Full Size Jeep Network

So...
As the title might suggest I am in the acquisition phase of preparing to narrow a Chevy Dana 44. So far I have an axle some flat tops and just ordered inner shafts(scout 2) and some Ford Hub rotors to match my rear 5 by 5.5 bolt pattern. I'll need ball joints, U joints, machine the knuckles, brake lines and a proportioning valve. Mostly just a stock setup nothing crazy no chromoly no Locker at the moment just a beefier front axle my concern however is whether or not to do a spring over cuz I kind of like The Stance and tire size and all that that I currently have, and I've got some 15 by tens that fit flush. some 36's would look nice though. So now the question remains what to do? do a full spring over High steer worrie about lifting the rear 2 match. Or go underslung and maintain everything currently have suspension wise maybe do a minor body lift clear some 32s?
the benefits of staying slung under is I don't require the added cost of going high steer or lifting the rear as well but the question remains what kind of steering linkage will I need?
comments and input welcome. help me work to this if you can I'm already going to build the axles just how I go about installing it is the question at hand.

I am a but confused. You say you are getting scout 2 inners? Is this not going in your waggy?

32x11.50's get tough to fit because of the width unless you have at least 4" of lift on a waggy. Unless you want to go with a skinny metric 32 on a 7" wide wheel. Those fit easier.

I think thee scout 2 and wagoneer inners are only .5" different total. Or at least I hope so.

I went with scout cuz I'm installing a scout rear also.

It probably would have been cheaper and easier to get a scout front, but I already have the chevy, I'm tired of looking at it. And I like challenges and wasting money in the cheapest way possible.

I've got 2.5" lift already and cut fenders, I'm planning a 1" body lift so hopefully tires will fit. I've run 30x12.50/15 as is with 15x10 wheels, and they perfectly. So an extra inch should grant 32s.

I suppose with the chevy up front if I go Sping over won't need body lift.

In fact it will be necessary to do so for oil pan clearance.

Time to source high steer .

I was already planning a shackle flip in rear to eliminate 2.5" lift blocks so I guess I'll get rear spring too.

If I were to go to the trouble of narrowing a 44 it would be a Ford high pinion.

So I think I lucked out, the inner shafts I ordered arrived today and they are for scout 2 and wagoneer, the splines are fairly long so I might need to trim but they are also 4340. And they cost less than I was planning to spend on used ebay shafts.

Cool. Where did you get them?

Rock auto

You did not say if the chevy axle was originally spring over or spring under. If your spring pad will be right next to the differential housing, it is very difficult to change from spring under to spring over (the spring pad surface is flat, and the u-bolt surface is deeply grooved on the other side). I would recommend that you find an axle that is already configured (spring over or under) for the setup that you will be building. I can recommend using a D44 axle from about a
1970 dodge 4wd pickup (open knuckles) if you need one that is already spring over. I have seen many conversions of axles from spring under to spring over, and every one looked so bad that they reduced the market value of the vehicle, rather than increasing it.

Spring over, yeah I noticed one of the u Bolts would need to be larger. I assumed that would require a specific plate. My concern now is finding a decent hi steer kit, I'd like to get some 3 bolt arms with studs, rod ends and bungs. But the best I can find is 4 stud type with hardware and pitman. Need to shop around a bit more. Thought about y steer, but the chevy I got only has one flat top and the rod end taper is upside down compared to the pair unmachined flat tops. I'm not going two have two knuckles machined to do y bar. So I'll just get one cut and do hi steer instead.

Not much progress, still getting parts.
The ford hubs went on without a hitch, pleased..
And cleaned the passenger knuckle a bit, ordered steer arms, spindle bearings/seals and lockouts. These newer hubs give me more wheel options than that of the much larger hub diameter of the Dana 27. I've been thinking about 17" wheels for some time as the larger 15's are very expensive. I've seen lots of wrangler wheel and tire take offs for $400 fairly consistent. I think I'd be able to get a dodge 17" wheel off a ram to fit.

OK, finally got around to stripping the housing down minus the carrier. Measured out the new an old inner shafts, new ones are 3.25" & 3.75" shorter. passenger side is shorter in relation to the other. both are trimmable three quarters of an inch, so I will trim the new long drivers side shaft down half and inch to make up the difference. I will cut the axle tubes down the same (3.75"), this should bring the w.m.s. width down from 67.5" to 60".
60" is currently what my dana 27 width is I'm hoping this will work out

Got the long side cut down today.

Got the other side off and smacked back onto the tube, need to adjust and weld in place.
So in order to weld up I made a test piece to see if ER309L would work without cracking.

Hope it holds.

Driver side cooled enough to handle without cracking; success! !
Did up the passenger side too.

Nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

44bz wrote:Nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, the ER309L did the trick. I also used a gas lens on my torch that greatly improved weld quality.
I need to get a jacket though cuz I'm a bit burnt.

I’ve been helping out a guy who started a Willys off-road business, r&p4wd, many years ago and now he mostly just does jobs in his spare time now. His specialty is building axles primarily shortening Dana 44s and 60-2s to cj width (he prefers 5 lug). So I’m starting to gain an appreciation for the work involved. Looks like you know what you’re doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ive thought about doing that but dont have the guts to try it. That is a lot of work--good job. Did you add any rotation of the pinion up to meet the transfer case drive shaft? That's the only reason I have considered removing the Cs.

Yes I'll be converting mine's a 5 lug as well, and as for the pinion I left it alone cuz it will be stock compared to The Chevy setup and then the Caster I set at 6 degrees with the inner knuckles.