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So got a Dana 44 from an 86 i bought to part out. In the process of disassembling (the rear end, not the diff itself). Hope to have batwing off next few days. Car had like 56k on it. Input shaft turns great by hand and i dont feel anything bad. So far 1 bolt stripped for a half shaft u joint strap that i had to grind off. Hope to be able to get bolt out. But i do see those for like 75 bucks if i cant.
But question is, what should be done to this for an upgrade? Willl do drain plug like i did on my 36. Also will run SS studs for the batwing to diff .Im not looking to put 1000hp through it, nor run slicks. But i try to do things the right way, so looking for advice. Keeping the 3.07 gearing.
I do have the driveshaft and c beam from the 86 as well. But slip yoke is pretty corroded, think ill replace it. But with which one (i have the 700 tranny). Also what u joints?
Gonna start getting parts as i dont plan to do the swap until winter of 25,26 as i wanna enjoy my car this year for a change.
Closely look where the Ladder Bar bolts to the Pumpkin for Cracks. Use the ZF Doc bolt kit when you put it back together. Run Solid 1350 U-Joints in the 1/2 Shafts.
You could upgrade to steel half shafts with forged ends when you do your greasless U joints. Surprisingly when I had mine done they weren't super expensive. Cool thing is because they are so short they don't weigh much more than the stock ones. Just avoid Denny's Driveshaft for this. Their prices are too high. I went with Action Machine for mine. Also you could get the Vansteel U joint caps.
Thanks everyone. Im still fighting the rear 2 bolts for the c beam. They are really seized in there. And on the bottom of the case i can see a small chunk of aluminum seperated. Dosent seem too bad (i hope). The guy that welds our gearcases and props can fix it im sure. But what a pita!
I am looking to put 1000 hp thru mine with slicks
(boost + juice + built 383, 6spd)
thought about doing solid axle but found people that do those give up abs and asr traction control which is useful if in the rain/on slicks, driving from the track.
also some arent happy about the handling of the car after the solid axle conversion - so Im staying IRS
-steel driveshaft with 1350 mark williams yoke on the zf6 and 1350 yoke on the D44
-steel halfshafts ($)
-mark williams 32 spline axle stub ends ($$$)
-Found a newman case and batwing on ebay ($$)
-delrin batwing bushings
- beam plates
-3.73:1 Viper? Gear set (i may be wrong)
-clutch delay pedal to make the clutch hit less violent on the drive train (at the expense of extra clutch wear)
-cryo stabilized inner stub ends (coming off the d44). I am told these generally dont fail on c4’s.
Just had the D44 built to Gladiator specs by Exotic Muscle ($$$)
Some of my friends tell me i have a lot of money into this car, as they drive a $60k car and take a $15k african safari vacation every year.
So I tell them I have less in it than their vacation they did, and it usually shuts them up.
So this is the slip yoke from the 86. Pretty bad. Thought my machinist could fix or sleeve it, but he said no. Im told they dont mke these anymore? And i also understand this is exactly what i need to mate up to the 700? Thanks
Like im not busy enough, been doing too much research on this...
Seeing as the slip yoke is not usable (or fixable, i reached out to someone on this) can i swap my current slip yoke to the 44 driveshaft and be done with it? What about the balancer on current yoke? Also, would need to have assembly balanced, correct? Thanks!
I feel like I'm missing something here. Are you saying they don't make a slip yoke for a 700r4 with a 1310 u joint anymore? Because that's not true. Google it lots of options come up. You don't need the balancer. I had a steel driveshaft made with my D44 and my 4L80e swap. I just had the shaft balanced and used a Sonnax slip yoke. No balancer. A D44 driveshaft would work if it's from a 4+3 but not a ZF6.
I feel like I'm missing something here. Are you saying they don't make a slip yoke for a 700r4 with a 1310 u joint anymore? Because that's not true. Google it lots of options come up. You don't need the balancer. I had a steel driveshaft made with my D44 and my 4L80e swap. I just had the shaft balanced and used a Sonnax slip yoke. No balancer. A D44 driveshaft would work if it's from a 4+3 but not a ZF6.
I have The driveshaft from the 86 4 speed, but the slip yoke is in rough shape. Cheapest one i saw was still $900. So i was wondering if i can take my current slip yoke (from my car now with the 700) and put it on the manual driveshaft. I would have it balanced, and was wonddring if i should remove or keep the balancer on it. Thanks again!
I have The driveshaft from the 86 4 speed, but the slip yoke is in rough shape. Cheapest one i saw was still $900. So i was wondering if i can take my current slip yoke (from my car now with the 700) and put it on the manual driveshaft. I would have it balanced, and was wonddring if i should remove or keep the balancer on it. Thanks again!
It should work. The reason I say should is because I'm not 100% sure those two yokes are the same length. If it were me I would mock it up and try it. See how much engagement you have on the splines. If you're not happy with it you could have a driveshaft made with a new forged slip yoke for way less than $900 that would be balanced and much stronger than stock. My 3" 1350 shaft without the yoke was only $300. Then the Sonnax yoke was $200.
I just looked a few things up. If the yoke you have from the 700 won't work with that shaft a Spicer 2-3-6081X yoke is $60 from Action Machine. They will make you a drive shaft either steel or aluminum to go along with it fully balanced. So you're bill would be under $500 for a new aluminum driveshaft with a new yoke. About $100 less for a steel shaft. This also includes the u joints. They install them when they balance the shaft. They use Spicer coated greasless unless you want something else. They are a great company to deal with if you need to go that route. Something else to think about is if you do that would it be worth it for you to upgrade to a 1330 or 1350 shaft. Both of those require a new yoke on the D44. That's easy to find though. I did a 1350 on mine.
Last edited by Phobos84; Apr 10, 2025 at 09:39 AM.
It should work. The reason I say should is because I'm not 100% sure those two yokes are the same length. If it were me I would mock it up and try it. See how much engagement you have on the splines. If you're not happy with it you could have a driveshaft made with a new forged slip yoke for way less than $900 that would be balanced and much stronger than stock. My 3" 1350 shaft without the yoke was only $300. Then the Sonnax yoke was $200.
I just looked a few things up. If the yoke you have from the 700 won't work with that shaft a Spicer 2-3-6081X yoke is $60 from Action Machine. They will make you a drive shaft either steel or aluminum to go along with it fully balanced. So you're bill would be under $500 for a new aluminum driveshaft with a new yoke. About $100 less for a steel shaft. This also includes the u joints. They install them when they balance the shaft. They use Spicer coated greasless unless you want something else. They are a great company to deal with if you need to go that route. Something else to think about is if you do that would it be worth it for you to upgrade to a 1330 or 1350 shaft. Both of those require a new yoke on the D44. That's easy to find though. I did a 1350 on mine.
If I understand what you are asking.... In converting from a 36 to a 44, you need the 44 driveshaft, due to length being slightly shorter. Then you put your existing slip yoke from the automatic driveshaft on the dana 44 driveshaft.
BTW, if it was mine, I would replace the clutch pack inside the 44 while you have it out.
If I understand what you are asking.... In converting from a 36 to a 44, you need the 44 driveshaft, due to length being slightly shorter. Then you put your existing slip yoke from the automatic driveshaft on the dana 44 driveshaft.
BTW, if it was mine, I would replace the clutch pack inside the 44 while you have it out.
Correct, thats the plan.
And i will once i get it apart. The 2 bolts that hold the c beam are seized in case. I have them soaking for a few days to try to get them out this weekend hopefully.
And i will once i get it apart. The 2 bolts that hold the c beam are seized in case. I have them soaking for a few days to try to get them out this weekend hopefully.
Use a blunt tip and air on the c-beam bolts and apply more of what ever you're soaking with now to them.
Dana 44 upgrades?
