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Dana 44 outer interchangeability.

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Horus

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Apr 12, 2007
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I own the most polished turd of a HP44 ever. The axle is built around Chevy knuckles and six bolt spindles with 5-5.5 Chevy hubs. I run Reid Chevy/Waggy knuckles and RCV shafts for traditional spindle.

I am switching to Reid Ford style knuckles for the larger spindle hole diameter. I know I'll need Ford spindles, brake backing plates and calipers. I know I'll also need the slightly longer outer stub shaft but I'll be able to get them. They are being sent in on warranty for replacement anyway as I mangled both of them at KOH.

Will I need Ford specific hubs for this setup? Will my current rotors still work? Is there anything I am missing?
 
Horus said:
I own the most polished turd of a HP44 ever......Is there anything I am missing?
Click to expand...
Yes. Yours is not the most polished turd ever. You can interchange Warn 30 spline spindles, outer axles, Warn wheel hubs, and Warn 30 spline locking hubs or drive flanges.

(You said 'RCV shafts', are they CVs?)

Then you won't be snapping outer axles.

You'll break inners first.

Other thoughts: 'brake backing plates' are a WTF? You still got drums up front?
 
The RCV axle kits for the traditional spindle 44 are 30 spline outers. The outers and CVs are made from 300M material. There is more going than "they just broke" and I am still talking to RCV about it.

By "brake backing plates" I meant the part that bolts on over the spindle studs and holds the disc brake caliper.
 
I retract my previous post. Yup. You got the most polished 44 out there.

edit:
Horus said:
The RCV axle kits for the traditional spindle 44 are 30 spline outers. The outers and CVs are made from 300M material.
Click to expand...
The more I thought about this, the more weird it seems.
 
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Mike the outer shaft is the smae length on ford and chev. They just use a different clip groove on the end. Most axles come with both grooves.

There are a few years of chevy and ford that uses the same wheel bearings so a ford rotor can be put on a chev spindle and vice versa.


I used to run a ford hipinion d44 in a 90 chevy with 6 lug chevy outers and warn internal spline hubs (or slugs if you like).


I sold a d44 a few years back that was a chevy axle with jeep/ford 5 lug outers too.

No problem. The old jeepers will know the years of bearing/spindles that play together off the top of thier head.

You can find it all at the swapmeet too.
 
I don't know my 44 is pretty damn shinny. I have Ford camper special 8 lug hubs on large bearing chevy spindles.
 
It sounds like you all ready have ford hubs on it when you stated 5X5.5 bolt pattern. I have never seen a chevy 4X4 hub with that pattern. Pre 77, 1/2 ton chevys use a small bearing spindle which is compatible with 76 to around 91 broncos and f150s.Your rotors will still work but the backing plates for the brakes are totally different. The chevys use a bolt style caliper while the fords use a tension style wedge between the caliper and the cast iron brake braket. I think you will need the five bolt spindle, brake brackets and the calipers just like you stated. What are you going to gain buy running the ford knuckles and spindles? More clearance with this combination? Is this something that RCV recommended to you?
 
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The spindle holes in the Ford knuckles are large enough that the CV bell and boot will pass through them. This makes installing them a breeze. The Chevy knuckle hole is too small. So....

With the Chevy knuckle you must remove the knuckle and insert the inner shaft. Then you heat the RCV boot until it melts, then you mash the wide open end flat. While holding the CV ball against the inside of the knuckle with the fingertips of one hand through the spindle hole, you use your other hand to install the knuckle. This means you must get both ball joint studs into the C with the boot in place on the inner shaft while holding the CV ball with your other hand through the spindle hole. It took me 14 hours to get them installed and the second side took longer than the first.

No you cannot install the boot on the bell and slip it on with the knuckle. Also, with Reid knuckles you cannot swing the installed knuckle to one end of the steering spectrum and slide the ball between the knuckle and C. Reids have steering stops front and back preventing this.

Also worth noting. Both the inner shafts are fine. It was all the 300M 30 spline stuff that broke. I have been running domestic Yukon Hardcore (made by the same company that did the old Warn shafts apparently) 19 spline stuff for two years now. No breakage. The 300M RCV 30 spline stuff lasted three trails and broke on a sand hill at less than full throttle. It seems RCVs are significantly weaker in turns than aimed straight ahead.

If I convert to Ford knuckles I am willing to give the RCVs another try. Otherwise I am selling the whole package when the warranty parts get back to me. When I build my new front axle I WILL NOT be running RCV stuff. Too weak and poorly designed. 40 spline Superior with Longfield U joints all the way. Live and learn.
 
green yj said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp4RKNluDTk
Not sure if you have seen this video. Not trying to be a smart ass either. Just thought it might have some good tech
Click to expand...

No smartassery taken. :awesomework:

I've seen that one. Notice they are using stock knuckles. Those knuckles only have one steering stop on the backside. Reid knuckles have steering stops cast in both sides. This prevents the CV ball from being installed that way. The only reason I wanted the Reids is because with both sides of each knuckle stopped I cannot overextend the CV in either direction should I break the steering off in any way. I like to go fast. More than once have I blown the steering arm off the knuckle or snapped the rod end or shattered the steering box when I had one. RCV won't warranty a broken CV if it was oversteered. I understand this and so dual stop knuckles were in order.
 
Looks like it might be Dana 60 time for you my friend. Your driving style is not conducive for the survival of a 44.
 
green yj said:
Looks like it might be Dana 60 time for you my friend. Your driving style is not conducive for the survival of a 44.
Click to expand...

Thats just the thing though. Two years on domestic 19 spline outers and all four shafts are fine. I've driven out of multiple flops, ripped the threads (1.25 shank) out of a suspension link and hopped the rig up and down on the grippy red rock of Utah. My 44 has been holding up fine through all of this. Being a light axle assembly it works well with going fast not having the dead unsprung weight of fully dressed iron 60. I like my 44 because I don't just crawl on rocks.

The axle I want to build is going to set me back $6000 at the very least. In the face of that a $1300 axle upgrade that was supposed to be good to 39 inch tires was looking pretty good.
 
Can you remove the steering stops with a grinder, then re-drill a hole where they used to be, tap the hole, and install a conventional style bolt-stop?
 
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TreeClimber said:
Can you remove the steering stops with a grinder, then re-drill a hole where they used to be, tap the hole, and install a conventional style bolt-stop?
Click to expand...

I thought about doing that purely for ease of adjustment. Doing that will not gain me enough clearance to get the bells through between the C and the knuckle. Its not just the actual stop boss. The whole casting is thicker in this area between the two ball joints.

I did score Ford spindles at the swap meet yesterday. My cirrent hubs will work with them so all I need now is the calipers and backing plates. I found two boxes with everything I need at the swap meet but both time they were already sold.

I do already have the Reid Ford knuckles. The Chevy knuckles will likely sell for more than I paid for the Ford Reids. Good to go there.
 
Good info on the spindle hole on the Chev knuckles being too small for the cv. I was thinking about the RCV's and would have found out the hard way, with my Yukons and Longfield joints it is a tight fit already.
 
It would be so much easier to machine a toyota rotor to 5 lug.

I been runnin bigger tires on the same birfs for 4 years!

Just sayin! :fawkdancesmiley: :haha: :beer: :beer:
 

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