I was given a Dana 44 rear axle and I was wondering if anyone had any input on modifying it to fit in my 75 mercury comet. The rear axle came out of an 88 Jeep Grand Wagoneer and I am not sure what the gearing is yet. It could be either the 3.55's or the 3.77's. My comet has the stock rear end and a c-4 transmission. I do realize that I would have to change the Dana rear axle hub to a 5 lug hub and have it shortened but I think it would be something new. Has anyone done this?
i personaly am going the rout of a ford 9" out of a granada. they are pretty easy to come by and if you have a local pull a part yard in your area then you should only spend $100-$150. that is a lot less work and it bolts right up. plus the ford 9" is practiacally bullet proof. or you could go with an 8.8 out of a fox body mustang. go to a pull a part yard and pull one from under these cars. i can't remember wich one but some came with a posi. then to get the five lug brakes you pull the axles out of i think the drivers side out of 2 of the smaller ford rangers. take all the brake stuff at the same time. then you slide them into your 8.8 housing and put the brakes on and you have a 5 lug 8.8. you still have to weld on sprig perches but thats not too bad. they had an article about it in car craft a while back. i think i still have it so if you want some info just pm me. a dana 44 would be a cool axle but i personaly wouldn't go through the pain of shortening it. but if you have the money and patients to do it go right ahead. i always like to see people do different things with there cars.
Those rear-ends were not the best out there. A Ford 8 inch is stronger IMO. I have rebuilt several of those and done many pinion bearings, carrier bearings. Lance
Alright, I figured it would be a lot of work to do but I thought I would ask because I thought it would be cool.
I have a spare Dana 60 that I have been eyeballing for a while... That thing is a monster, I don't think it would fit after narrowing. Sorry off topic, you just reminded me of the 60 laying on the shop floor. I don't know anything about the 44, but the 60s are TOUGH. Dave
Yeah, I had heard the same thing about the 44's. Is there a guide out there that shows how to adapt it?
Just put a tried and true 9 inch in there. My F250 has a Dana 60 with 3.73 gears. It's a bullet proof rearend, great for a big truck, but I wouldn't want that kind of weight under my Maverick...
Yeah, my spare is out of one of my E350 vans. But you know, they used to put those monsters in Mopars. High line Mopars got the 60 just like Fords got the 9" and GMs got the 12 bolt. Still a really big/heavy rear. My spare has 3.73 gears and a locker too. Good stuff.
I would say run it, posi's and gears are plentiful on E-bay. The 44 is about the same size as the 8.8 8.75" ring on the 44 and 8.8" on the 8.8
Listen to Thomas... Unless you plan on going 11's w/ slicks, you will be just fine. Ratio, I may put a 60 under the racecar...lol Weight in the back is weight in the back.
I was just thinking 'what if'... But it is true about it being a tough rear end. My spare is more valuable to me as just that, a spare for my company vans. One thing about the big Ford 60s is that they have floating axles... It would be a really big project to change them to car axles from what I can tell. That is probably why car specific (old Mopar) Dana 60s are worth some money, while truck 60s are dirt cheap. If anyone is wondering about the Richmond locker, I have one in the 60 and it is good stuff. You pull the guts out of your differential unit and replace them with the ratchet unit. Full power to both wheels, unlocks on turns. I'll return you to your original topic now...:Handshake Dave
