How would you custom order a Dana44?

...This would be for a Ranger or First gen Explorer and the idea behind it is to basically have a kit ready axle for our RBV's..

...As some of you know I spend a lot of time wheeling with race teams and the top manufacturers in the offroad industry...

These guys build Trophy Trucks, Rock Crawlers, and the baddest offroad vehicles in the World...

Anyways...I was in one of these shops the other day and I asked "Why don't you make a kit Dana44 say about the size of an Early Bronco to match the size of an 8.8 with disc for our Rangers and Explorers?"

...After asking this question several times over in past few years and getting replies like "nobody wants those, and there is no market for that Ford Ranger anymore"..

..My jaw about hit the floor with this response.."Sure...How do you want it built? We are currently finishing up a secret project for a magazine and have it all in house"

Where's that lightbulb smilie?

Here's a chance to design a simple Dana44 axle as a kit for us...

This ain't no bolt on thing but it is a source and starting point so I was thinking about doing this to my Ranger (over time of course...)

If you wanted to design a basic D44 kit axle for everyone, what all parts would you want available to be ordered and shipped?

 

[gmanpaint]

As far as having an axle built and as close to being a bolt on purchase as one could get, these are the items I would like to have done....

Would this be a solid tube axle or a cast tube axle? I would prefer a solid .500 myself.

For a narrow width axle, the EB width would be the most convenient to use the already mass produced shafts. These shafts are made in stock form, Chromoly, and upgraded U-joints, and are by far the cheapest to replace. Being able to choose which of these at purchase time would be great.

The panhard mounts seem to be one of the hardest parts to deal with, so figuring out both of these configurations to where they are either fixed with no issues or adjustable for dialing in would be nice. Either a good standard joint or a choice of which joints we want.

The knuckles with high steer arms would be great, but this would increase the costs a bunch. So with stock knuckles, having them reamed out before hand for a 1 ton TRE or Misalignment joint for us would be another selling point. Same with the Pitman arm opening.

Then there is the long Arm style. Wedge and Caps or mounts and joints? Set Length and mount location, with a matching Trans cross member would be awesome.

Another helpful thing, would be to send them your locker of choice (or LS) to install when the gears are set by them. This would save the buyer some cash or work down the road.

Brake lines. Pre installed lines & fittings would be nice.
New rotors installed would also save time and headaches.

A nice new vent location would be nice.

That's all I can think of at the moment. LOL!

 

[corkey]

abs sensors ?

other than that, about the same as this setup ,with stock spring and shock mounting locations,,

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1342290&postcount=62

 

[DB_1]

The toughest part of having a "kit" axle for RBV's is there's too many variations when doing an SAS. How do you a make one-size-fits all axle if one guy uses leafs and another guy uses coils or coilovers?

To add to the equation, not everyone is using the same bracketry and in the same locations. An axle mfg. would also have to offer the brackets (namely the panhard or leaf spring brackets depending which style used) to work with the "kit" axle.

I see it being cost prohibitive for any mfg because the market is just too small IMO. There are bolt in replacement axles for jeeps because there's a ton more of them out there...much bigger market.

Most of us can live with rebuilding a junkyard or used housing and weld on (or have someone) the needed brackets and save some money over having an axle built.

 

[Tbars4]

..Options....Start with a basic axle then you take the time and give them options.

..I can see a 93-97 Ranger kit happening with perhaps later doing a 91-94 Explorer kit and I can see the minimal market there but creating an open door policy is priceless.

Has anybody seen the cost of an EB D44 stock axle lately or tried to find one? They are not getting easier to find.

Here is a rebuilt stock axle starting at $2600..

http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/prod...uuMMnvk6Wb11Wkm_MabIIdaIhb0aAhbR8P8HAQR8P8HAQ

This will not be something that sits on a shelf but rather an item that you call up and order..Again, not a bolt on set-up but a source to order for RBV's..

 

[gmanpaint]

Yeah, heck with the EB axle housings, just narrow a F-150 axle housing. Preferably a 1977.

I agree with variables, and I'm sure your after a popular census here, but I think the coil SAS is the most popular choice out of the three we choose from.

With brands such as James Duff already having parts made and ready for a coil setup, this seems the logical choice, not the best choice per say.

 

[Tbars4]

...Never been one to follow the crowd so I thought this would be a good topic to start a good foundation for those who would like to custom order an axle..

I for one would want to drive mine within a month or so from ordering the parts instead of taking a year or two to build a SAS..

Who knows... I might just start doing this as a hobby so I could afford to do more wheeling...

 

[DB_1]

At $2600, that Tom's Bronco axle is basically a new axle. It's going to be about double that for a custom or even any "kit" axle. Same amount of labor is involved in making either one.

If I were going to order a new axle I'd definitely go wider...more of a mid-width axle in the 65" range. More stable, capable of more travel and tires don't stick out too far. I'd just have it made with the pass. side wider and if you ever needed a replacement shaft it's not a big deal to have one cut and splined. Might be a bit longer lead time than getting an "off-the-shelf" axle shaft but places like Currie are pretty good about that stuff.

 

[RockRanger]

Driver drop wagonner axle 2.5" wider on driverside. High pinion.

 

[Brian1]

I don't see the fascination with a Dana 44. I get that they are a cheap option from junkyards but if you are going to custom order a new one anyway why not go with a fabricated 9" housing and a high pinion 3rd member?

Higher clearance, stronger than a 44 and much, much easier to build off of a fabbed housing. I have built several Dana 44s, Dana 60s, 8.8s, Fabbed Toyota 8's and some very high-end fabricated 9's. The fabricated housings and the components are so much nicer to work with.

If I ever SAS'd my Explorer that is what I would do. (But I don't expect that to ever happen for what I use it for)

 

[Tbars4]

...This could change as the goal here is an affordable budget ordered axle for RBV's..

..I must first submit a proposal of what we want and it would be great to line up some buyers, (kind of a group buy of say 10).

But this is definitely something I am seriously thinking about doing to the Ranger so I could swap and update the dual caliper TTB parts over to the X for now...

..The Ranger is heading to 300,000 miles and it's time to freshen it up..

 

[BKennedy]

Brian is right, but then the price on the fabricated housings goes way up compared to a D44. I think the majority of people who do a SAS into a RBV are doing either leafs springs or early Bronco type radius arms. An early Bronco width high pinion D44 would work for the majority of RBV SAS's. .5" thick tube walls of course. It would be the most economical, versus custom width axles. There are all kinds of parts available.

 

[Tbars4]

..For all intents and purposes this axle build will be based on Coilovers and not leaf springs...

..Now i'm open To have people post up used EB Dana44 axles they find in the SoCal area so we could compare what it would take cost wise to totally rebuild one (like the Tom's Bronco D44 I posted a link to) and without a garage or a welder how long it might take versus a custom axle cost..(Not interested in cutting down another axle)..

..My thoughts are to start with as near a new axle as possible and when weighing the options having one built instead of another long term project of the axle itself seems like a good choice..

 

[DB_1]

Brian is right, but then the price on the fabricated housings goes way up compared to a D44.

Not necessarily, A Currie RockJock44 housing with inner knuckles is around $1500. A Diamond Axle fabricated 9" housing with Reid Racing inner knuckles is $1200.

 

[Stic-o]

I don't see why not just use a full width bronco/f150 as I did. Just run your back spacing on your wheels right and will never get to wide. Other than rebuilding mine, you could swap mine right into what it came out of. Also full width 8.8' are also extremely plentiful. This would also work for the Fsb crowd

 

[bats]

The guy that I picked up my D44 from planned to put it in a FSB but decided he wanted to go with a D60 instead.

Out here on the east coast D44's are somewhat hard to find but they're usually not pricey. For $300 I got a complete disc to disc axle (Chevy brake swap) including stock radius arms and brackets.

In the interest of keeping the price down, why not make the base pretty close to what a stock EB axle would be like with some minor upgrades like stouter axle shafts and disc brakes? I know we all want high steer, 5.13's and ARB lockers but for the casual wheeler who's just looking to get a SA under their truck the sticker price of something like that could be a turn off. If they really get serious about wheeling, all the fancy mods can be added later of course.

 

[Tbars4]

...I think I'm going to keep the built 8.8 X rearend I have and since these rear axles are plentiful too I figured I would start looking for a someone budget and readily available as close to new axle as I can find..

Plus your Dad don't have room for another project in their yard...:

Daves options are looking more in the price ranges but it would be awesome to work on wittling the numbrrs down..

Bats, your are thinking the same thing I am..:biggthump:.

 

[corkey]

so entry level with add-ons sounds like bats idea,

and seeing as it will be a first sas for most ,than it would have to be easy and use very readily available mounts ,,

kind of like this one ,, it has a few options available,,

http://home.foothilloffroad.com/fod44faxle.jsp

it doesn't have a price on the page though,,

 

[gmanpaint]

Used:
Installing the 8.8 upgrade with the C-clip eliminator mods will increase the width a couple inches. Going Dave's route, with the Mid-width housing would match both axles pretty close. This way you can use the same wheels on all four corners, with the same offsets. The FW F-150 D44 could be narrowed to match. Increased costs would be aprox $500 for the 8.8 kit, and one custom splined axle.

I don't see anything wrong with the older F-150 axles once they are cleaned up. It's just surface crud on them that doesn't take long to clean, and they can be had for $100-$300 all day long, as Bats mentioned. The internals are all going to be replaced anyways. Plentiful in the mid-west, so maybe it sways my thinking.

New:

RuffStuff has a fabbed 9" housing for less than $700, and will cut the tubes to any length you want. Add a truss and some armor, and it jumps close to $1500 with them doing the welding, less if you did the welding. They also make brake kits, misc mounts, and panhard/steering kits for it. If you were to use a Fab housing, this is the unit I would choose for the base housing for the SAS kit.

 

[Tbars4]

...I like simple like the EB D44 without cutting, sanding, rebuilding, etc....

..My thoughts are to have this new axle designed to have delivered with it and pretty much built with an open carrier, 4:56, 4:88, and 5:13 gear options which should also include disc brakes installed already or easy install but delivered with axle.

..Just a heads up but EB's go for 20k-50k out here.....I did find a used dana 44 for a scout with 3:73's for 750..

..But again keep coming with the ideas..I have a campfire meeting with these different builders within the next week to discuss ideas..