Axle Swap

I can get an entire 77 wagoneer for 150 bucks, and have been considering wider axles. This seems like a good price for front and rear axles that will be wider like I'm looking for. Questions are: I know I will have to outboard the front springs. For the rear in a 77, is it a 44 or a model 20? And is it slightly offset so it will work with my model 18 t-case? or is it center pumpkin? What years of wagoneers should I look for to get the passenger drop front, and the offset rear 44? I've heard the quadratrac ones are offset too far. So what model year range should I keep an eye out for? Thanks.

 

74-79 wagoneers should have pass drop front dana 44.

http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/Dana44_3.htm#Jeep FSJ Driver side

 

I'm looking for the passenger front AND the offset rear that will work for the dana 18

 

The '77 Wagoneer will have a Dana 44 rear axle. Get out your tape and see if the offset will work. The FSJs changed from PSD to DSD in 1980.

BTW the AMC 20 axle in a Wagoneer is a good axle, with 1-piece axles; maybe better than the Dana 44. Only the CJ AMC 20 need be avoided.

 

IIRC even the Waggy's with the 20 transfer case in those years still had an offset to the passenger side, just not as much as the Q-track equipped vehicles. Around here $150 is a decent deal just for the front axle. Seen 'em go for more. For a whole Waggy that's a great deal as you could sell off what you don't need or haul to scrap and get some of your money back that way.
If you get it and don't need the power steering box keep me in mind.....

 

If I do get it I'll definitely keep you in mind for the power steering box, as my power steering works good right now. I would just get under there and measure the rearend to see if it will work, but the Wagoneer is just a bit over 1 hour drive from me on the freeway, so a ways away to just go measure, so that's why I asked. I know obviously a centered rearend won't work with my dana 18, and from what I can gather it sounds like one other rearend is offset about 3" only, and the other is offset a decent amount more, so it is easily identified as offset just by seeing it. Is this more offset one the quadratrac one, or is it another one, and there is the quadratrac rearend is offset even further? Wish the Jeep was closer, or this woman who owns it knew what I was asking her to look at when I ask her the questions about the vehicle.

 

I don't remember this very well, but I think I'm confirming what Nick wrote. If it's a '77, it will either have a manual transmission and a Dana 20 transfer case, or it will an automatic with the Quadratrac. Most of these cars were sold with automatics.

Both will be Dana 44 rear axles, and both will be offset. The manual transmission axle will be offset by a few inches, and the automatic (Quadratrac) axle will be offset more, say 6 or 8 inches (a guess).

You will install the axle centered in the chassis, so make note of the length of one side compared to the other. Measure the offset of the Dana 18 in your Jeep to see if the resulting driveshaft angle will be acceptable. You also want to make sure that teh axle offset is not so large that, when centered in the chassis, the axle pumpkin interferes with the frame rail.

hth!

Also, NB these axles won't have the deep gearing we expect in CJ axles. In '77, the standard ratio is 3.07:1 for a Wagoneer, with 3.54 optional.

 

The '77 offset 44 will work fine with the 18 transfer case. I ran a '76 rear in my flatty with a 18 for years.

 

Yup. You said it much better though