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Advice on T-Case and Axles

T

tweakeyjeep

Soccer Mom
Location
Sandy
Okay heres my situation.

My brother had a CJ-7 with Dana 44's Front and rear. He now has changed everything on it and now has Dana 60's front and rear.

He has given me the rear axle. I have either been deciding if I want to keep the front Dana 30 or look for a Dana 44 for the front. The problem with his front 44 is it will not work in my Jeep. Pumpkin is a passenger drop. I have a YJ with a Driverside drop.

The 44's came out of a 70's Scout (not sure what year). They are very narrow. My brother had them lengthened 1" on both sides to fit under his CJ... They are still too narrow for my YJ, but I just acquired some wheel spacers that should make them perfect fits.

The question I have... Is it worth it to look for a different transfer case that will make that axle work? Or should I just go to a junk yard and find a waggy 44 and mess with changing the bolt pattern etc.... Or just Keep the Dana 30.

The good thing about these axles is they are completly set up because they were a pair. They have the same bolt pattern, same width, same gears (4.10's) and the rear has an ARB. If I could I would like to keep those instead of messing with bolt patterns on the other 2 options I have for axles and then regearing them.

Will a Dana 300 mate up with my AX-15 Transmission or am I going to need a new tranny as well. Anyone know of some good T-cases that will mate up with my transmission. Also what kind of Driveshaft modifications will I need to do? My brother still has his stock front driveshaft which bolted to his Dana 300 and the front 44... Will that work is it too long too short? I will need to lengthen the rear of my CV Driveshaft... Will a CV Driveshaft work with that T-Case setup?

I am planning on putting a 6" lift on for the summer and running 35's. I will "most likely" be going on a mission. When I get back from my mission, if I can afford a Daily Driver I will go Spring Over and run 37's.

Thanks for your input.

:)
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Personally I would swap t-cases and run the 44s f&r...the D300 should be a direct bolt in for you ax-15...this will get you a WAY better t-case and will also allow you to upgrade your axles too...you cant loose going this route...
 
Floppy Hat

Floppy Hat

mbryson's hairdresser
Location
Lehi, Ut.
If I were in your situation I'd probably go the cheapest route. If you kept the D30 you would need some 4.10's which will probably cost you $300 installed. You may be able to find some used 4.10's out of a 4-cylinder YJ for less. Then you will need to convert the bolt pattern to 5 x 5.5. Warn makes a kits that gives you hubs on the front along with a 5 x 5.5 bolt pattern for about $900. So you're looking at about $1000 to $1200 to keep the D30 and have matching bolt patterns (maybe someone else knows of a cheaper way to make the bolt patterns match).

If you use your brother's D44 you could probably pick up a Dana 300 for around $300, again you may be able to find one for less. You would then need to get an adapter to mate your AX-15 to the Dana 300, which is about $175 from Advance Adapters. Then about $150 to adjust your driveshafts to fit. So about $625 to use your brother's D44.

A "new" D44, with a driver's side drop, from Pick N Pull will cost you about $150 (I think that's the half price weekend price), but it shouldn't be hard to find one for that price. You'll probably need 4.10's for it, which is about $300 installed. Then the price of converting the bolt pattern to 5 x 5.5 would probably be around $150 (total guess). I imagine if you knew what you were doing and the parts were there you could convert the D44 to 5 x 5.5 in the yard at Pick N Pull. So it looks like it'll run you about $450 to $600. This is assuming that you could get away without having to change driveshaft lengths.

I kind of like the option of getting the D300 because you gain a little bit of strength in the t-case over your current NP231. But if you can find a driver's drop 5 on 5.5 D44 for cheap, it'd be hard to turn down that offer. It'll be interesting to see what others have to say.
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Like Jeremy said I think the adapter they sell is just a clocking ring...I dont think you need anything more than that...I am looking thrtough my AA cataloge to see if it says anything about the adapter...
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Ok, I did a little searching and seeking and what I found it that the bolt pattern is the same so thats good but you need to get about a 7/8" ring in there for spline engagement...if you dont use the ring you have too much spline from the Ax-15...pretty simple...you can get the ring from Ken Blume for a great price...here is his website http://www.cox-internet.com/go2guyengineering/ he is having a special on POR so the ring will be even cheaper than the $130 he is advertising it for...you can also clock the t-case a bit with the ring so you can get a flat belly...I think this is the way to go...I bet I know somewhere you could get a D300 for:D:D:D
 
T

tweakeyjeep

Soccer Mom
Location
Sandy
thanks for all thei input this is helping me out a lot! :)

But now I have a new case scenario for you.

I totally forgot about it, but about an hour after I wrote the first post I remembered my brother bought a driveline from a '93 Ramcharger to use the engine in his CJ. The engine was too big and I couldn't remember if he still had it.

He had the 5.9L, Automatic Tranny, and the NV231 (I think that is the model number) The NV231 is basically my transfer case except a lot beefier and has fixed yokes on both ends. Also the front output is on the passenger side. What do you guys think of this T-case compared to the Dana 300? Is it any better, Worse, or about the same. Would you fork over the extra money for a Dana 300 or go the free route (He would give it to me for really really cheap)?

I belive all that would need to be done then is driveshaft modifications.

Also I found out that he used the 4.10 gears and Lockright locker out of his front CJ Dana 44 to beef up his Waggy Dana 44 which he sold (an earlier model also with passenger side drop) just last week. So I would need to buy gears and install for the front.

thanks again guys for all the research and input! :) The links are very useful!
 
Floppy Hat

Floppy Hat

mbryson's hairdresser
Location
Lehi, Ut.
I think the transfer case from a '93 Ramcharger is a NP241, which in my opinion isn't near as good as a D300. However, cheaper is always nice and I don't think you would need an adapter. I'd say go with it for now and when (or if) it blows up you can replace it with a D300.
 
T

tweakeyjeep

Soccer Mom
Location
Sandy
Originally posted by Floppy Hat
I think the transfer case from a '93 Ramcharger is a NP241, which in my opinion isn't near as good as a D300. However, cheaper is always nice and I don't think you would need an adapter. I'd say go with it for now and when (or if) it blows up you can replace it with a D300.
Click to expand...

Okay, Good deal!

I wasn't sure of the exact model number. So the D300 will be a better transfer case. I know there are upgrades for the Dana 300 such as 4:1 kits, etc. Are there any for the NP241? Or would you just use it for a temporary and get a D300? Thanks again.
 
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