Interchanging rear ends

[missourigal]

Hi all. I'm new. I didn't quite know which forum to post in. I need advice. I need a rear end for my 1996 grand jeep cherokee loredo 4x4 and I can buy a rear end for $75!!! because the guy needs money. I can't pass this up but I don't know if it will fit - if the gear ratio is the same - he has a 1994 grand cherokee loredo 4x4. I don't know anyone to ask so I am asking y'all. I think both are 6 cylinders. :???: Thank you.

 

[SteelHeadz]

Thre are two possible axles that i know of on those GC's.. Model 35 and Dana 44.The Model 35 axle has the assembly part number and gear ratio listed on a tag. The tag is attached to the housing cover. Build date identification codes are stamped on the axle shaft tube cover side.

The Model 44 housing has an aluminum center casting (differential housing) with axle shaft tubes extending from either side. The tubes are pressed into the differential housing to form a one - piece axle housing.
The integral type housing, hypoid gear design has the center line of the pinion set below the center line of the ring gear.

 

[missourigal]

Ok. Please be patient with me... I am a middle aged woman who knows very little about mechanics. So, are they interchangeable?

 

[SteelHeadz]

I'm sorry, i forgot to answer that question,Yes they are. I think the critical part of the swap would be the gear ratios. You can verify this by looking at the tag attached to the differential cover(Small Tag)..Middle age? what's that? haha...j/k..

 

[missourigal]

Middle age? what's that? haha...j/k..

The definition of middle aged - losing count somewhere in the forties. Or...When "interchanging rear ends" could mean butt implants. But getting old is when "getting lucky" means you find your car in the parking lot or when you wake up with that morning-after feeling and you didn't do anything the night before.
The number on my plate is 52069377 and beneath it is 3 - 55 - 5708 - 2 (although that 8 could be a 6. Its pretty worn.) I don't know which of those numbers is the gear ratio. I guess if I buy it and its not the right one I could sell it - probably for more than the $75 I pay for it. I don't know how much they usually go for but I think I'm getting a good deal. Maybe not.

 

[SteelHeadz]

The definition of middle aged - losing count somewhere in the forties. Or...When "interchanging rear ends" could mean butt implants. But getting old is when "getting lucky" means you find your car in the parking lot or when you wake up with that morning-after feeling and you didn't do anything the night before.
The number on my plate is 52069377 and beneath it is 3 - 55 - 5708 - 2 (although that 8 could be a 6. Its pretty worn.) I don't know which of those numbers is the gear ratio. I guess if I buy it and its not the right one I could sell it - probably for more than the $75 I pay for it. I don't know how much they usually go for but I think I'm getting a good deal. Maybe not.

The first eight numeric digits are the Part number for the axle assembly. The 3.55 should be the axle ratio. LMAO on your middle age definition. I'm there with y'a..

 

[HiHood]

I broke the rear axle housing in one of my vehicles (not a Jeep, one of those @*#%@)about a year ago, and a Dana 44 USED was about 500 bucks. That ought to tell you something bout the price of rear ends.:???:



Middle age def. . . . I think I may be there or blew past that somewhere along the line, I'm bout at the point of trying to remember why I am in the parking lot to begin with.:idea:

 

[missourigal]

Middle age def. . . . I think I may be there or blew past that somewhere along the line, I'm bout at the point of trying to remember why I am in the parking lot to begin with.:idea:

This statement made me laugh. Probably because it sounds too familar.:roll:

 

[KevinF]

I broke the rear axle housing in one of my vehicles (not a Jeep, one of those @*#%@)about a year ago, and a Dana 44 USED was about 500 bucks. That ought to tell you something bout the price of rear ends.:???:



Middle age def. . . . I think I may be there or blew past that somewhere along the line, I'm bout at the point of trying to remember why I am in the parking lot to begin with.:idea:

There is a difference between the D44 you probably purchased (iron center-section) and the one that she's inquiring about, which has an aluminum center-section. This D44(a) was ONLY available in V8 Grand Cherokee ZJs from 1996-1998. There is another, similiar D44(a) that came in the 1999-2004 WJ Grand Cherokees which is NOT interchangable with the ZJs. Both D44(a) rear axles are exclusive and non-interchangable with any other vehicle without some moderate modification.

KevinF

 

[KevinF]

Hi all. I'm new. I didn't quite know which forum to post in. I need advice. I need a rear end for my 1996 grand jeep cherokee loredo 4x4 and I can buy a rear end for $75!!! because the guy needs money. I can't pass this up but I don't know if it will fit - if the gear ratio is the same - he has a 1994 grand cherokee loredo 4x4. I don't know anyone to ask so I am asking y'all. I think both are 6 cylinders. :???: Thank you.

If both were 6-cyl engines, then both SHOULD have the D35 rear end, not the larger D44(a) rear end that came in the V8 models after 1995. Both years (1994 and 1996) SHOULD have the same 3.55:1 gear ratio. However, there might be other small variances between years...

1994 was the "change-over" year for drum to disc brakes. All V8 and 6-cyl 1993-1995 model ZJ Grand Cherokees had D35 axles. All 1993 models had rear drum brakes. Some 1994s had drum, and some had disc. All 1995 models had disc brakes.

You can still purchase the rear end from him ($75 sounds like a deal if it's in good condition internally), and swap the disc brake parts over to his axle *IF* his is indeed a drum-brake model.

So, it sounds like either way you have a deal. If you have to swap parts around, it's going to be a bit more time-intensive, but certainly do-able. I did a rear disc-brake conversion on my 1993, and it only took me maybe an hour and a half.

Hope this works out for you!

KevinF