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D44 from a Dodge Ramcharger

crashandburn

crashandburn

1/2 ton status
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Posts
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Location
Colorado Springs, CO
So I am planning to build a 97 Blazer into a dedicated trail rig on full size truck axles. 9.5 SF in the rear, D44 or 10 bolt in the front on account of the light weight of the rig and only V6 power. Leaf springs, and 35-37s. Preferably 37s.

I can get my hands on a front end from a Ramcharger but I don't know enough about it. According to the interwebs, those trucks came with a D44. Seems believable enough.

First, it's 5 lug. Is it easy enough to convert it to 6 or 8 without wheel adapters?
Second, is it easy enough to convert to crossover steering?

Next topic. This will be my first ever SAS. I think from some preliminary observations that I can fit 56" springs in the front and 63s in the back. Is that overkill? Should I go 56/56 or even 52/56?
Before you answer, I should tell you my goals with the rig. I'm in Colorado, so I plan on using it for exploring in the mountains and playing in the rocks. I need flex. Not extreme flex, but a good amount. This rig will see pavement, but mostly when it's on the way to the trails.
The rear will be spooled. The front will also for the time being until I buy a real locker, and I'll just unlock one hub for now.

Any advice or experience will be appreciated, as I want to have this thing done and ready for summer.
 
I dont know much about the Dodge D44 front ends,other than some years had some strange unitized hub/bearings that were failure prone and costly to replace..I'd do some more online snooping before buying it!..
 
should be basic swap over from 5 lug to gm 6 with parts as dodge/gm outers swap a lot .

if unit bearing NO lockout hubs it will need gm knuckles out for the fix . yes some early square body dodge had unit bearing before the 94-newer body stuff.
 
i had a 79 power wagon d44, the front bearings sucked, the cure was to change it over to a chevy 44 outer, chevy d44 are a dime a dozen. why bother with the hassle
 
If that Dodge front is free, it might be worth converting. Otherwise, just grab a Chevy D44 or 10B that already has real bearings and 6 lug. It saves tons of money if you can find the gear ratio you want, but for 37s that would be 4.88 or 5.13. Maybe 4.56 would cut it if you won't have overdrive, but we're talking about non-factory ratios here, so that's a lot harder to find.
 
Blue85 said:
If that Dodge front is free, it might be worth converting. Otherwise, just grab a Chevy D44 or 10B that already has real bearings and 6 lug. It saves tons of money if you can find the gear ratio you want, but for 37s that would be 4.88 or 5.13. Maybe 4.56 would cut it if you won't have overdrive, but we're talking about non-factory ratios here, so that's a lot harder to find.
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I'm thinking 5.38, like I said it won't see much highway time.
 
I have a Jeep D44 axle with Chevy outers (6 lug) it is a spring under setup though, and 3.31 gears. I was going to use it but then Keith intervened and sold me a D60 so now I have no use for it.
 
noJeepshere said:
I have a Jeep D44 axle with Chevy outers (6 lug) it is a spring under setup though, and 3.31 gears. I was going to use it but then Keith intervened and sold me a D60 so now I have no use for it.
Click to expand...

Maybe if it was a full width axle I'd make you an offer. But I want the full size axles to help keep me off my roof in the hairy stuff.
 
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