what about useing a jeep yj axle and leafs?

[Mud Bug 94]

ive been readin this site for 3 years and finally joined a year after i go my axles....and i sthill havent done the swap....

 

[ProjectAviator]

the thing with a D44 is the width and the bolt pattern. you will have to use adapters on a D44 to match the 5-4.5 of the rear. You can combine a D30 and a D44 but it is major work. I know people who have used D30s in major carnage, including jumping in the local dunes, and hard core in Moab ( with a welded, Vac disconnect) with no damage. My friends have worked with D30s for years.

With the width of the D44 you will have to chop up your fenders to get tire clearance.

You would have no problem with the gears unless you run 4.88s where you only have 2 teeth in contact. where anything higher( lower numerically) have 3 teeth like others. plus like the D44 running a high pinion 30 it is stronger than a low pinion.

Tim

 

[IZwack]

I know people who have used D30s in major carnage, including jumping in the local dunes, and hard core in Moab ( with a welded, Vac disconnect) with no damage.

Don't tell me those axles were under a wrangler or something... the Explorer is a heavy vehicle.

With the width of the D44 you will have to chop up your fenders to get tire clearance.

The EB D44 is a very narrow axle, no choppping needed. But chopping fenders is a quick job, everyone has to do it at some point or another. I mean its just body, it doesnt do anything but sit there. Its going to get mangled by a tree, rock or whatever at some point in the fuure.

You would have no problem with the gears unless you run 4.88s where you only have 2 teeth in contact. where anything higher( lower numerically) have 3 teeth like others.

The number of teeth in contact is not the big problem, its axle shafts. Most axles break axle shafts long before they brake ring/pinion teeth.

 

[ProjectAviator]

One under a Cherokee, one under a grand, one under a YJ running 37s with stock disconnect axles and I believe SBC power. Is the EB D44 HP or LP??? What about the waggy is the bolt pattern the same what about width of the Wagoneer?

Tim

 

[sn0border88]

the thing with a D44 is the width and the bolt pattern. you will have to use adapters on a D44 to match the 5-4.5 of the rear. You can combine a D30 and a D44 but it is major work. I know people who have used D30s in major carnage, including jumping in the local dunes, and hard core in Moab ( with a welded, Vac disconnect) with no damage. My friends have worked with D30s for years.

With the width of the D44 you will have to chop up your fenders to get tire clearance.

You would have no problem with the gears unless you run 4.88s where you only have 2 teeth in contact. where anything higher( lower numerically) have 3 teeth like others. plus like the D44 running a high pinion 30 it is stronger than a low pinion.

Tim

A perfect example of why you should take anything you hear on the net with a grain o' salt. On in this case, quite a few. Maybe the whole shaker.

So a wider axle means you have to trim the fenders? Wrong. If anything, if its wide enough you would have to trim even less. Its the placement of the axle. A wider axle in the same stock location would make no diffenence on how much fender you need to trim. But, with bigger tires associated with SAS'es you usually have to trim anyways plus most people move the axle foreward while doing the swap. Mine is about 3" foreward over stock.

And have you ever seen someone shear off teeth on their pinion? I havent, and ive seen some really bad breaks. And I bet you probably wont find proof of anyone who has (with proper setup and good gears). I sheared my pinion, teeth were perfect. The problem with going to low gears in the 44 (5.13 or 5.38) is that the pinion necks down so much it creates a weak spot which is usually where it shears.

 

[IZwack]

one under a grand

The Grand Wagoneers came with Dana 44s on the front. Its the axle under my Explorer -- just converted to Chevy outers.

This WARN chart outlines the commons Jeeps and what axles are in the front: http://www.warn.com/truck/axles/inner_axle_app.shtml

 

[sn0border88]

An eb axle is LP, waggy is 6 on 5.5 pattern easily converted to 5 on 5.5 or in spas's case no so easily (about a thousand dollars later, useless sets of adapters and custom rotors and it still hardly works)

 

[ProjectAviator]

I am not going by what I have read on the net. I head it from a friend who owns an off road fab shop and a couple friends who work there. Bob the one who owns the shop also designs suspension systems his company produces. Systems that is sold world wide and used on Hard core trails. He is working on one for an explorer SAS. Hopefully the prototype will go on my XLT.
Who says you have to go bigger tires when you go solid. I may only go only to 35s. I am going solid to make my EX more capable off-road.

Tim

 

[Mud Bug 94]

im goin 35 -37 on one tons...

 

[sn0border88]

I am not going by what I have read on the net. I head it from a friend who owns an off road fab shop and a couple friends who work there. Bob the one who owns the shop also designs suspension systems his company produces. Systems that is sold world wide and used on Hard core trails. He is working on one for an explorer SAS. Hopefully the prototype will go on my XLT.
Who says you have to go bigger tires when you go solid. I may only go only to 35s. I am going solid to make my EX more capable off-road.

Tim

its the fact that Ive never heard of someone doing a SAS and keeping the stock tire size. 35's are bigger, hell I had to trim a little to make my 33's fit with the stock suspension.

 

[ProjectAviator]

I already am running 32s. With shackles and TT I had to trim a little on the rocker covers in the front which I have since taken/ripped off in preparation for sliders.

Tim

 

[93explorer4life]

wow this is odd, i was just talking to my brother about this. we was at the drive in movies the otherday, watching pirates 3 and wild hogs, but we was looking at susspention, him and his wife just got a 94 grand jeep, i got a 92 ex eddie! and we was looking, and we noticed his jeep was solid axle all round, and it got me to thinking, them jeeps are about the same width. they are great off road, y cant i find a junker with low miles, take the front end apart, i thought about even doing spring in the back. like the unibodied jeeps have, and alot of larg offroad trucks. looks kewl as it flexes, im not doing any off roading, jsut like the way solids look, if i do any off roading its in the snow or on a small trail, so im not worried about the d30. im running d35, is there that much a differance!
and i have a bidd whos good at fabin up mettle stuff, so i might jsut do a leaf swap up front, can u use standard rear leafs for the front? or so u need special ones?????
and my dad also has a jeep cherokee, not sure if its grand or not, but its an 85-86 jeep, im sure has solids on it, u think me tipping it on its top and removing the front would do me good? im not wanting full width i like my width, and im only gona run 33's 35s if i get nuts!
im not sure what they ran in the ol jeeps like that. what front end did the older cherokees have? i just looked at the link provided above, so im guessing it was the d30. whats the rear???? 8.8? or??? thanks, im not looking to do this soon, jsut when i get time, cuase im sure itlle only run me a couple hundred, what with the mettal buying and maybe a few cheeseburgers!
thanks!
ohh and sorry for the highjack, didnt wana get yeld at for posting about something thats already up! thanks tho!

 

[mynameisaric]

wow this is odd, i was just talking to my brother about this. we was at the drive in movies the otherday, watching pirates 3 and wild hogs, but we was looking at susspention, him and his wife just got a 94 grand jeep, i got a 92 ex eddie! and we was looking, and we noticed his jeep was solid axle all round, and it got me to thinking, them jeeps are about the same width. they are great off road, y cant i find a junker with low miles, take the front end apart, i thought about even doing spring in the back. like the unibodied jeeps have, and alot of larg offroad trucks. looks kewl as it flexes, im not doing any off roading, jsut like the way solids look, if i do any off roading its in the snow or on a small trail, so im not worried about the d30. im running d35, is there that much a differance!
and i have a bidd whos good at fabin up mettle stuff, so i might jsut do a leaf swap up front, can u use standard rear leafs for the front? or so u need special ones?????
and my dad also has a jeep cherokee, not sure if its grand or not, but its an 85-86 jeep, im sure has solids on it, u think me tipping it on its top and removing the front would do me good? im not wanting full width i like my width, and im only gona run 33's 35s if i get nuts!
im not sure what they ran in the ol jeeps like that. what front end did the older cherokees have? i just looked at the link provided above, so im guessing it was the d30. whats the rear???? 8.8? or??? thanks, im not looking to do this soon, jsut when i get time, cuase im sure itlle only run me a couple hundred, what with the mettal buying and maybe a few cheeseburgers!
thanks!
ohh and sorry for the highjack, didnt wana get yeld at for posting about something thats already up! thanks tho!

If you just want an all show and no go truck, then just lift the TTB. the SAS is alot of work. Clearing 33's would be no problem. The way most swaps end up though, you'll have clearance for at least 35's, and it would look goofy with anything less. With 35's, even on a street truck, you need to regear to keep your tranny happy. thats 4-600 bucks just for gears(front and rear) and install kits. Then the cost of having someone install them(unless you can do that yourself) will run AT LEAST $150 per axle unless you have a real good hookup.

running a jeep axle to make your truck will be cool and get your truck alot of attention, but make sure you know what you are getting into before you go out and start buying all the stuff to actually do it.

 

[james t]

High dollar unit bearings and little balljoints.

This is the main problem with doing a D30 swap on an Explorer IMHO. You wind up with more of the same problems you have with running big tires on a TTB. The wheel bearings are small and since they are unit bearing design they are expensive. The balljoints are small and wear quickly. Conversely, the wheel bearings on the typical D44 are big and cheap. These are the things that nobody really thinks of until a year(s) later when parts start wearing out. The price of two D30 unit bearings would get you just about any D44 you want.

I know the main reason for going with a D30 is to keep the 5 on 4.5 lug pattern, and thats understandable. However, the 5 on 4.5 is crappy for a 4500-5000lb suv on big tires. You cant get a decent sized wheel bearing, and you cant get decent sized hubs and lockouts. Get rid of the 5 on 4.5 in the beginning because the "axle consumables" cost you more in the end.

The shafts arent much of a concern, because you can get a later model XJ front that will have the same shafts/ujoints as a D44. All the aftermarket stuff runs a 760x ujoint. If a high pinion, the ring and pinion isnt much of a concern either IF you go easy on it. Usually with decent shafts/ujoints the next weak link will be the ring and pinion. As i said, its the consumables that get you in the end. Keep in mind your rig will be around 1000lbs or more heavier than a similarly built YJ or XJ.

My 0.02.

 

[sn0border88]

and i have a bidd whos good at fabin up mettle stuff,

Uhh, spell much?

and my dad also has a jeep cherokee, not sure if its grand or not, but its an 85-86 jeep, im sure has solids on it,

Its considered a FSJ (Full Size Jeep) and many people use the front axle for explorer SAS swaps, Spas, section525, RockRanger and IZwack are just a few that come to mind.[/QUOTE]

u think me tipping it on its top and removing the front would do me good?

No, I dont think it would do you any good but Id like to see pictures of the redneckness in action.

im not sure what they ran in the ol jeeps like that. what front end did the older cherokees have? i just looked at the link provided above, so im guessing it was the d30. whats the rear???? 8.8? or???

Look under your explorer, then look under the XJ, then under the FSJ. Then ask your self if it is a d30 or an 8.8. (Hint: neither of them are) Easy way to tell is just by looking at the covers. All axles of the same model have the same cover shape. No axles (that I can think of) share the same cover.

cuase im sure itlle only run me a couple hundred,

Dont hold your breath

 

[mynameisaric]

Dana 44 and Dana 60 have very similar covers. the 60 just happens to be larger.

 

[sn0border88]

similar, but if you know what to look for you can tell the difference.

Dosent the 60 have more bolts?

 

[mynameisaric]

i believe they are both 10 bolts, i should know because i was just pulling the covers off of both of em less than an hour ago, and i remember counting 10 bolts, but i dont remember which axle it was. pretty sure they are both 10 bolts. the 60 is just a beast and a half... and the king pins are a dead giveaway.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

and the sheer size...

 

[Erek_97Sport]

Alright well I only skimmed the feed but don't your axels have to match or the ratios on them or something like that? I wanted to do a solid front Axel and if I only had to do the one Axel I'd be so happy. Does that Axel match the explorer rear Axel.