Need help with dana 44

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:46 pm

okay. I need to know what years to look for when searching for a d44. i'm going to be rock crawling so i wanna be wider then stock. im having trouble finding a dana 44 for the front.. i can find a 60 for the rear like nothing. i really want to get this done in the next few weeks.. any help would be great

EBSTEVE · Post by **EBSTEVE** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:44 pm

78-79 Bronco or 76-79 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks will be full width and either 5 or 8 lug depending on what you want. If you go early Bronco it will be wider than stock BII by about 5 inches total but not full width.
HTH

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:17 pm

if i would go with full width im not sure how to shorten it or make it fit. it would be more expensive too because of custom axles right? some one help me out, i don't know much about cars

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:39 pm

what do you guys think about this.... ill stilll have to find radius arms and everything else though.... coal township (item location) is not far from me
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/66-77-Ea ... enameZWDVW

EBSTEVE · Post by **EBSTEVE** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:54 pm

onewontwo wrote:i really want to get this done in the next few weeks.

onewontwo wrote:some one help me out, i don't know much about cars

These two don't go together well.

If I was going to put a solid axel under a BII I would go EB width (like the one linked) but I would use a 78-79 Bronco housing so I could go HP and rotate the inner "c"'s to get the caster correct and shorten the long side. If I was you I would get the EB setup.
Keep in mind if you do the rear 60 like you said you will be 8 lug and far wider than an EB front, since it's not a full width housing.

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:25 pm

im capable of doing a good job. i work with metal everyday so im pretty creative i just need to know what will work and what won't

what if i stick with that low pinion axle on ebay for now and switch to a high pinion housing down the road?

is a 9" rear a solid axle or not? and how much flex is it capable of if it is?

Phillippi · Post by **Phillippi** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:26 pm

The 9" is a solid axel. All rears on ford on the EB, FS bronco and broncoII are solid rear.

As for the D44 I would go with a HP FS and cut it down to EB size. I did this myself and It wasnt really that hard, but takes some time if you are slow like me. I didnt want to screw anything up, so I measured like 100 times before I cut and everything worked out great.

You could go with a dana60 rear and do a swap like Matt did to 9" disks with a 5x5.5 bolt pattern, but that takes time and money.

Really your options are open at this point.

As far as flex, that really depends on the suspension setup both front and rear. Hard to give you an estimate.

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:18 am

i think im just going to get that eb axle and eventually switch over to HP a little later.

as for the rear im going to go with a 9" and any suggestions on what leaf springs to use?

EBSTEVE · Post by **EBSTEVE** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 6:16 am

Get an EB 9" as well to keep the width the same, it's simple.
As for the leaf springs, search to see what Noboday used. It was a simple setup that worked well.
HTH

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:24 pm

i ended up going and getting a 44 today.. axle w/ lockers installed, radius arms, drop brakcet, steering, track bar.... did i miss anything..? do i use my stock coil bucket or not?

my plan for the rear is a 9" which this guy has for $200 with whatever leaf set-up you guys would recommend.

onewontwo · Post by **onewontwo** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:58 pm

still 2 things im not understanding. Under my frame where the radius arm will be mounting there is a bracket that mounts to the frame on both sides. What do i do with this? Also, how do i hook up the steering? Do i use my stock pitman arm or something else? Thanks for any help.

Phillippi · Post by **Phillippi** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:04 pm

Mine had the same both sided mount for radius arms as well, but they were a custom job, so I made them stock again to where they bolt through the outsides and under. Since our frame isnt boxed it would not work the way the EB does unless you box your frame in that section.

Pitman I thought had to be reamed out to use with the eb setup. Matt would be able to answer that for sure though.