Thanks for the links but that first one took me to a general section on outer limits 4x4...

the second one took me to a bunch of $2,000 and up transfer cases (not going to happen, ever.)

and the third link took me to a description page about the klune V, definitely not going to happen.

I could spend $300 on a pair of axles, a couple more bucks on some gears, fabricate the suspension stuff from water jetted material that i can have done locally, slap it all under the truck and all i'll have to work out is the drive shaft scenario and steering linkages, but thankfully i have a number of competent machinists as friends and there's a driveshaft shop local to me. thanks for the links, i'll stick to the 3 link plan, ford radius arms are junk IMO, they work, but not well enough for me to trust another 100,000 miles and beyond to.

From what i measured out, the d44 and the mitsu axle are quite comparable, how is it a downgrade?

The beefiest axles are found behind the 3.5l trucks. I'm assuming that yours is leaf sprung. If so, I'm not sure if the larger locking 3.5l axle was available in a leaf sprung configuration. Seriously though, you are much better off staying with the Mitsu axle for its strength.

If you want a more economical gearing option that gives you some REAL noticable improvement look here:
My dual transfer case swap.

Your rear axle is quite a bit stronger than a d44. Also it has rear disk brakes which you will have to buy a kit, or fab up for your Wagoneer D44's.

Wagoneer 44s are a great match for width.

I'm in the same boat with you about ordering 5.29's, and transfer case gears for huge sums of money, BUT.........

SAS is not cheap even if you DIY. I did mine about as cheap as it can be done(I think anyway)

Axle was 67.50
Gears were 150
Spool was 100(You REALLY need a Detriot at least 500)
Bearing kit was 100
Hubs were 100
Driveshaft fab 325 (can be done cheaper locally, but I have woods shafts)
Steering box 20 bucks, but I used junkyard stuff.
Steering shafts... can use stock, or spend a wad if you want to.
You're gonna need to rebuild your brakes. Thats $80 bucks for pads, and calipers, and rotors
AND, you're going to have to put a new master cylinder in there to move enough fluid volume for your new huge calipers. Stock MS will not work.
I used junkyard mounts, and brackets, and steel from the welding shop. Prob another $100 in there for misc costs.


Leaf springs were 200. (I bought a set of USED 6 inch lift YJ springs)


SO Basically each axle is going to cost you around $500 bucks to rebuild, and AT LEAST $500 more to put a locker in.
The rear is going to need a disk brake kit for a hundred of so.

SO I am going to estimate $2500ish in Axles, and steering IF you put lockers in it and do it all yourself, or get labor for free. You could prob scrape by on 1500ish or so if you put spools in both axles.

Now. As I said before. You have to buy/build all the mounts for your leafs, or coils, or control arms, or sway bars, shock mounts....

Longer brake lines, new master cylinder... few hundred there.

AND you're going to be breaking D44 rear axles when you get done. SO get a wagoneer D44 front, and go find a Dana 60 rear.

AND above all, if you are getting an engine swap, then there is no need to run gears ANY lower than 4.62

with a 350, or a 302, or any v8 basically, you're going to see a 150-200 hp increase. This will seriously help you out in the gutless department.

My 4.3 drives down the highway with 35's at 70 mph great. 2500 rpm at 70. All gears are usable, and the truck drives like a vehicle is supposed to.

SO again... IF you're getting a more powerful engine, then a D44 is a downgrade, and not necessary anyway. Get a waggy front 44, stick a detriot in it, link it in however you want, and go to town.

Very nice, I'm at work right now so i mostly had to skim through that. If i didnt want to do dual T-cases, is it possible to toss an NP231 on our (auto) trans without complication?
I ask because i know SYE's are avail for that t-case and im not certain of the availability of SYE's for our XFR cases, I was just going to make something If im way off base on any of this just let me know.

As for the breaking of the rear D44, hey, i'll take that risk, i wont be crawling boulders or putting out mad torque from my SOHC 10:1 engine so im not too concerned, this vehicle gets driven in winter months only.

I can't speak for your transmission since it is a different model than mine, but I suspect it would be possible.


Good luck with that.

just wanted to say welcome and dont listen to anyone who says monteros are a pos because right now my jeep ( <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />) is broke down and im driving my 88 montero again until i get the jeep running so i can sell it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Been out of the loop for a while... But, I had to reply to the comments on the D44s and Ford radius arms...

I'm now pushing 300,000 miles on my SAS (about to tip over 400K on the vehicle) and I have yet to run into all the forcasted Dana 44 and Ford suspension problems. In fact, I just went through the front and rear axles this month getting ready for a March run to Moab and the only thing I had to replace was the u-joints in the front. OK, and the front diff skid. Pretty much wore that off.:-)

My Sport weighs in at 5460 lbs GVW steet and just about 6400 lbs GVW on the trail in Moab. Locked front and rear. I've managed to snap the main and secondary leafs in three sets of springs - hopefully this we've got the design that'll handle the weight and axle wrap on this new set:-) - and NEVER had an axle issue - gear issue, shaft issue, carrier issue, stub shaft issue or anything else. Given that we wheel in the dead of summer in Moab with the weight we carry and the 5.39s in the axles I think that's pretty decent. D60s are a waste of money unless you can find the HP to turn 38s+ - a stock Mistu sure ain't gonna. IMHO, lots of extra weight and money for no reason.

Nor have I had a problem with the Ford radius arm suspension on the front. It may not be as flexy as a 4-link but my Sport is also a daily driver - about 500 miles a week of mostly 65-75 Mph highway driving - and I guarentee that suspension works better than all the backyarded leaf and link suspensions I've seen and there's a LOT less maintenance.

The dual t-case rocks, though! Starting work on a conversion for my manual trans t-case setup.

Edward
www.4x4extremesports.com

Welcome back Ed. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />