[177]

44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

I am in the process of working on my CJ-8. I have located Dana 44 (front and rear) out of a Wagoneer. The guy says they should fit without any mods, but I don't know for sure. I need to know if they will or if this is an act of futility.

On another note, who makes headers for the 360 that goes on the outside of the frame??? Anyone selling them or a TH400 adapter plate for a Dana 300 (I plan to look for both today)??? Let me know....

 

[Guest]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

On the axle question, what year is the Wagoneer?

_____________________
John
95.5 YJ with "stuff"
http://SonsofThunder4x4.com

 

[177]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

They are out of a 78/79. My CJ-8 is a 82.

 

[Guest]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

If you consider moving spring perches and shortening the front end to be no modifications, then they will fit with no modifications. The other
option is to move the spring hangers on the front outside the frame rails. I'f it is a '78-'79, then the wheel bolt pattern is 6 on 5.5" and you
have 5 on 5.5". Also, the rear end is off-set to the passenger side, which will probably work on your CJ-8, but it will mean the drive shaft
will run at a bit of an angle. I'd look for another donor personally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Terry L. Howe http://www.off-road.com/~txh3202

 

[040]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

It's not an act of futility, but it's not a no-mods swap either. Wagoneers have wider frames, so the spacing between the spring pads on the axle housings is greater than on a CJ. This is no big deal on the rear...just relocate the spring pads. On the front, however, Dana 44's have one of the spring pads cast as part of the pumpkin, so you can't move it. You have to either shorten the driver side (remove knuckle, cut tube, weld knuckle back on, have axle shaft cut and re-splined), or hang your springs outboard on the frame which requires some fab work to do. BTW: Did you verify that the front pumpkin is on the correct side for your Jeep (Wagoneers came both ways)? You might want to reconsider the outside the frame headers depending upon your flavor of wheeling (if you wheel). TH400? I may be mistaken as there might be a version that was used with the Dana 20, but most if not all of those (AMC version) were used with Quadratrac and have a fairly long output shaft...don't think you can use the GM 400/300 adapter with this and I'm not sure that there's an adapter available for this application. Dunno if you've researched this or not.

 

[Guest]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

You can get a th-400 with the amcbellhousing. They were used on cj7's with quadratracs. you then need to have the trany rebult to put a new rear output shaft in it. the adaptor for a dana 300 will run around $450. That hurts doesn't it?
The th-400's were also used in wagoneers with the q-track but also with the dana 20. If you could find the later setup that is the way to go. Thats what i did. Even if you can't find the whole setup the adaptor can be found for around $250. I got mine from Parts Mike.
As for the 360 headers, any headers for an amc v-8 will fit, mine are headmans. You might not want to do this though. It is the only way to get headers with an auto tranny but they hang out there and if you do alot of hard wheeling it's just a mater of time before you rip them off. I have tem now but i'l never use them again. Run the manifolds and have a good shop bend up a dual exhaust for it.
You could check out my webpage for more info on the th-400 swap issue.

Al
My web page

 

[177]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

How right you are. I have never really worked on a Jeep. I have mainly dealt with Rangers/BII's/Explorer's/Bronco's/Blazer's/various other vehicles. I am trying to get a better set of axles than the Dana 30 and AMC 20, along with a motor and trans, cheaply and quickly. I found someone who is selling all the above for $500. That is why I was asking to see if this was worth it or go back to my original plan of a 231 Chevy V6 (or 305, but it is believed to have a cracked block) and TH350, 44/9" out of a old Bronco. Thanks for everyone's input....

 

[Guest]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

the front spring spacing is 36.5 inches inside of springs, the rear is no big deal as they are a welded on perch and can be moved easily, mine were from a quadratrack setup, the front is 61 inches flange to flange, the rear is 59.

 

[Guest]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

i was about to ask this question on a separate post.......

What jeep/truck has a dana 44 or 60 that would be the easiest bolt-on for a wrangler YJ? I have heard of the wagoneer, but what years?

 

[Guest]

Re: 44\'s out of a Wagoneer...

I think in 1980 is when the wagoneer changed from front pass side to front drivers side hog head. I've got a dana 44 from an 82 grand wagoneer in my yj but I also had to cut it down 5 inches. I've read on here that there are people finding wagoneer axles with the stock width closer to the wranglers 60 inches and swaping them in without cutting them down, but I don't know the years that their getting. The other thing is wagoneers have a 6 on 5 1/2 lug pattern which can be changed using late 70s ford discs. Hope this helps, Steve

Mopar360yj
87yj+20,74CHR.030360,SOA,35BFGATs,46RH,241DHD,
D60-44-4.10