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Dana 44 AMC 20 compatibility

Hi- As some of you know I may be replacing the AMC 20 rear end in my '79 CJ

7 with a Dana 44 from a '74 CJ5. I am now trying to put together a list of needed parts for the swap to see if it is feasable. Here are some of my questions:

1.) Drive shaft, I assume they use the same u-joint.

2.) Brake lines, will my existing lines work? 3.) Braking power, will I notice any difference? The new rear end has new cylinders, pads and turned drums so I assume they will work better than my (who knows how old) current ones.
Reply to
aGraham
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U-bolts to hold the axle to the springs may not work either. Get a price for some custom U-Bolts.

Reply to
fletcher

The spring perches will be in a different place and the width of the axles will be different. I don't think either of these issues is a show stopper, but it will take some fabrication skills to make this work. I don't think the concerns you listed up are going to be a concern at all. Perhaps the brake lines will present a small hurdle because the angle that they approach the cylinders may be different. In any case, the brake lines are the least of your worries.

Reply to
CRWLR

The axle has already had the perches removed so that is not an issue, and the widths are the same as they are both Narrow track vehicles.

Reply to
aGraham

Hi CRWLR,

Both the 74 and 79 CJ's are narrow track aren't they?

The axles should be the same width.

I did the exact swap, although in doing a SOA, I didn't use the original perches, so I am not positive about the perch width.

Reply to
JimG
1) I used the same drive shaft for a while (went to a longer one for the SOA). 2) You probably want to change the brake lines out any way. 3) Some of the older 44's had 11" bakes (mine did), so theoretically you should see better braking.
Reply to
JimG

Reply to
Steve G

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