Danna 44 C's

[Broncoguy73]

Is there anyone out there that has cut and rotated the C's on their danna 44. Im looking for anyone that might be willing to come help me with taking on this project. Im going to have the axle out so i figure this is the best time to do it.

[Jesus_man]

Consider removing the C's all together?

Here's what I did:




Talk to Clint at Battlement. This allows for so much more flex over stock...

Wait, are you talking knuckles?

J.D.

[Broncoguy73]

Yes I mean the knuckles. Sorry for the mess up. That's the suspension set up in doing. I wanted to rotate that knuckles the so I can get a better pinion angle.

[Jesus_man]

Ahh, gotcha. Haven't done that myself, but I am at the fine line where what I have is working, but I'd like a little more caster without sacrificing pinion angle

[Broncoguy73]

Jesus_man......
I'm probably going to leave my axle alone for now. How did you go about getting your pinion angle. Since I'm doing the same set up as you I thought I would ask you since you have gone through it.

[Jesus_man]

Ideally you want your pinion to point right at the yoke on the t-case, but it's difficult on the front axle because you have caster to contend with as well. It's worse if you have a stock or Low Pinion 44. But it can be done.

For something you drive on the street, you want around 5-8* of Caster. I'd shoot for closer to 5 to improve your pinion angle. If the rest of your steering is in good shape and your bronco wanders, you'll want to add a couple degrees of caster. But make sure the rest of your steering is tight before you chase that lead.

[Broncoguy73]

Do you just put an angle finder on the knuck? I want to make sure to get it right my last set up I messed up the caster and couldnt drive it on the street unless in moved my upper link in.

[Woodscaper]

I wonder if it would be possible to spin the tubes at the center section and leave the knuckles as is????? Not sure how you would cut the welds tho, maybe drill them???? I would be interested in doing this if possible. Then I dont have to relocate my trac bar riser or ram/steering set up.

[Jesus_man]

Yeah, on the knuckle for caster and on the pinion support for pinion angle.

Justin - I am not sure. Seems like a good idea. I think it's a pressed fit, so maybe with some heat you could rotate them. But that much heat will kill your seals, so out comes the carrier to replace those.

[Woodscaper]

Good point JD, that would be a cheap price to pay to get the correct DS angle.

[Broncoguy73]

I have call into highcountry 4x4 to see what they would charge to do it. If its not a whole lot in might be work it to get the pros do it.

[Jesus_man]

My experience is high Country is expensive, but last I dealt with them was many years ago.

Might try Crawlertech4x4 as well. There may be other shops in town too.

[landshark]

I wonder if it would be possible to spin the tubes at the center section and leave the knuckles as is????? Not sure how you would cut the welds tho, maybe drill them???? I would be interested in doing this if possible. Then I dont have to relocate my trac bar riser or ram/steering set up.

you can use a carbine drill tip (i can't remember the actualy name of the drill tip) to drill / eat away at the welds on the plug weld holes, and then you can turn the tubes if you need to. However you have to make sure the axle is straight once your done because the tubes will move around sometimes after you drill out the plug welds. But yes you can then rotate the outer tubes to change the caster angle.

I'm currently drilling out the plugs on mine but Iam just rewelding/trussing the front....

there are a bunch of articles out there on this for a Dana 44, just google Dana 44 "re-welding center to tubes" or "cut and turn dana 44" should get you close to what your looking for and to see whats is needed to do this.

High country is going to be very very expensive. Also I bet they have a few month wait time...

I would as others have suggested find a reputable fabrication shop and see if they can do it.

and yes you will have to strip the whole axle down and probably replace your seals as they will warp once you start putting heat to that center section as its cast and heats up and cools down at a different rate than the tubes... so new seals are a must.. they are cheap anyway and you probably need them replaced ;)

[Broncoguy73]

Crawlertech 4x4 wants $400. So looks like it might stay the way it is for know. Not sure I want to take on the project of grinding the welds on the Knuckles for hours right now. I'm sure I'll hate myself down the road.

[Jesus_man]

That is actually pretty reasonable for the amount of time involved. I know that's a chunk of change, but from what I remember seeing, that's a good price. I would think you could get by without it really.

Measure your caster and pinion angle and lets go from there.

[Broncoguy73]

So put the angle finder on top of the knuckle for the caster, and that should be leaning forward 5-8*? and the put it on the pinion support to see what that is? Does that sound right?

[crawlercreations]

I would recommend cutting and rotating the "C's" before rotating the tubes. I cut and rotated my "C's", it was a ton of work. I did it so I could get a better pinion angle and not wander down the street. Before cutting and rotating them it was all over the road. If I had to do it all over again I probably would have just installed ram assist steering (ended up installing it anyway) and called it good. The ram assist steering should be enough to compensate for the wandering and it is only about $250. Helps a ton offroad too! Based on your avatar pic I would recommend you try the ram assist before modifying the housing as it looks like you could benefit from it offroad anyhow!

[Broncoguy73]

Yea I don't think I'm going to touch the knuckles now. I'm just going to try and find a happy medium between my caster/pinion angle. Hopefully I get it right. Thanks for all the help from everyone!

[Jesus_man]

So put the angle finder on top of the knuckle for the caster, and that should be leaning forward 5-8*? and the put it on the pinion support to see what that is? Does that sound right?

You want your caster to be leaning back at the top (like a motorcycle fork). This is known as positive caster.

I am trying to find a pic, but having trouble.

Ah-ha! http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_li ... dana44.htm

J.D.

[Broncoguy73]

Awesome that helps a lot. Is there a way to measure it with out pulling the ball joints and everything els off?

[Jesus_man]

You can get a "close-enough" measurement by putting your angle finder on top of the knuckle. Or bottom, whichever is easiest. Remove the tire and see what you can find for the most accurate angle, according to your ball joints.

[Gunnibronco]

BCB has a "tool" that you can use with an angle finder. It would be pretty easy to make one too.
http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_ ... ts_id=1431