Hey anyone ever heard of this particular rear? In the late 80's, GM made a heavy duty rear called the Dana 44. MOstly becasue the 7.5" 10 bolts would break under high torque. ANy help finding this would be great as I am about to put another rear end in.

 

They were never offered in a production third gen however they were installed in the SLP Firehawks. You used to be able to buy them from GM from the GMPPC but they're not offered any more. SLP may still have some for sale but for the cost, you can get a 9" or 12 bolt for a little bit more.

 

What kind of power can these handle? I take it the 12 bolt and 9 inch are stronger. What size ring gear does the dana have?

Ben

 

8.5"

 

Right on..glad to find someone who knows. Ben, do you recommend the 12 bolt or the Ford 9. I wanted to put a 4th gen rear on mine but my mechanic said that 4th gen rears are 2 inchs wider on each side.

I have 2.73's on my 91 convert camaro and really wanted to go with 3.42's (2 series). DO you think it'd be a problem to just put in new gears and keep the same rear-end?

 

Well, stephen knows more about this stuff than me. At least you have a 91 so you have the better axles. If it is posi it might be worth putting gears in if you can get it done right for a reasonable price. You can use the fourth gen rear if you wanted. You either would need a set of fourthgen wheels or custom wheels unless you didnt mind your rear wheels sticking out though. As far as 9" or 12 bolt, they are both real expensive. I believe the 9 inch is stronger because of the larger ring gear diameter as long as you dont mind having ford parts on your car. If you could find one with the 3.45s I would suggest a 9 bolt borg warner rear end. They were a high performance option in our cars from 85-90. The only problem with them is finding them in that ratio because the 3.45s only came in 305 five speed cars with the option for the 9 bolt and the better gear option. If you could find one in the ratio you want it should hold quite a bit of power, but if you cant it costs a small fortune just to change gears in them. I got lucky and found one myself. Anyway, unless you are going to have quite a bit of power, I would consider putting 2 series 3.42s in the rear you have if you have posi and can get them installed for a decent price. If you have anymore questions though let us know.

Ben

 

You might want to check out the technical articles. See, in particular, one by Troy Smith entitled "Beefing up the 7.625 10 bolt." Troy addresses the issue of a 9" Ford. :hail:
I just took a look at Daniel Burk's article on the same subject. Although Daniel's article is similar, be sure and look at both. It should be worth your while.

 

thanks alot for the help and insight guys......Looks like a got a little more research to do. Since it would be a complete pain in the butt, I'll prob just install new ring and pinion gears into my rear and just wait until I have enough money for a new 10 bolt. This is all parts of a complete drive-train overhaul: New 350 TPI, 6-spped trans, heavy duty drive shaft, and rear end.

I think Strange gears offers a 2-series 3.42 set I'll prob get. Priced @$170.

 

The Dana 44 is a very stout and highly sought after rearend. They are also VERY hard to come by.

One of our SC3G club members was able to score one for his IROC, but he has some pretty good sources for parts.