Rear end question on a 88 GW

[aliandre318]

Hey all, I have a 1988 Grand Wagoneer I just bought, stack dana 44 the rear end is bad and I am having a hard time finding replacement 2.73 ring and pinion gears, can any rear end from other car makes be used as a replacement like the chevy 2.73 ring and pinion or do i just need to break down and upgrade to 3.73 gears front and rear..... looking for a cheaper option.

[Stuka]

Finding a new 2.73 is unlikely to happen. But you should be able to find a use set from somebody else that is regearing.

What size tires are you running? If they are stock size, 3.73 will likely be too much gear if you ever drive on the freeway. But if you are running a 31" tire, 3.73's will work ok. Though still not the best for higher speeds. But a lot better around town and such.

[aliandre318]

It is stock I plan on using it as a daily driver after some refreshing.

[dodgerammit]

Depending on where you live, the 2.72/2.73 ratio is really common on these rigs. I'd find someone parting one out and snag the rear axle assembly for a couple hundred. Fakebook marketplace usually has a few listed pretty regularly.
Make sure it's got decent gear oil and not a watery, mucky mix in it, put some new wheel bearings in and run it.

I'm pretty sure the earlier AMC 20 will swap in place of the 44 without issue, but others will know for sure.
I'm thinking 81-91 should all be the same as long as it's a narrow track (Cherokees and J series trucks were more often all wide track which means wider axles).
Worst case is maybe have to snag the driveshaft, but I'd wager both axles used the same length.
I know factory driveshaft U joints are 1310s on everything.

If you do swap axles, please make sure to buy new axle to leaf spring U bolts. Some can be re used, but most often, they are designed to stretch when torqued and aren't supposed to be reused.

Good luck!

[Stuka]

I guess its worth asking, what is the rear end is bad? Is it for sure the ring and pinion? The more common failure is the spider gears inside the carrier, or the carrier bearings.

If its parts of the carrier, you don't need to find a new R&P.

Photos would help.

[sierrablue]

The AMC 20 rear end is used from '80-84 or so, but yes should fit in the exact same hole as the later D44, provided it's a Wagoneer or n/t Cherokee axle.

Unless you wanna cruise at 75 or 80 all day long, you'll be able to get pretty much the same mileage (sometimes better) and such with 3.07s or 3.31s even. I'm pretty happy with my 3.54s on 235/75r15 tires, although occasionally I wish it had O/D. Personally I'd go with at least 3.07s but that's just me.

I do understand if you're going for a restoration and want to keep it original though. I wouldn't on a DD. 3.73s is kind of a lot if you want to cruise in it with stock tires.

[Srdayflyer]

i had my amc20 rebuilt with 3:73 gears and eaton sure trac, im running 31x11.5x15 bfg's on a 3" lift
i had 2:73 orig equip and the ratio would have been 1:92 with those sz tires, and i had to have the speedo drive gear changed out because the speedo error was 15mph off reading high , there are a bunch of websites to help you sort out gear changes, remember the engineers picked out ratios based on the engine output,torque curves,etc, so picking out a ratio willy nilly could be a bad mistake , and expensive and the setup shimming the gears to get the proper lash is time consuming , i took my rig to and off road trans/diff shop trans /xfer case o/h was 1200.00 and the gear swap front and rear w/posi ran me 1900 and a weeks down time at their shop not my me playing around for weeks at nite after work and weekends setting it up. plus a warranty

[devildog80]

My '84 GW has 3.31 with stock tires 235/75R-15 and runs 3000rpm @ 65-68 mph.
I am good with this as I intend to use it mostly towing on the hiway. Yes would like to have OD, but engine is in the power band I want as most of our trips involve pulling grades into the mountains, and the 401 can run all day long at that rpm comfortably. Initial mpg since getting road worthy recently has me @ 12.5 mpg with the original MC2150 w/high altitude compensator carb. Looking to go with 4 bbl in the future, but for now truck is responsive and fun to drive.
Just FYI

[backroadin']

can any rear end from other car makes be used as a replacement like the chevy 2.73 ring and pinion or do i just need to break down and upgrade to 3.73 gears front and rear..... looking for a cheaper option.

If you mean any 2.73 ring gear set (and not the entire axle) from other car makes, then only if it's from a dana 44. Any other axle make won't work. But any 2.73 gear set from any other dana 44 no matter what it's in will work - yes.

[aliandre318]

Thanks for all the useful information gents!!! I saw that Chevy came out with a Dana 44 Gear set 2.73 is why I was asking.