74 Dana 44 specs

[daleearnhardt01]

I am posting this for a friend in an effort to find out some answers for some questions he is having trouble finding.

He is looking into buying a front Dana 44 out of a 74 K5 and was curious about the:
spring perch width
axle tube thickness
worth of stock spindles (small bearing/flat tops)
Length of axle shafts/what other axles out there could he use (buying chromos and curious about spares/what donor axles)
Ease of swapping 10 bolt outer knuckles/brakes etc onto the axle
Any other problems to be wary of this axle or is it good to go

He has an 8lug 10 bolt to convert 44 to 8 lug depending on rear axle he is going to use. Both axles are complete and will be going in a light weight rig running 37-39's (chromos in front) so he will most likely convert to 8 lug. Anything else he should look into for this swap/building of the axle? I appreciate the help as I know he does. And he did search before asking me to post this. Thanks.

 

[dremu]

I am posting this for a friend in an effort to find out some answers for some questions he is having trouble finding.

He is looking into buying a front Dana 44 out of a 74 K5 and was curious about the:
spring perch width
axle tube thickness
worth of stock spindles (small bearing/flat tops)
Length of axle shafts/what other axles out there could he use (buying chromos and curious about spares/what donor axles)
Ease of swapping 10 bolt outer knuckles/brakes etc onto the axle
Any other problems to be wary of this axle or is it good to go

He has an 8lug 10 bolt to convert 44 to 8 lug depending on rear axle he is going to use. Both axles are complete and will be going in a light weight rig running 37-39's (chromos in front) so he will most likely convert to 8 lug. Anything else he should look into for this swap/building of the axle? I appreciate the help as I know he does. And he did search before asking me to post this. Thanks.

10-bolt and D-44 are interchangeable from the knuckles out. A '74 would have the flat tops, so you'd be set for crossover/ highsteer. The spindles and brakes and such are interchangeable between the two -- you'd want to use the matching spindles, bearings and hub (wheel hub, not locking hub) for whichever lug pattern you wanted, 6 or 8. (I hope that makes sense -- point being that your particular 10b and D44 might have different spindle sizes, but you can use whichever spindle/bearing/hub set you wish on either axle.)

This, actually, is what I did on my '74, which came with (duh) a '74 D44. I dropped in a 10-bolt (it matched gears with the 14BFF I put in, plus was 8-lug) but switched on the D44 knuckles to do crossover. Outers including brakes are the same either way.

The perch width is the same as the 10-bolt.

The shafts and other internals do NOT interchange with a 10-bolt; they are generally considered of similar strength but I don't know details.

Since your buddy has a 10b, the D44, especially with flat-tops, is a no-brainer great idea if he doesn't choose to go D60.

-- A

 

[daleearnhardt01]

Ok thanks that all makes since. Only other question would be if you knew the length of the 44 shafts inner long and short sides. The other shafts on the 10 bolt should match the 44 outers, or else the spindles and stuff wouldnt interchange but the inner shafts could be different lengths or spline count/not sure. Thanks again and its looking good for him to start building these then. Thanks

Chris

 

[daleearnhardt01]

One more for ya, what is the axle tube thickness for this axle. 1/4in or 1/2in? Thanks this is greatly appreciated.

 

[dremu]

One more for ya, what is the axle tube thickness for this axle. 1/4in or 1/2in? Thanks this is greatly appreciated.

Good lord, can't be 1/2" thick, I can't imagine!

-- A

 

[R77K10]

lmao

 

[daleearnhardt01]

Good lord, can't be 1/2" thick, I can't imagine!

-- A

Like I said Im posting all this stuff for my friend, he tells me what to type but I dont think he's seen this post since this afternoon so I did some research of my own and from what Ive found it does have .5" wall thickness like a 60. I could be wrong but I found that info on several sites...

 

[dremu]

Like I said Im posting all this stuff for my friend, he tells me what to type but I dont think he's seen this post since this afternoon so I did some research of my own and from what Ive found it does have .5" wall thickness like a 60. I could be wrong but I found that info on several sites...

Maybe a rear D44 or something ... but I don't imagine even my 14BFF having 1/2" wall. That's some HEAVY sh!t right there.

-- A

 

[Masiony]

Ok thanks that all makes since. Only other question would be if you knew the length of the 44 shafts inner long and short sides. The other shafts on the 10 bolt should match the 44 outers, or else the spindles and stuff wouldnt interchange but the inner shafts could be different lengths or spline count/not sure. Thanks again and its looking good for him to start building these then. Thanks

Chris

yeah, you've got the right thought. the inner shafts dont interchange because 44's are 30 spline, but (most) 10b's are 28 spline.

the outers are interchangable.

 

[Masiony]

Maybe a rear D44 or something ... but I don't imagine even my 14BFF having 1/2" wall. That's some HEAVY sh!t right there.

-- A

believe it.

 

[daleearnhardt01]

Maybe a rear D44 or something ... but I don't imagine even my 14BFF having 1/2" wall. That's some HEAVY sh!t right there.

-- A

Well the 14FF does have 1/2" wall tubes as does the Dana 60, I do know that for a fact..

 

[Masiony]

Well the 14FF does have 1/2" wall tubes as does the Dana 60, I do know that for a fact..

as do lots of 44's. i know that for a fact.

 

[MaxPF]

I am posting this for a friend in an effort to find out some answers for some questions he is having trouble finding.

He is looking into buying a front Dana 44 out of a 74 K5 and was curious about the:
spring perch width
axle tube thickness
worth of stock spindles (small bearing/flat tops)
Length of axle shafts/what other axles out there could he use (buying chromos and curious about spares/what donor axles)
Ease of swapping 10 bolt outer knuckles/brakes etc onto the axle
Any other problems to be wary of this axle or is it good to go

He has an 8lug 10 bolt to convert 44 to 8 lug depending on rear axle he is going to use. Both axles are complete and will be going in a light weight rig running 37-39's (chromos in front) so he will most likely convert to 8 lug. Anything else he should look into for this swap/building of the axle? I appreciate the help as I know he does. And he did search before asking me to post this. Thanks.

Assuming the 10 bolt is a 30 spline (or he is planning on buying an aftermarket carrier and axles for the axle used, in which case the 10b can be converted to 30 spline), I would choose it over the 44. I may get some flack for this heresy, but the 10 bolt is a stronger axle. Yes, ring gear strength is the same, but the 10b has a 1.625" diameter 30 spline pinion shaft vs. the 1.375" 26 spline on the 44. In fact, the 10b pinion shaft is the same diameter and has one more spline than a Dana 60 pinion! Since pinion deflection is most likely to precipitate a gear failure, one should want a pinion with the largest, stiffest shaft to minimize said deflection. The 44 has 1/2" wall tubes vs. .312" wall on the 10b, but this is offset by the fact that the 10b tubes are larger (3" vs 2.75"). Also, even though I have never seen anyone shear splines before breaking an axle, I should point out that the 10b (along with all other GM corporate axles) uses a spline with a 45 degree pressure angle, which is stronger than the 30 degree splines on the Dana's.