Biggoofy's 96 ZJ build! ** HP44 and 9" swap **

[BigDaveZJ]

Are the radius arm mounts cast or welded?

[AgitatedPancake]

they're cast, so he can either build up a steel perch over/around the cast, run the ford radius arms, or pick up a different 44.

Considering these axles he's getting are cheap as they come, it wouldn't be much issue to pick up a different 44

[biggoofy]

Im pretty sure im going to case in the cast in steel to make a pirch for it since I like the idea of having a matched axle set and I already have them here. I got the 9s tubes all cleaned up then wire wheeled it. This morning. Stripped the turdy we pulled to swap everything from the current turdy under the xj since I know the parts are good. The 44 is next to get cleaned up.

[BigClay]

You sure it wouldn't be easier to just find another 44 than deal with the cast mounts?

[biggoofy]

If I can find one next weekend ill for sure pull it. The way I would cover the cast is fairly straight forward

[biggoofy]

Well I will be running the IRO 3 link and the 44 what truss options do I have for retaining the stock mounting positions?

[biggoofy]

Well here are all the pics from this weekend

14 bolt, HP44, 9", HP Turdy


HP44 and the Turdy


HP44 hubs


Me cleaning up the tubes on the 9"


Cleaned up stripped down and painted 9" and semi clean 44


Both axles and there future home.

[it usually runs fine]

All right somebody using a real grinder not one of those 4 1/2" pussy biscuits.

[biggoofy]

Im pretty sure this truss will work but Ill have to do a bit of modding due to the cast section if I cant find a 44 with out the cast this weekend. Is a waggy 44 the same width as the ford 44?

[jfowlzj95]

Waggy 44 will be slightly wider than your stock axles, I wanna say somewhere around 62-63" WMS, I don't really remember exact width. The Ford 44 is 65" WMS. Plus the Waggy 44 is 6 lug, so you'd need to either convert the 9" to 6, or 44 to 5.

[biggoofy]

ok looks like i need another ford 44 non cast but I really think i can make that truss work with a bit of cutting and beating does anyone know how thick that cast section is and is there steel under it?

[jfowlzj95]

Cast section is hollow. Check out picture 15. Actually that whole article will give you a ton of info about your 44.

http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/Dana44.htm

[biggoofy]

Awesome info man!!! Well after a short read looks like this one is going up for sale and Ill grab a different one to use on mine!

[IndyZJ]

Keep everything from the spindles out, including the outer shafts.

Find a F250 D44. AFAIK it has the best housing (more material in the center section, 3" x 0.5" tubes) of any 44 and is HP. You can use your spindles and hubs to retain the 5x5.5" BP. The 1/2 ton spindles bolt to the 3/4 ton knuckles which you can run high steer arms on if you want to. The outers are the same length so you'll have some spares.

[biggoofy]

Awesome info man Im for sure still learning about axles and what works with what so its all very helpful to me. rep when I can for sure!

[OrangePower]

Man you are so lucky that you have a lot of axles…
If I find something in my country than this is at least a 1k$ for one axle (dana 44 or higer). They are sooo expensive… DAMM.

[biggoofy]

That sucks man and I am pretty lucky to have this.

[backdoor_artist]

Thanks for the help on friday man. to bad we couldnt get more done. hopefully shell be rolling on her own feet soon.

[AgitatedPancake]

Giggity goo, get that other HP housing you have your eye on and get crackin! hahahha

[biggoofy]

The women is gonna pick it up this weekend hopefully. For those that don't know its a 78 F250 hp 44 housing that is perfect and im picking it up for. $75 and swapping over all the parts from the 44 I got this weekend.

[Jeeptech01]

If I was coming home sooner I would bring you one man.

Edit: the 9 and 44 came out of a 78 ford f150 ranger

I appreciate that. I'll just keep scanning the local cl for another few weeks and if I dont find one I'll build the hp30 and see how long it lasts.

[biggoofy]

true well I can grab you a waggy 44 and hold on to it till I come home next and hook you up with a good deal.

[Jeeptech01]

Tks but the waggy is lp and 6 lug. Im only doing a 44 once and Im gonna do it right. Im lookin for a hp44 either an f250 model or one with welded wedges. I'll keep the 5 on 5.5 and get adapters for the 8.8 then narrow the 44 to waggy width so I can use off the shelf chromos and add some caster in by rotating the inner c's before they are welded. Oh and I'll put the mounts about 1-2" higher on the 44 so my ca angles are better.

But yea if you come across another ford 44 LMK LOL

[biggoofy]

Ill see what I can find man if I do find one ill for sure hook it up!

Edit: Ill give you the 78 f150 housing free if you want it since im now just gonna use the parts from it to build the f250 housing up and you could just retube it

[backdoor_artist]

i roll with you out there man and give you a hand at the junkyard. if my jeep is done, get to work on it open to close at the hobby shop tomorrow since i got screwed friday...haha