Dana 44 Flat Top Knuckles Questions

[jahunter]

Hey All,

First off I am very new to building an early Bronco so please forgive my lack of knowledge. I am working on figuring out exactly what I'm working with before pulling off the tub. So started looking at my Dana 44 and found that I have flat top knuckles with high steer from what I'm able to figure out with my limited knowledge. My goal with this rig would be a mixture of daily driver and off-road uses. I am attaching pictures and am hoping for some feedback on the current setup.

The planned build would be as followed.
* Lift - Wild Horses 2.5" Suspension System with 1" body or
* Transmissions - Gearstar Ford AOD
* Motor - 365HP 365FT LBS from BluePrint Engines with Holly Terminator Stealth.
* Rear End - Wild Horses Super 9 Housing Axles and Custom Built Third member with Eaton Truetrac Differential w/ 31 Spline and 4.56 gearing.
* Front End - Rebuild the Dana 44 with Eaton Truetrac Differential w/30 Spline and 4.56 gearing.
* Tires/Wheels - BFGoodrich KO2 LT285/75R17 US Mags Indy 17x9
Plus a long list of other things to ready this rig for another 50 years ;D

So questions if I may.

1.) Is the flat top worth keeping or would it be better to go a different route? I like the Front Disc Brake Conversion Kit, Dana 44 from James Duff?

2. The High Steer rod end are pretty rusted so and suggestions on good replacements?



I appreciate any info on this.

Thanks

Jeff H

 

[camomog]

I would keep the steering. The angles look nice which will help with bump steer and dive when you hit the brakes. It also keeps the tie rods up away from rocks.

 

[ngsd]

The DuckTuff comes with the heim steering as part of the kit so you need to decide that one first. One mistake I made was not paying attention to all of the different components that you have to customize when I placed my order and the communication did not happen with Duff. I now have parts that won't fit as I have 66 frame and rear diff but a 76 front axle. Thier parts are great and I am pleased with the quality but now I have to figure out what to do with the wrong parts after finding out the hard way they don't fit by installing them. Definitely call and walk through your build with a qualified tech.

 

[jahunter]

Good point! I will diffently keep that in mind.

 

[DirtDonk]

Wow, very interesting setup.
The knuckles have two places for steering stops and yours are on the front, rather than the rear where I think they are normally.
The spacers between the spindles and knuckles don't appear to be tapered, so are those the brake caliper mounts?
The spindles appear to be 6-bolt, which would be consistent with GM, or Jeep knuckles. Not sure if Dodge ever used them or not, but I know some GM and Jeep vehicles did.
They look like Ford calipers mounted upside down, but they're not since you can see the bleeder up top. Maybe the caliper mounts are upside down? Maybe it was necessary? The Ford caliper bracket does slip between the spindle and knuckle, but is larger diameter and lets the spindle flange support things fully.
Maybe they just custom made the spindle mount and cut the stock caliper mounts to fit.

The reason I say they're upside down is that normally the bolt-on caliper locking slider and spring are on the bottom. But the caliper does have the bleeder up high, so that should be ok.
Still just feels strange to look at it that way. Looks like a GM-based hose there with it's locating tabs.

Very interesting setup.

Paul

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, Paul is correct about the caliper slide mounts looking weird up top.
I wonder if the brackets are on the wrong sides.
The offset may not allow any change and it seems like it doesn't matter.
The caliper is hanging out pretty far to the left. It looks like the whole rotor is sticking out off the spindle more then usual.
Good luck

 

[Bronco 4 life]

Could be a mix of waggy 44 and Chevy I had a waggy 44 under a heep Did a 6 lug to 5-5.5 and high steer just like that.. used one waggy knuckle and and a drivers side Chevy to get flat tops for high steer then did basically the Chevy ford disk conversion we do on our broncos

 

[jahunter]

Thanks, guys for the info. I had a great call with Jim Creel today and after speaking with him my plan is to completely disassemble the Dana 44, take tons of pictures, post them and let everyone have a look and see what other information we can come up with.

Is it out of a Jeep Cherokee?


Jim, Thank you for your call, you have made a customer for life! That personal touch is what sets your company above the rest.

Stay turn for more in the coming days.

JH

 

[snipes243]

Look like an aftermarket knuckle for a CJ

https://completeoffroad.com/i-21121...h-6-bolt-spindles-complete-kit-sp1001-kk.html

 

[jahunter]

It looks a lot like what I have.

 

[jmhend]

pretty cool set up

 

[jahunter]

Yeah, I like it, but as others have stated, it's likely a mix of Jeep, GM, or who knows what. What I do know is the calipers and rotors are from a 1979 Jeep CJ7. As for the Flat Top Knuckles, I will be pulling these off after I finished pulling off my tub next week. I will keep everyone posted on what I find out about them. But I'm reasonably sure that it's an aftermarket upgrade for the CJ7.

Be safe people.

JH