Dana 44 from 6 to 8 lug

[SWOO]

I'm one of those dudes with 6 lugs in the front and 8 in the back.
I wanna go with 8 all the way around
I'm trying to understand what I'm reading about going to an 8 lug set up.
If I have a Dana 44 with a 6 lug set up is that 1/2 ton?
If I want to go 8 lug am I moving up to 3/4 ton Spindle or axle or what?
Has anyone done that conversion yet and what are the Cros and Cons?
I'd like to better understand what I need to do to change to 8 lugs.
I

 

[divorced]

It depends a lot on what year your D44 axle is. If your D44 already has the big bearing spindles then all you will need is the hubs/rotors and brake backing plates. The spindles and calipers will both work. If you have a small bearing D44, then you will need some new big bearing spindles as well. This is not the law, but every axle I have taken apart with the flat top knuckles has also had the small bearing spindles.

And a search will also find many posts covering this swap.



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[nm4x4]

Check this link out, it is in the TECH ARTICLES.
http://www.coloradok5.com/8lugconversion.shtml

 

[mrk5]

I'm one of those dudes with 6 lugs in the front and 8 in the back.
I wanna go with 8 all the way around
I'm trying to understand what I'm reading about going to an 8 lug set up.
If I have a Dana 44 with a 6 lug set up is that 1/2 ton?
If I want to go 8 lug am I moving up to 3/4 ton Spindle or axle or what?
Has anyone done that conversion yet and what are the Cros and Cons?
I'd like to better understand what I need to do to change to 8 lugs.
I

I know you can do a lot of searching on this but to be honest I was more confused after probably too much analyzing. Analysis Paralysis I call it.

Here's the simple answer. Strip everything off the knuckles of a 3/4ton 10bolt and install it on your axle. Doesn't matter what you have now, it'll all work.

You could also do the same with an 8-lug D44, but you know the 10bolt will have the bigger bearings and less age on them.

One astrix* to that. You may need to do grinding on the caliper brackets. I went from 10bolt to D44, the 10bolt caliper did not clear the D44 bracket. So that may be an issue going the other way. If you switch to 10bolt calipers, you'll have to change the brake lines. 10bolt metric fitting, D44 sae.

If you end up with a D44 8-lug donor, stay away from external hubs. Just my opinion.

So much for simple, huh.