Slightly confused about SAS.

[Zenshu]

Ok I won't lie I am not very mechanically inclined and a little unsure of what I am looking at. I am wanting to swap a Dana 44 into my '93 sport but I am not sure if it matters which vehicle the new front end came from. I have found a low priced Dana 44 out of a 77 chevy for sale in El Paso and I was wanting to pick it up when I get back from Iraq in the next few days but I wanted to get your guys help before I waste money on something I can't even use. Will the Dana 44 from a 77 chevy even work in a ford or can I stop my search for an affordable used axle?

 

[section525]

It will not. The differential is on the passenger side. Ford uses a driver's side.

 

[Zenshu]

Great, thanks for the info. Any suggestions on vehicles with Dana 44's that will work other than the early bronco?...I am not having any luck finding anything for less than 3,000 in the bronco category near El Paso.

 

[section525]

Ford F150 and Jeep Wagoneers are probably the most common. The F150 would need to be shortened if you don't want a full-width axle, but the Wagoneer would be perfecto.

 

[FROADER]

Same goes for the 78 & 79 Bronco as the F-150 that section mentioned.

 

[Welshdragon79]

Other things to consider about your SAS are what type of suspension are you going to go with. If you plan on doing a radius arm setup found on the Bronco/ F-150 try to find one from the 78-79 model year and get the cast wedge style and you can cut it to fit or go full width. If you plan on doing leaf springs or link style you can opt for a Waggy axle or the weld on wedge Ford D44 and cut the wedges off.
If your not sure ask plenty of questions, leaf spring and or radius may be cheapest; link will cost more but will be the most functional.
Jeep guys are looking for these same axles, the cast wedge are less desirable for them cause they have to retube them to run the link setups which is an advantage if you want to go that route.

 

[Zenshu]

I was planning on going with the radius style as I was originally looking for a '78 or 79 Bronco and was going to use as much of what was still on the old heap as I could. unfortunately for me I have yet to find a bronco that I can categorize as an old heap as most of the ones I have seen for sale were rebuilt or newly modded and I haven't been able to prowl the salvage yards yet since I havent gotten back to the US yet. But thanks so far for all the info. This is going to be my first attempt at doing an axle swap so I am feeling a little nervous and overwhelmed by the idea of doing all of this to my truck myself and having your guys' help will most definitely make the difference here. BTW saw the article in...I think it was 4 wheel drive magazine...not really sure since we usually just get as many mags as possible and don't pay much mind to the Title. Just gotta say thumbs up to all of the guys who were in it. Finally made a few of the trash talkers admit that maybe explorers could go offroad.

 

[Zenshu]

What about a ford F100? I found a guy trying to get rid of the Dana 44 and the Ford 9" out of an old F100 for $500. Will that work for a sploder? Also what year model Wagoneer? I found one on craigslist with a cracked transmission case for $700, its a 1979.

 

[Freshmeat]

Grab those F100 axles. Try to get as much of the front suspension as possible with the D44.

 

[Welshdragon79]

Yeah, the F100 sounds like the better deal. the only down side I can see going into that would be I believe most of the F100's came with drums in the front. Not a huge problem though as many places offer kits to swap discs, James Duff has a kit or you can buy the outers from a disc vehicle and swap those on. Basic thing is to just get the axles, radius components and coil buckets.
A lot of this stuff can be bought aftermarket but its big $.