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Dana 44 differences.

blazinzuk

blazinzuk

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Specifically talking of Chevy.

Also only open knuckle disc brakes.

I have heard big bearing and small bearing. Never researched it.

What are the bearing size differences?

Is the hub bore different?

Spindle size differences?

Years these were supposed to be in

And finally is the brake caliper mounting bracket different.

@ashman
 
There are different sized wheel bearings, the OD of the spindle is also different to match. I don't remember the details off-hand though.

No clue on the ID.

As far as I know, the caliper mounting is only different between 1/2 and 3/4 ton, otherwise I believe all 1/2T and all 3/4T are the same.
 
Here is my understanding from recently. Large bearing is essentially large spindle. The spindle, bearing and hubs are larger. Small bearing has a smaller spindle OD, thus smaller bearing ID and hub ID.
Backing plates on 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton are different but the caliper is the same, some exceptions as there are a few different calipers but they will all mount up. Now the only difference in the backing plates is that the 3/4 ton places the caliper farther away from centerline as the 3/4 ton rotor is larger.

The center bore is the same on them as well as the manual locking hubs. All the same.
 
1977k5 said:
Elaborate?
Click to expand...

We are trying to find a replacement for my bent caliper bracket and so far I've found 3 different styles and they are not interchangeable.

Caliper_bracket_3styles.jpg

These are the 3 styles I've found. The one on the top is my original off of a '72 blazer. The style to the left I've found on 6 lug and 8 lug axles. The one to the right came off of a 3/4 ton. All 3 type seem to fit the same caliper, but the bottom 2 don't position the caliper in the right place to allow the brake pads to fit around the rotor on my axle.

1972 bracket:
Caliper_bracket_13-16.jpg

The offset is ~13/16"

bracket with thin dust cover:
Caliper_bracket_3-4.jpg

The offset is ~3/4"

3/4 ton bracket:
Caliper_bracket_1-2.jpg

The offset is ~1/2"

All of these are from dana 44s. I'm trying to figure out which trucks and years came with the style like mine.
 
Probably be Monday before I get my 73 pulled apart.

In the meantime go pet your duck........Er wabbit
 
I just looked at your pic close.

My 73 brackets are the same as your 72 brackets.

I had a buddy snap a pic of his 76 and they appear to be the same as the ones you got from Chad.
 
The 3/4 ton plates should also be set up for a larger rotor IIRC
 
Vombrown said:
The center bore is the same on them as well as the manual locking hubs. All the same.
Click to expand...

Not all the lockouts are the same. Older axles have external lockouts that bolt to the hub instead of using the internal snapring. I believe this correlates with small beating spindles.
 
bent72 said:
The 3/4 ton plates should also be set up for a larger rotor IIRC
Click to expand...
Nope. I was able to put the rotor in place on all 3 brackets.
Measured all of them and they are the same diameter. Only difference seems to be the offset.
 
I've tried swapping 6lug hubs for 8lugs without changing the backing plates. Had to take it all back apart because the half ton stuff wouldn't let the caliper fit over the rotor. You could probably get away going the other way though (bigger backing plate on smaller rotor).

Also had a problem with a set of backing plates that were from what I thought was an 8lug axle, but when I put the hub/rotor on...the plate put the caliper in the wrong spot over the rotor. The height was fine, it was the in/out distance that was off. Not sure what was up with that. Maybe it was because I was mixing D44 and 10B parts, had to disassemble another axle to get it corrected.
 
1977k5 said:
The 3/4 ton axles do use significantly bigger rotors. But they also use 8 lug wheels, vs. 6 lug, so that issue probably rears it's head first.
Click to expand...
Maybe not all 3/4 ton axles had bigger brakes. :dunno: Some of these backing plates definitely came from 3/4 ton axles and the diameter was the same.

@bigblock72 Do you know what axles your backing plates were off of?
 
ashman said:
Maybe not all 3/4 ton axles had bigger brakes. :dunno: Some of these backing plates definitely came from 3/4 ton axles and the diameter was the same.

@bigblock72 Do you know what axles your backing plates were off of?
Click to expand...


Those backing plates are off of an early 80s 10 bolt. I went and looked at the backing plates on the original 44 from my blazer and my 72 shortbed and they are identical to the ones I gave you. I have never ran into this problem before and am a little confused as to what is going on. Can you post a picture with everything bolted together so I can see how the caliper is aligning. Do you know if you have big bearing or small bearing hubs?

The 8 lug rotors are about 3/4" larger diameter and 1/2" more offset and usually have a heavier backing plate that is more circular in shape and doesn't have the tin dust shield.
 
Yeah, it seems to be a surprise to everyone. I'm starting to wonder if my axle is not original to the truck if both of your '72s are different than mine.

Yesterday I spent some time trying to work my bend bracket back to usable and I think I finally found a way to get it done. Before I bolt it all back up though, I'll install both of the other style brackets I have and take some pictures and post it up.
 
I need to take my bracket off my 44 cause it looks identical to Joshes.

It's from a 73
 
I haven't taken it apart but my 73 looks identical to Joshes

@bigblock72



.

I need to get mine apart and measure the spindle to see if it's a big bearing or small bearing
 
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