RustENutz's Waggy D44 swap!

Alrighty, picked up my explorer about a month ago and have been collecting parts ever since. It's getting a Dana 44 out of a 81' wagoneer via spring-over leaf springs. So far I've got the axle all cleaned up, converted to 5x5.5, with flat top knuckles and high-steer arm from Sky Manufacturing. Perches are TT Fabworks, probably not worth the money, still had to grind the diff side way out.

Springs are stock 7 leaf springs. I've got 4.5" shackles, which are already hung from my crossmember I fabbed up last weekend. Hmmmm....what else, the rear is getting a SOA with add-a-leaf as the rear leaves are sagging pretty bad. Spider-Trax adapters will match up the width and lug pattern. That's all I can think of right now. I just got a digital camera, so no pictures from before, but I'll show you what I've got so far.

My saggy rear end.

Beefy!

Stuff...

Axle, hubs/rotor, high steer arm

Spent last night fitting my perches, got them fitting pretty snug.

That's it for now, more later. The actual swap will take place not this weekend but the next.

 

[Yomie]

You can look for the pitman arm from the superlift 5.5 inch kit. I run it on my sas explorer.

Me too, and it has more throw that my high steer D30 can handle (about 1/2" too much, i never compared them to see if it was longer or not

 

[RustENutz]

I'll definitely check out the f-150 e-brake cable. As for the pitman arm, I can't have any more drop. My draglink is pretty much parallel with my tierod. I guess the best thing to do is take my extra stock one and hit up the junk yard to compare with others. Or put caps on my steering stops.

 

[Yomie]

i ahve mine re-tapered from the top to run my DL on the top of the pitman arm instead of the bottom like the stock one...beacuse i'm only running 4" lift with my sas and my DL is level also

 

[RustENutz]

Drove it home tonight!! Brakes need to be pressure bled and I still don't have shocks, which made for an interesting ride! Other than that I'm very happy. The leaf springs ride very nice and soft, which makes me happy cuz I was afraid it would be really stiff. Steering feels great, wheel is centered, drives perfectly straight and the wheel self-centers good after a turn. Probably need a steering dampener too though. I'll post daylight pics tomorrow. Just can't wait to get my tires and wheels now!

 

[RustENutz]

Flexed her out with the forklift today. Checking for any binding and clearances...plus it looks cool!

Looks like I'll need some of Froader's fender treatment for stuffing 35's!

 

[lifeguard379]

looks sick!

 

[IZwack]

Lookin great there -- clean build!

 

[Yomie]

Very clean build...good job

 

[zainyD]

Nice flex!! Those Waggy leafs look like the way to go.

 

[Yomie]

Are you running the long side of thoes springs forward or rearward?

 

['97 V8]

Wow, very nice(Borat voice)

 

[RustENutz]

Are you running the long side of thoes springs forward or rearward?

Rearward, just like they are from factory. I already moved the axle back all I could on the perches (had 3 holes). Wish I would of measured better so I could of gotten the axle back just a little bit. Oh well!:

 

[RockRanger]

Get some jeep wrangler springs. They have the center spring centered. They will move the axle back a bit, but not as much as flipping your springs around.

 

[RustENutz]

FINALLY!:fire: My wheels and 2 of 4 shocks came yesterday. I'm never ordering from 4wheelparts.com again, took 3 1/2 weeks to get my order, and it's still not all here!:frustrate Anyways...I'm much happier now that my Explorer looks like this!

F-250 shock towers holding a 14" travel shock. Had to cut a wedge out of this side, bend it out further and re-weld it to clear the air conditioning unit. Rides and looks much better! Now I just need my rear shocks to get in and do some fender trimming on the front.

 

[RustENutz]

Rearward, just like they are from factory. I already moved the axle back all I could on the perches (had 3 holes). Wish I would of measured better so I could of gotten the axle back just a little bit. Oh well!:

I just re-read that and realized that I'm stupid.: Long side is FORWARD, so my axle is as far back as it can with these springs.

 

[FROADER]

Looks great with the wheels and tires on it.

I know what you mean about 4wheelparts.com though. I got a smokin' deal, but it took over 6 weeks to get 5 tires.

 

[Yomie]

I just re-read that and realized that I'm stupid.: Long side is FORWARD, so my axle is as far back as it can with these springs.

OK, Thats how i'm running my Waggy springs with the long side to the front..

Looks good with the wheels and tires.....You like the tires on the highway? they are awesome for me on the roads

 

[RustENutz]

Yeah, I've run Toyo's before and knew they'd be good on the street. But I can't believe how well the rig behaves on the street. It drives better on the road than it did stock! And I still don't have rear shocks!

 

[RustENutz]

Rear shocks came in yesterday, got them mounted up. Mounted the tops then made a 2x6" plate to bolt to the swaybar mounts on the axle. Then took 2x3" square tubing 1/4" wall and cut 2 "U's" out of it to bolt the shock to. I bolted the "U" to the shock and jacked the bottom of the shock up to the 2x6" plate and tacked it on, unbolted, fully welded it and bolted it all back on....after a coat of rattle can of course!

 

[zainyD]

Looks good as usual! How much $$ do you have in this project so far?