used Jeep Dana 44 Axles - axle Bracket Jig - Photo 9011276

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We built an axle bracket jig using the original Dana 35 housing, some spare tubing, and steel bar from the local home center. The jig is used to locate the new Dynatrac brackets on our junkyard Dana 44.

We hacked off the Honda spring perches and shock mounts and then pulled the axleshafts and differential carrier. We then took our pair of Dana 44s to a ring-and-pinion specialist to have the 5.89 Yukon gears and install kits from Randy's Ring & Pinion set up and mounted on traction-ensuring Detroit Lockers from Eaton. The driveline shop even wrapped the differentials up with some plastic to keep the innards clean in the shop and during the ride home.

We built an axle bracket jig using the original Dana 35 housing, some spare tubing, and steel bar from the local home center. The jig is used to locate the new Dynatrac brackets on our junkyard Dana 44.

The older models, like our '96 Honda Passport axle, came with leaf-spring perches and a steel cover bearing the Dana diamond. Look for the orange tag sticking out from underneath one of the rear cover bolts (right). Ours indicates a limited slip differential. The other tag (left) has the gear ratio stamped on it-4.30:1 or 4.56:1 ratios are common. All of these axles have thick ring gears and use numerically low Dana 44 carriers, so keep that in mind if you want to run the original gears and swap in a locker.

Here's the simple jig removed from the housing. A beefier version could be built to help make multiple axle swaps.

Once the new brackets are located properly and tack-welded in place, they can be finish-welded. The Dynatrac brackets make the stock Jeep brackets look like they were made for toys, and they're way better and easier to install than anything we could have built ourselves.

For the e-brakes, we enlarged the two holes in our TJ's e-brake bracket and made these clips that hold the Honda's cables in the modified TJ bracket. Zip ties hold the clips in place, and, after a bit more grinding, the ends of the e-brake cables fit in the TJ's emergency brake equalizer. The Honda's e-brake cables are long and require some inventive routing and looping under the TJ. Keep them away from the exhaust!

The Isuzu/Honda Dana 44 has big disc brakes with mini-drum emergency brakes. We were able to reposition the Isuzu brake hardware brackets on the axle so we could use the TJ metering block and, after some bending, the TJ's metal brake lines. To our surprise, the TJ's metal brake fittings fit the rubber hoses of the new axle's rear calipers. We had the junkyard rotors turned and added a new set of brake pads to the Honda rear axle.

Discs in the rear of a Jeep mean that you will need a new matching proportioning valve. The easiest way to do this is to replace the stock proportioning valve with one from an '03 Rubicon model.

The Isuzu/Honda yoke is a goofy flange type. Good news is that it can be removed and replaced with a regular old Dana 44 1310, 1330, or 1350 series yoke. We ran a 1310 and didn't even need to modify our stock slip-yoke driveshaft since the wheelbase had been extended 1-inch (using the adjustable control arms).