D44 swap out

I have a chance to pilfer one of 3 D44 axles for my TJ. A 3.55 out of a 95 GC for 300.00, a 3.73 also out of a 95 GC, and a 3.73 out of a 2000 GC said w/o quadra drive but he thinks it may be quad trac for 500.00.
I will be tearing it down to re-gear it to the 4.11 gear set and probably put a locker in it. Need advice on which is the right one for my 99 TJ as I don't want to spend the money and not be able to use it. Will also need help in doing it as I never did a rear axle before.
Thanks people.

White Buffalo wrote:I have a chance to pilfer one of 3 D44 axles for my TJ. A 3.55 out of a 95 GC for 300.00, a 3.73 also out of a 95 GC, and a 3.73 out of a 2000 GC said w/o quadra drive but he thinks it may be quad trac for 500.00.
I will be tearing it down to re-gear it to the 4.11 gear set and probably put a locker in it. Need advice on which is the right one for my 99 TJ as I don't want to spend the money and not be able to use it. Will also need help in doing it as I never did a rear axle before.
Thanks people.

I'm almost entirely positive that you'll run into issues with the coil buckets and control arm brackets since it's not designed for a TJ. Just something to keep in mind.

I think that Ryan is right.
I would do some research, but I believe that you are wasting time and money.
Is it one of them aluminum center section pieces of junk ?
Pretty sure only TJ will bolt right in.
You could buy a 8.8 for about 200 and a complete bracket kit for another 200,
You could look for a d44 out of an older XJ Cherokee and a 200 dollar bracket kit.

If you can find a tj D44 that would be your best shot but those are few and far between. Be ware of the ZJ 44A rear ends. The housing on them was aluminized. as someone on Jeep forum once said "the D44A had an aluminized housing that would warp on you if you looked at it funny. Also the ZJ and WJ 44 rear ends have very little aftermarket support. THe WJ 44 is a little better because they used a cast steel housing again but still very little support and you have to modify it to add upper control arm mounts because WJs came with a 3 link suspension from the factory with a single ball joint mount on the crown of the pumpkin. Like Mark said the ZJ and WJ 44's are a waste of money, and go with a ford 8.8 or a XJ d44. both have tons of support and are far easier to rebuild. You can even find 8.8s with disc brakes on them and there are way more 8.8s our there to be found. Xj 44s never had discs. Both are very good strong solid platforms for an axel build.

I lucked out. I can get my hands on a Ford 8.8 for 175.00 at a junk yard in NH. I bought my engine there and they are holding it for me until April 3rd. Looking at what I need to make it work it may take me a while to get all the parts together for it but from what I'm reading it will be worth it. It's out of a 2001 Explorer. Wish me luck everyone I'll need it. IT has the disc brakes. I like rear disc brakes.

Good find. You will deffinately be happier with the 8.8 than the aforementioned 44A axels.

Here's a few shots of my 8.8 - I had it built by East Coast Gear Supply a few years ago. Love this thing.