Full Floater Rear D-44

[GM Killer]

Does a rear full floater kit exist for a W/T Dana 44?

[River Beast]

Matt,

NO!!! I wish it did... the 5 lug kit from Warn is like $700 for the IH Scouts...

[scotty]

you can do it pretty easy with front parts with some machining and a $300 set of custom splined axleshafts. i was real hip on doin it till i decided that id still be breaking spider gears and squishing axletubes. for me it will be better to spend $300 on customizing a 14 bolt

[FSJeeper]

I can't see spending money on a Dana 44 when you can buy 3/4 ton FF 14 bolts so cheap. They bolt in. Find a Dana 44 or 10 bolt 8 lug axle and either swap it in, or swap the 8 lug hubs, rotors, and brake caliper bracket onto your axle. If you scrounge, you should be able to do it for less than $350. You would never have to worry about the rear axle.

[GM Killer]

The custom axel shafts shouldn't be a problem. Now I know of a place that will do custom rotors and such, Coleman Racing (http://www.colemanracing.com/prodex/) . I'm not sure of th price though.. I may just have to be the chump who tries it.. My question is though - "If" there was a kit availible - would you buy it? ;)

[ June 11, 2002, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: GM Killer ]

[243]

What is the need or benefit in doing this?

[64Trvlr]

Originally posted by GM Killer:
My question is though - "If" there was a kit availible - would you buy it? ;) Since I'm thinking about the Warn kit I'd sure consider it.
:cool:

[scotty]

243,the benefit is simply that the axleshafts are now not carrying any weight,only driving the wheels,which reduces the level of stress,and gives piece of mind that you can limp it home easily with a broken shaft. we have driven as far as 75 miles with broken semifloating shafts,but the "worry factor" is certainly high. smile.gif

if there was a kit i would not buy it. id ratehr design it myself and be able to get parts for it. only thing custom would be the shafts.,and some machining on the spindle and/or axlehousing. now you can find hubs at any junkyard,you ccan walk into any 'Zone and buy a rotor,pads or wheelbearings. parts availability is very important to me. if i break somethin far from home,i like to be able to go to a junkyard or local parts store and not have it ruin my entire wheekend. if you break a custom part,and theres not a warn,AA,or whomever,distributor close buy,your SOL and your rig is stayin at camp till you drag it back home and weight for parts to arrive.

my $.02 on that,anyway smile.gif

[GM Killer]

Originally posted by scotty:

if there was a kit i would not buy it. id ratehr design it myself and be able to get parts for it. only thing custom would be the shafts.,and some machining on the spindle and/or axlehousing. now you can find hubs at any junkyard,you ccan walk into any 'Zone and buy a rotor,pads or wheelbearings. parts availability is very important to me. if i break somethin far from home,i like to be able to go to a junkyard or local parts store and not have it ruin my entire wheekend. if you break a custom part,and theres not a warn,AA,or whomever,distributor close buy,your SOL and your rig is stayin at camp till you drag it back home and weight for parts to arrive.
Excelent point Scotty.

[ June 13, 2002, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: GM Killer ]

[Blown7]

Sorry to bring back a old thread, but I think I have built a pretty bulletproof, easy to fix, easy to get parts for, Full float Dana 44 rear kit using all front end parts with only Strange/Currie 30 spline shafts as the only "custom" part. Anyone interested? And what would you pay? Jeff

[scotty]

im still not interested ;)

while you have less of a chance that shafts will break,and you have zero worries when they do,a 44 is always going to be a 44 no matter what you do to it,with a puny ring gear and d30 sized pinion shaft(1.3").

you cant polish a turd. unless the kit is $100 or less,you can always buy a gm 14 bolt or a dana 60 rear for less. while the 60 isnt much better from as shaft standpoint,the shafts can be upgraded and at least the diff itself can take it.

a 14 bolt is the best bang for the buck with 1.5" shafts,a huge R&P,and a 2 piece carrier from the factory. many disc kits availabble,and if you dont want to weld up your own gearball-minispool,a detroit is cheaper for it than any other axle.

the complaints are size and weight,to wich the responses are:shave it,and so what? ;) i cut an inch off the bottom of mine,giving it only 1/2 inch less clearance than my front 10 bolt. thats just cutting,no fancy plating or ring gear turning. if youre not afraid to cut and plate you can get the smae or even less clearance than a 44. as for weight,unsprung weight does nothing but help you for traction.i go places in 2wd with my 14 bolt that i needed 4wd to go before. the weight is not a prollem.

not saying that no one would buy a 44 FF kit,but the facts are that a 44 will always be a 44,and you cant beat the "beef per $$ spent" ratio of a $100 junkyard GM corp FF 14 bolt smile.gif

my $.02,once again smile.gif

[ December 18, 2005, 07:02 AM: Message edited by: scotty ]