Off center ball joints...

macleanflood

JK Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 4, 2022
Messages
112
Location
Fall Creek, OR
Ok...doing a Dana 30 to 44 swap...the 44 is off a Rubicon...2008 I believe...mine is a 2012...44 has factory e-locker and is geared 5.13...

Here's the issue...my 30 has straight up centered ball joints.

The ones on the 44...top...are clearly in a couple of degrees.

Do I press ahead with the Moog centered ball joints or do I need to find like replacements... concerned the housing is bent (looks straight) and someone compensated with ball joints.

-Mac
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It's either tweaked, or they were correcting caster/camber by an unusually large amount. Did the JK have a circus wagon lift?
 
No idea on the original vehicle other than 2008 and Rubicon.

I ordered some C guessets from Barnes and I'm going to make a jig out of my Dana 30... guessing I will need to heat the top of the C and bend it in.

Also thinking about just replacing the inner C... getting a builder end for a 44...but I'm not sure if I could get it off the original tube.

Something tells me some heat, gussets and proper welding procedures will get me close enough.

-Mac
 
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It looks like the C is bent . The 30 & 44 have the same C . My only concern
is the Jeep is sensitive to Castor. If out by 2-3 degrees can cause vibration
or worse , the wobble.
After welding on gussets and putting it all together .
Def suggest good alignment shop to see how things look.
You want 4.5 degrees of castor .
 
Anyone know the location of a technical drawing that shows angles, spacing and dimensions for the Dana 44...most specifically for the JK. If I can beat and heat this I'd sure like to be able to measure or jig it up to get as close as possible.

-Mac
 
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