At the junk yard today i found a dana 44 high pinion and a 9 inch housing.
Well since i would like to do a lift and i don't like body lifts or the ifs i was thinking about throwing these under it. After having them narrowed. Is this impractical? Am i better going with a wagoneer 44 instead? Any opinions appreciated. Thanks Tim

 

well if you want to run narrowed if get a waggy and run either stock 8.8 or get an explorer 8.8 which is just disc brakes and higher spline count..

or you can go that route and run FW 44 and 9" doesnt matter just the FW stuff will stick out the tires alot more..but if you wanna go HIGH you will want to run FW

 

wether you go HIGH or keep is reasonable, i prefer the look of a FW axle over narrow ones like jeep axles... just my preference though

 

The reason i want them narrowed is because here in good ol' state of pennsylvania the fuzz tends to bust your ***** about tires sticking out, and i don't want to run a huge flair, i think they look gay. And the j/y was boned out of 31 spline 8.8's with disks. Tons of drums. And being that the 9 was hollowed out i could set it up the way i want it.

 

And what are the good and bad of the high pinion versus the conventional 44.

 

yea, after i posted mine i realized you lived in PA, i put that on a list of places not to live haha

about the high pinion, better ground clearence, idk much more about it though

 

high pinion just makes it saver for crawling..makes the pinion higher up kinda protects it all..and lets the driveshaft angle not get extreme being higher up..

 

I think i will get them tomorrow or tuesday. And i'll probably be able to get them both for under 200 bucks. What do you guys think it would cost to rebuild them both. I know i can get a 9 inch member (haha) with a detroit locker for around 900, but i have no clue about getting them narrowed. I would like detroits in both and lockouts up front. Maybe highsteer knuckles.
Edit: Woohoo 100 posts!

 

narrowing isnt much but gettin the C's welded back on straight and stuff is kinda tricky..and then just gettin shafts made and you can end up spending ALOT of money there..

how high you plan on going..and what do you plan on doing with the truck

 

I figure if i do a solid front axle up front, and swap the rear for disks, all for lifting and big tires, i want bullet proof hardware. Thats the reasoning for the detroits and stronger axles. Plus i want to put my buddy's wrangler tj to shame. Hes got a clayton long arm kit with a 44 on 36 inch iroks. I don't plan to abuse it, just use it you know.

 

so say no bigger then 38s? but you want strong..

id go FW 44 and 9" build it smart not overkill and run that..IMO

 

with a high pinion the gears are reverse cut and they are actually stronger then the standard cut gears.

and stay full width

 

I would love to go full width but not in PA.

Plus i am in no real hurry, and have to sell some stuff before i get carried away to keep the wife happy.

Oh and being that i want it bulletproof i should be running leaves up front too?

 

well leaves is the cheaper way to go about lifting it..you can run coils and radius arm..4 link it get some coilovers and spend ALOT Of money..

but springs would probably be the best route..

 

Would the high steer be overkill? I would love 40" baja claws but probably stick with 36's.

 

gotta out do him haha, 37s which are even on the outer limits of an average D44 that gets used IMO

 

I can't see spending money for coilovers on a truck that won't be a competion or show vehicle.

 

no go highsteer you will kick yourself in the butt if you dont


read over these

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...&highlight=sas
https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...&highlight=sas
https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=37503

 

Man i am getting anxious talking about this but i guess now is the time to get answers to my ?'s. Would a universal anti-rock sway bar have to be used for this application? What gears, 4.88's? And thanks for the answers guys. If i could buy you a cold one i would.

 

38s either 4.88s or 5.13s

dunno bout sways

 

i used those axles i got 5.44 gears off ebay and the instalation kits cheap and was a great guy to deal with drivetrain superstore. i have a 2.9 with 38s and those gears are low. probably to low if ur gonna drive it much on the highway.
but i love them for wheelin. i dont have high steer on mine and i havent had any problems or regrets for not going high steer. as far as price for all of the lift and things along with full width swap. I have 4000 dollars invested in everything. including axles, gears, lockers,shocks, springs,tires,wheels,heim joints, steel, everything. but i spent alot of endless nights searching ebay, and steals and deals papers for parts.

 

If you don't go off-road, you won't gain anything by going with high-steer except a better drag-link angle, which can reduce bump-steer. If you've got the money for it, go for it. Do make sure you use cross-over steering though. The axles you've got came out of a Ford though, so they should be set up for crossover already.

If there's any way you can, I'd say stay with as close to full-width as you can. Narrowing an axle can be a pretty involved process, especially if you aren't familiar enough with axles to know the difference between low and high pinion axles. I'm not saying it as an insult, but it's a very dangerous thing to be messing with your suspension like with a solid axle swap without knowing VERY well what you're doing. There are lots of things that can be messed up and could easily kill yourself or someone else.

 

Not to be a dick but i didn't mean i didn't know the difference, but just wanted to know if it was better to use one or the other? I just wanted to know if any of you guys had first hand knowledge of these axles because i have heard some bad things about the high pinion. And my truck is an '06 so i wouldn't be doing anything half-*** and not diving in until i have done my research and the right equipment. And like some people i am not afraid to admit what i can do and can't. I can wrench but i am not much of a fabricator but do know people that do know how. I won't just slap an axle underneath it just to have one on there or stack blocks just to be bigger than the next guy or anything like that...

 

That TJ has a shortwheelbase and a very nice lift kit with coils. You're not going to be shaming him unless you're climbing up a steep hill that he can roll over on.

 

I know it won't be the crawler that his jeep is but for a ranger... it will be good.