After talking to Chris today I’m going to give you a bit more detail on the D44 I’ve got in the truck.
It is a out of a 1989 Wagoner and Andy found it in New Jersey. It cost me $300
Yukon 5.13 R&P and the
RD116 ARB locker cost me $635 from our friend Kyle who had them sitting in his garage.
The
Master Install Kit Rugged Rocks (part # SG-D44MK) cost $218
The
RCV CVJ44OS-WAG2/P2 D44OS AXLE SET WAG7 80-92 cost $1275. Yeah I know, see below.
The Ruff Stuff D44 Cover (D44COV) cost $138
Ball joints (lower) $50
Ball joints (upper) $46
Dana 44 Spindle stud set $37
Wheel bearings and seals $12
New Caliper w/ pads (16-4208/16-4209) from Rock Auto $86
Old rotors were good
New Hubs WAR20990 $136
RCV 30spline upgrade for WARN Hubs $150
I did not care for the steering that came with the D44 so I upgraded it to a
3/4 Heim Steering Kit from Ruff Stuff $180 plus around $60 in hardware $240
I needed
wheel spacers to clear the steering $45
Custom Double Cardcan 1330 @ flange, 1310 @ yoke driveshaft $700
So to date I’m into this axle with the driveshaft for around $4070 without any labor. I know! Holy smokes! The axle is worth more than the whole truck!
This is far from the only way to do this. It was done with Dave from
Bandit4x4 holding my hand and doing the majority of the work. Thanks Dave. I would never suggest that it’s the best but it is what I did without regret. There are plenty of things you could cut back on to save some of the cash I spent.
You could leave the front open although I don’t see any point in that.
You could use a different locker than an ARB but I doubt you’d spend less than I did especially when you include the R&P.
You could defiantly do without the RCV axles and hub upgrade. You could go with a set of super strong Chrome-Moly axles for around $700 and do fine. I however have helped to change the u-joint in those on the trail and avoiding that kind of thing is really the whole idea of this exercise for me.
You could rebuild your calipers but for $86 for the set with the core what would be the point?
I think you’ll have to upgrade your steering maybe by extending the draglink that came with the axle or sourcing a 1 ton set up junk yard or something. I went with the 3/4 Heim Steering because the price did not seems too crazy and I plan to upgrade to high steer sometime in the future.
You could source a driveshaft from a junkyard instead of having one made but at the point I was at, I thought $1275 for axle shafts with a junkyard driveshaft?