I know some folks use them in 4 wheelin but what about an A with a mild SBC and a glide? It's outta a mid 50's F-100 if that helps any. What kinda gears are we talkin, 4.10s? -Jesse
They are about as strong as a 10 bolt. They saw duty under supercharged stude v8s so they can be too weak.
In the mid 80's I put one in a 78 Datsun with a sbc/turbo 400 combo.I had a locker unit in it.Drove it to and from Texas a time or two,drove it HARD,and never had a problem.At that time there wasn't a whole lot of choices for gearing though.I'd say the 44's are like anything,tough,but not indestructible.
Jesse, I know a guy that has one for my year truck that is a Dana 45. I think the 45's were weaker though. Deyo and I went over his place to look at that 283 a while back. It would be Cheap j
the 44 isnt a bad axle for a lite car or truck ,there are gears from 2:73 -5:38 lots of locker and posi choices ,the early ones had course spline axles that arent as strong as the later 30 spline shafts.one of the better ones is out of a 90s ford explorer nice dics brakes and come with 5x 4 1/2 bolt pattern lowkar makes a nice e-brake cable kit that fits there backing plate.i had a 44 under the front of my jeep running 39'' tires ,it heald up ok. but i did break it.
I might be wrong, but I think the center section in a 60`s to 80`s Jaguar IRS is Dana 44. Lots of hi perf. small block street rods with that setup.
Dana 44's are fairly strong, guys seem to like em for 4x4's. They hold up to a fair bit of bashing and big tires. I think they're comparable to a 9" in strength. By the way, a '90's explorer had an 8.8" not a dana.
[ QUOTE ] I think they're comparable to a 9" in strength. [/ QUOTE ] Dana 44 is a good rear, but I don't know that I'd go as far as saying they're comparable to a 9" Ford. I'd put them between a GM 10-bolt & 12-bolt in strength... Good rear, parts availability is excellent, plenty of ratios & lockers - only downside, it's a hotchkiss-style & not salisbury (in other words, you gotta do the work in the car rather than on the bench like 8/9" Ford or 8-3/4 mopar).
I remember someone else sayin that Jags used the 44 center section. Cool thanks guys, I didn't know they had that many different applications for them. 401 Gremlins, thats a fuckin car right there! -Jesse
I have one in my 55' ford panel and have had no problem. A couple of my friends have the same one with built up motors and have had no problem either. Mine came stock with 3:92 gears, they also come with 4:11 and 3:70 I think.
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I think they're comparable to a 9" in strength. [/ QUOTE ] Dana 44 is a good rear, but I don't know that I'd go as far as saying they're comparable to a 9" Ford. I'd put them between a GM 10-bolt & 12-bolt in strength... Good rear, parts availability is excellent, plenty of ratios & lockers - only downside, it's a hotchkiss-style & not salisbury (in other words, you gotta do the work in the car rather than on the bench like 8/9" Ford or 8-3/4 mopar). [/ QUOTE ] Ernie - you've got it backwards - Hotchkiss is the removable center (9in) and Salisbury is 12 bolt style. Mutt
I'm running a Dana 44 locker with 3.92:1 gears in my 60 GMC powered by a healthy Cadillac...they are strong reliable and durable rear axles,plus they look cool better than a 9"
IMHO Dana 44's are great for a hotrod, they aren't as strong as a 9" but do handle a lot of power and stronger than a 10 bolt. They are the most sought after in the JEEP crowd, my son has a 320HP 304 in his 74 CJ5 with 12" x 32" and a T150 3 spd, it will carry the left front tire and has been abused in the woods for 3 years now with no problems. Check the spider gears for wear as I have exploded them before doing a 3grand drop with 12x35's in my old JEEP. What to look for - JEEP and IH Scouts have them with a 5 x 5 1/2" bolt patterns and you want the flange style which is 73-76 (the dreaded Dana 20 was used 77 thru 86) then in 86 some CJ-7's had them and then JEEP brought them back in 99 for the TJ Wrangler. Early JEEPs (Willys & Kaisers) used the hub style with keyways and most of those were offset to match the Transfer case design and make room for rear mounted PTO shafts. The Chrysler YJ Wranglers & some Ford Explorers ran Dana 35 which arent bad as long as long as they get a posi unit which replaces the weak chunk and they have 5 x 4 1/2" bolt circle. The one in my 73 Scout has a measurement of 57" inside of backing plates which is pretty standard dimensions. Postal Jeeps from the 70's have a 44" inside dimensions and most of them came with lockers since they were 2wd. Hope this helps
I got one out of a 70's postal jeep. Backing plate to backing plate measures about 48" and flange to flange measured 51-51.5"...Mine's a 3.73 posi with flanged axles and 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern. I'm saving it for a small hot rod with fat tires.. BTW. many dana 44's in early to mid 50's F-100s used the 4.27 ratio. Both of mine did. I used a 289 ford motor in my '49 F-1 with that ratio and it was a terror to about 60 MPH. Learned my lesson on that one so the next one got the rear end replaced with a narrowed 2.80 rear from a 66 lincoln.......much better on the hiway BTW-2.......I once snapped an axle in the 49 and later smoothed off the ring and pinion....oops!
[ QUOTE ] Ernie - you've got it backwards - Hotchkiss is the removable center (9in) and Salisbury is 12 bolt style. [/ QUOTE ] You're right, Mutt!! I'm just a dork sometimes...
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