2002 Sahara Axle Question

I was trying to determine which rear axle came installed on my 2002 Jeep TJ Sahara from the factory. Based on earlier posts it looks like a Dana 44 with a 3.73 because it is not round.

I found the factory sticker and it does not list the Dana 44 as standard or optional equipment. Does anyone know the specifications for 2002 Wrangler Sahara's from the factory, i.e. what is an option, what is not, what options are grouped. I used to have a PDF file with all the information for 2002 though I have since lost it.

I looked on Jeep's web site and they have the specs for 2003 and 2004. It is interesting if you look at the Wrangler specs for 2003 it states that the Dana 44 is not an available option for the Sahara but is back in 2004. I am not sure if that is a mistake or not.

If your rear axle's lubricant fill hole is plugged with plastic, it's a Dana

Jerry

Thanks Bill, much appreciated. I got there.

My '03 Sahara has a D44 rear with 3.73 gears. The front is a D30 (same gearing obviously). The Sahara comes stock with the 30" tire package and the D44 @3.73. Oddly the ordering page on the Jeep web site specified a D35, but I've never actually seen a Sahara with one (I checked for a few months after I got mine and was trying to determine what I had- this exact question was an issue for me once.)

It starts to get funny when you add in rear disc brakes, a LSD, or ABS. There were some restritions about ordering those together and I think one or more of them resulted in a D35 being fitted rather than a D44, even with 30" tires.

If you do not have rear disc breaks, the LSD, or ABS then I'm sure you got a D44 (in the US anyway).

If the diff cover is like a sideways apple, then you do have a D44. The D35 is very, very, obviously round.

Blueshirts wrote:

This sounds correct. Glad to see I am not the only one who noticed. I bought my Jeep new from a dealership and I remember reading Dana 44 listed as an option on many of the window stickers of the vehicles I looked at. The other night I dug up the sticker from my Jeep that I had saved and it makes no mention of the Dana 44 as either standard or optional equipment. Based on everything I have read and crawling underneath my Jeep I am happy to say it is a D44. BTW, I don't have rear disk brakes (not available in 2002), LSD, or ABS.

It is strange that your order lists a Dana 35 though that goes along with the 2003 specications on the Jeep web site stating that the D44 is not available on the Sahara (2003). Seems like the specs are wrong.

Bought it in Fairfax, VA.