Dana 44 into a G?
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pencero,
I did a lot (for me :lol: ) of research on the Mexican Monte Carlo a few years back. During that time I saw a picture of what was said to be a Dana rear axle in the Mexican Monte Carlo. I haven't been able to locate that picture to post. ...Now for your question. If you're talking about putting a Mexican Monte Carlo Dana 44 rear axle in your G-body, yes, it would bolt in. IMO, you'd have a better chance of finding Sasquatch than you would a Mexican Monte Dana 44! You might be able to have it made for you by an axle company, but I would guess it would cost well over $2000! ...Sorry I couldn't be more positive.
Doug
I did a lot (for me :lol: ) of research on the Mexican Monte Carlo a few years back. During that time I saw a picture of what was said to be a Dana rear axle in the Mexican Monte Carlo. I haven't been able to locate that picture to post. ...Now for your question. If you're talking about putting a Mexican Monte Carlo Dana 44 rear axle in your G-body, yes, it would bolt in. IMO, you'd have a better chance of finding Sasquatch than you would a Mexican Monte Dana 44! You might be able to have it made for you by an axle company, but I would guess it would cost well over $2000! ...Sorry I couldn't be more positive.
Doug
well its on craigslist for $50 the guy said it came out of a 4x4 jeep. Says its a 44 dana 'a'. I doubt it will work but it has 3.73 so I thought I would ask. I also doubt the brakes on it are going to work either but for $50 wtf? I think its worth considering unless it cost $200 -300 in work to fit it in
Dana 44's were used in all kinds of vehicles from Vette's to Chevy Trucks to Jeeps to Dodge's... BUT, they do not interchange, the guts do and that's about it... not without a lot of work anyways. There were also many "Off-Center" made for the front axles.
I have seen that the Mexican Monte SS had a Dana 44, along with the manual and 350... dunno if the Dana 44 part was true, but the 350 and manual were.. an 8.5" seems like it would have been easier because GM had them on hand already, but then again, GM did a lot of things that defy logic... case in point is those versions of the Monte SS being sold South-of-the-Border ONLY. That said, the 3rd Gen F-Body also had a Dana 44 as a HD Service Replacement Warranty Part. The '82-85 F-Body's were cursed with the same POS 7.5 axle.. good enough for the weak knee'd early variants of the LG4 and Crossfire 305, BUT when the L69 HO 305 was introduced, the number of axle failures soared. GM had a lot of issues with these L69 cars because of their cheapness with the parts utilized for the rest of the car... By today's standards the L69 isn't very impressive, but when compared with all of the other engines of the day, the L69 is damn impressive. The L69 gave you 190 hp and 240lbs of torque (reportedly, the L69 in good tune pushed more on the chassis dyno and could easily make more with a few tweaks, & a ported set of 601 heads with larger valves, eventually I will run my 54K Recaro TA to see if this holds true). The 1985 LB9 "TPI 305" used an L69 shortblock, but a 700R4 trans ONLY... In '86 they changed the camshaft profile of the LB9 so they could keep a warranty nightmare from developing with the addition of the T-5 option on the TPI 305... The L69 was killed in early '86 for the F-Body because of "vapor lock issues", which is partially true, but for anyone with an L69 F-Body, its obvious why...warranty issues, because the combo of the T-5, 3:73 gears, and L69 engine broke the drivelines if you hammered them. The L69 had a 9.5:1 comp ratio, flat-top 4 valve reliefs pistons, and a potent camshaft profile, (GM PN: 14088843 - Hyd. Flat Tappet - Duration @ .050": 202/206 - Max Lift: .403/.415 - 115 - Idle: 650 rpm), which were the main parts of the magic. That cam profile is NOT a Corvette cam, it was an L69 specific grind and is one of the most aggressive profiles GM ever used in any SBC. It makes more than enough nut to break a 7.5" axle if you have sticky tires... the T-5 also tends to grenade if you get too much traction because the case is aluminum, which flexes with high torque pressures... or if you beat on them regularly without a care.. otherwise they are more than adequate for a fun weekend warrior.
(FYI: 1986 F-Body LB9: GM PN: 14094097 Hyd. Flat Tappet - Duration @ .050": 178/194 - Max Lift: .350/.385 - 109 - Idle: 650 rpm)
Anyway, if you blew up the axle in your '82-85/86 Z28/Iroc-Z or WS6/WS7 Trans Am under warranty, the warranty replacement was usually a specially-made Dana 44, which was far tougher than the pathetic 7.5" axle.. an axle which has no business being in any V8 car really. GM's long-term-solution was to stuff the 9 bolt Borg-Warner axle into the later '86-'92 Iroc-Z and WS6 cars, sourced from their Holden division in Australia. Just like the G-Body, all of the other F-Body's received the 7.625" axle which was marginally stronger, but better made and had more meat to strengthen some of the weaker points that the 7.5" had. The 3rd Gen F-Body Dana 44 is Highly Prized and God knows how many are out there unknown under rotting hulks because many folks just don't know about them. When they knowingly go up for sale, they are usually priced over $1000 if they have the rear disc brakes and posi unit.
As for the Mexican Monte SS version... as stated above, VERY RARE if they exist and you'll likely have better luck finding a Grand National sitting forgotten in a barn. And if you do find one, Good Luck getting one across the border.
I have seen that the Mexican Monte SS had a Dana 44, along with the manual and 350... dunno if the Dana 44 part was true, but the 350 and manual were.. an 8.5" seems like it would have been easier because GM had them on hand already, but then again, GM did a lot of things that defy logic... case in point is those versions of the Monte SS being sold South-of-the-Border ONLY. That said, the 3rd Gen F-Body also had a Dana 44 as a HD Service Replacement Warranty Part. The '82-85 F-Body's were cursed with the same POS 7.5 axle.. good enough for the weak knee'd early variants of the LG4 and Crossfire 305, BUT when the L69 HO 305 was introduced, the number of axle failures soared. GM had a lot of issues with these L69 cars because of their cheapness with the parts utilized for the rest of the car... By today's standards the L69 isn't very impressive, but when compared with all of the other engines of the day, the L69 is damn impressive. The L69 gave you 190 hp and 240lbs of torque (reportedly, the L69 in good tune pushed more on the chassis dyno and could easily make more with a few tweaks, & a ported set of 601 heads with larger valves, eventually I will run my 54K Recaro TA to see if this holds true). The 1985 LB9 "TPI 305" used an L69 shortblock, but a 700R4 trans ONLY... In '86 they changed the camshaft profile of the LB9 so they could keep a warranty nightmare from developing with the addition of the T-5 option on the TPI 305... The L69 was killed in early '86 for the F-Body because of "vapor lock issues", which is partially true, but for anyone with an L69 F-Body, its obvious why...warranty issues, because the combo of the T-5, 3:73 gears, and L69 engine broke the drivelines if you hammered them. The L69 had a 9.5:1 comp ratio, flat-top 4 valve reliefs pistons, and a potent camshaft profile, (GM PN: 14088843 - Hyd. Flat Tappet - Duration @ .050": 202/206 - Max Lift: .403/.415 - 115 - Idle: 650 rpm), which were the main parts of the magic. That cam profile is NOT a Corvette cam, it was an L69 specific grind and is one of the most aggressive profiles GM ever used in any SBC. It makes more than enough nut to break a 7.5" axle if you have sticky tires... the T-5 also tends to grenade if you get too much traction because the case is aluminum, which flexes with high torque pressures... or if you beat on them regularly without a care.. otherwise they are more than adequate for a fun weekend warrior.
(FYI: 1986 F-Body LB9: GM PN: 14094097 Hyd. Flat Tappet - Duration @ .050": 178/194 - Max Lift: .350/.385 - 109 - Idle: 650 rpm)
Anyway, if you blew up the axle in your '82-85/86 Z28/Iroc-Z or WS6/WS7 Trans Am under warranty, the warranty replacement was usually a specially-made Dana 44, which was far tougher than the pathetic 7.5" axle.. an axle which has no business being in any V8 car really. GM's long-term-solution was to stuff the 9 bolt Borg-Warner axle into the later '86-'92 Iroc-Z and WS6 cars, sourced from their Holden division in Australia. Just like the G-Body, all of the other F-Body's received the 7.625" axle which was marginally stronger, but better made and had more meat to strengthen some of the weaker points that the 7.5" had. The 3rd Gen F-Body Dana 44 is Highly Prized and God knows how many are out there unknown under rotting hulks because many folks just don't know about them. When they knowingly go up for sale, they are usually priced over $1000 if they have the rear disc brakes and posi unit.
As for the Mexican Monte SS version... as stated above, VERY RARE if they exist and you'll likely have better luck finding a Grand National sitting forgotten in a barn. And if you do find one, Good Luck getting one across the border.
Well this Dana 44 is out of a Jeep I haven't went to see it yet but the guy said he also had a Dana 35. Anyway it only seemed appealing because it's $50 and I heard the Dana rear ends are super strong. The guy said it has an aluminum girdle which is cool because that probably saves a few pounds. I'm aware that most likely the rear end would have to be shortened b/c it's probably too wide. Guy says it comes with '11 inch disk brakes'. Apparently the spindles on 1 side went bad & thats why he pulled it. I'm not really into F-bodies but I suppose fixing this rear end could be a quick flip to make a few bucks if it doesnt turn out the thing would work in my car. I'll post pics if I go see it or end up buying it after all.
Dana 44 is a great axle but if it came out of a jeep it is not set up for our upper and lower control arms. Never use a Dana 35 for anything. I broke two in my 93 Wrangler 4 cylinder daily driver and it has never been in the mud. Now it has a Ford 8.8.
Massive sway bar on that b*tch if it will work I'm definitely interested. $50? That's nothing I can probably scrap it for that if the damn thing winds up being too much of a headache. What would I have to do to make it work w control arms, or more importantly does someone sell a better set of control arms that would work w/o being modified b/c mine are probably already bent anyway (skipping long story)
From what I can see, that bar is a Panhard bar, and not a sway bar. :?: The axle looks like it is a three link or four link parallel bar set-up, hence the Panhard bar.
Doug
Doug
Looks cool but be prepared to spend a lot of money converting it to fit a G-body. you'll need to have the spring perches relocated, then you'll need to add the brackets in the correct locations for the 2 upper and 2 lower control arms, you'll need to have a custom driveshaft made that's the corrected length and it will need a mated yoke for the rear U-joint to fit the Dana, you'll need to have the axle tubes shortened, and have custom length axle shafts made.... Lot of work, but I'd be cool if you did it.... but if you are planning for a street car that rarely see's the strip, its really a waste of money.
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