Isuzu Rear Axle?

[SuperEx91]

A friend of mine works in a junkyard and was telling me he has a rear axle out of a 97ish isuzu rodeo. He said it is a dana 44 with disc brakes and the factory locker. He also has the wagoneer axle im interested in and he said the isuzu axle is the same width and has the same 6-lug pattern. I have searched and confirmed that they came with a dana 44 with disc brakes and figured this would be my best bet for the Ex. I was curious if anyone has ever used this setup. It seems almost too perfect to not be used. He also said that he thinks it came with 4.11s but i kinda doubt that. If this is all true i am thinking about using these axles with the front radius arms from cage off-road and he has some 6inch cherokee springs he would sell me cheap. Then i will just bolt up(hopefully) the rear with some lift shackles. Any info on this setup or the isuzu axle would be awesome. thanks

 

[410Fortune]

Make sure you know what you are getting into

A dana 44 rear end is weaker then your Ford 8.8, alot weaker

Although if it does have the factory locker and 4.11 gears it would not be a bad rear end behind the 4.0L.
I would stick with my Ford 8.8 31 spline myself

Are you prepared to do a solid axle conversion on your Explorer? alot of people spend $1500-2000 ea rebuilding their new junk yard axles before installing the,

 

[SuperEx91]

I'm slowly preparing myself. My friend works at a junkyard and gets me big parts cheap and i work for midas and can get new parts at cost if needed. I also have access to torches, welders, lifts, etc....
I have been planning for awhile and just havent made up my mind exactly how i want to go yet.

In what ways is it weaker? I saw pics of an isuzu with this rear axle and they just had a truss on it. the guy was running 38s i believe without problems.

 

[410Fortune]

weaker in every way
Your 8.8 31 spline is more comparable to a dana 60 then a 44

dont get me wrong the D44 is a strong rear end, but it wasnt strong enough for Ford to use in their 4000# SUV's

 

[SuperEx91]

thats a good point.