggy are 5 x5.5 ,not necessarily disc brake though ,some are ,some aren't,and the axles are wider then Scout II or CJ's ,60 plus inches .

these axles are hard to find in my area , but must be around .

The aforementioned XJ rear is 5x4.5 inch pattern.

In my experience ,used 6 lug wheels are easier to find then 5 x5.5 wheels anyway ,so I'd follow the sheep and get '80's Waggy D44's if putting in some work is out of the question.You will need to outboard your front springs with this route though.This is work you may not be up for .

For my CJ-7 ,I'm installing a stock width Scout II rear D44 and cutting down a Chevy D44 to Waggy stock right axle width and Scout II left axle width .This gives me stock spring location and Scout II overall width to match my rear axle ,and my bone stock D30 CJ knuckles and brakes bolt right on ,giving me 5x5.5 all around and bigger rear brakes for a parking brake that might actually hold my truck.

BTW , the cut down Cheby D44 gives me spring over ,for a 6" lift .If I decide to stay SUA or go back to SUA ,the same parts go into and on a cut down Waggy front axle (which I have for parts anyway)and I still have a D44 front and rear.

Cutting down a front axle is much easier then making up outboard spring parts ,it takes maybe an hour ,a few grinding wheels and some tissues for metal boogers you'll wind up with.Obviously a good welder when the "c"s are installed and in place ,but that's the hardest part of the whole process.

So , no ,no bolt in parts of substantially better quality ,that's why we work on them and don't buy'em.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I'm pretty sure early 70's Waggy's were 6 lug also and the came with a Dana 30 front/44 rear until 73' (http://www.ifsja.org/tech/figures/db.html) and they are only about 57" wms to wms. You are probably thinking of the J-truck axles (5x5.5 BP, 64" wms to wms, http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=751574). I suggested the 74' to 79, but you are better off to keep it from 74' to 76' if you are looking for flat top knuckles for a nice high steer setup. A lot of people run Scout II axles on trail-only rigs because of the 0 deg caster on the front axle. That's one of the drawbacks of the front Scout D44 axles. The Wagoneers on the other hand had about 5-6 deg caster, similiar to the CJ. Some will run the Scout II rear D44 and Wagoneer front D44, but why do that if you can score both D44's out of the Waggy for the same price most guys want for just one Scout D44 and the Waggy rear D44 is a little beefier. If you are dead set on keeping the 5x5.5 bolt pattern, you have about 2 options in the 58-60" wms to wms width. The Scout II D44 rear and the Ford Early Bronco 9" rear. For the front most D44's you can either use you D30 knuckles or find some Ford D44 outers with 5x5.5 BP. I have had about 4 CJ's with one that had the 1-ton swap (D60 frt/14BFF rr) that was a dedicated trail rig and am currently in the process of deciding on wether I want to do another 1-ton swap with my current 78' CJ-7 or keep it a mild family trail rig and do the Waggy D44's, so I have reaseached the crap out of this subject. Your stock axles on the CJ-3A are about 48" wms to wms, so keep in mind CJ wide-trac axles will look like full-width's, with a gain of about 3.5" on each side in your 3A. Bottom line is if you don't want to get to crazy with HP and tire size, just stick with a set of 72-83 CJ-5 or 76-81 CJ-7 "narrow-trac"axles, about 51" wms to wms ( I have a set right now like this for the quadra-trac setup and is offset in the rear, this would be great for your T18 TC) or 82-86 CJ-7 "wide-tracs", about 55" wms to wms. They are an AMC 20 rear, Dana 30 front. They have tons of aftermarket support and upgrades and can be had for cheap (especially the narrow-tracs and offset rear for the QT setup), upgrade the rear to one piece shafts are you good to go up to 35's. If you are lucky enough, find an 86' CJ with a D44 rear (not offset though). Just my 2 cents, hope it helps. By the way, I would love to have a 3A for a woods rig. I heard they could go anywhere:D
 
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