dana 44 mods

[64500xl]

accidently had this one the wrong board. What are the most common upgrades on a dana 44? Thanks. Rod

[chuzie]

Chromo axles, 760x joints, locker, Tie rod over conversion, disc brakes, track bar riser (if applicable), upgraded gears, thick diff cover or rock guard, pinion guard, drain plug, bla bla bla bla bla.

[blazinchuck]

Chromo axles, 760x joints, locker, Tie rod over conversion, disc brakes, track bar riser (if applicable), upgraded gears, thick diff cover or rock guard, pinion guard, drain plug, bla bla bla bla bla.

2times!

[64500xl]

it is a disc front end. is there a better brake than the originals?

[chuzie]

Maybe in your case, but not all D44s came with disc brakes. The original sets did have good rotors but the caliper had a bit to be desired due to poor bore.

The two most common conversions when upgrading from drum is the F150 and Chevy conversions. When upgrading from stock disc, I would venture to say both are good. I have also seen folks swap in calipers from T-birds or El Dorados depending on the power brake booster setup they have.

I know duffs uses a GM caliper and some of the other parts houses use Ford. The difference the distance between the master cylinder mounting studs.

[broncomatt]

The factory disk is a 5 bolt spindle, some consider it weaker. I personaly dont like the dana style caliper mounts. The GM conversion uses calipers that slide on pins insted of the H pin that tends to stick and wear out the inner pad.
As for mods, right there with what chuzie. I dont care for the lock right but most posi or detroits will work well.
I made my own dif guard, and you can even get a truss for one. Be sure to post some pics of what you do to yours.

[64500xl]

thanks for the information. I plan on using Gm calipers on the rear so I think I will do the same on the front. Is ther any good articles on the chevy conversion?

[broncosbybart]

here ya go:

http://www.emotoman.com/disc/discbrake2.htm

fyi, for the money- if you have a stock 76-77 Ford disc front end, I'd just do the T-bird calipers and call it good. You can add a power booster if you don't have one already. just my 2 cents.

[chuzie]

I agree with bart. Classic's tech section has writeups on both conversions