did 3rd gens ever come with a dana44.i never sen one spoken ogf but i got a guy trying to sell me on,claims it came stock on a few cars and he swears its not a 9 bolt.is this true?and is the dana 44 a decent rear vs a 10 bolt job

 

a dana 44 is one of the strongest rear ends around. its my understanding that some 3rd gens did come with them...perhaps a dealership option...who knows. i do know that they are 10 bolts, but have a different shaped pumpkin then a standard GM 10 bolt. if you count 10 bolts but the pumpkin is shaped different, chances are its a dana.

 

They were offered from GM over the counter back when third gens were new. GM doesn't offer it any more. The only third gens that came with the Dana 44 was the SLP Firehawk.

You can still find people selling the Dana 44 for a third gen. For the price that they want for them, you can get a 9" or a 12 bolt for only a little bit more.

Look at the rear cover.

Smooth cover = 10 bolt GM
Rubber plug in rear cover = 9 bolt
Metal pipe plug in rear cover = Dana 44

 

well im looking a t a few pics,the diff cover definetly dana signature,more triangular shaped..and from the pic i can see the control arm mounts,but those could be welded on but from the so so pic i have the torque arm mount seems to be cast into the housing .as if gm did it...if its a good rear fine ill buy it but i dont wanna drive 3 hours to look at a pice of junk that some hee haw welded up to fit

 

stephen so its possible this rear is legit?and if the price is right i assume its a good rear to use over a 10 bolt?

 

I know of a local Camaro from the early or mid 80's that has the Dana 44 under it. I can't remember how he found it but it does have one. Anyone could have purchased the diff from the dealer back then and installed it into any car. Although it was never a factory option, there's nothing saying it doesn't have one under the car.

The Dana 44 is an 8.5" ring rear so it's much stronger than any other factory option.

 

so if price is right grab it?

 

The Dana 44 bolt pattern also isn't circular, unlike the 9 and 10 bolts.

 

ive seen the pics and the cover is definetly that of a dana44...but it is possible this is from gm and not a hee haw made rear?

 

Entirely possible, just not factory original.

 

wow.thats interestin.but how come i never see parts advertised for it?are there any

 

and i dont care about orginal,just want somethign better than a 10 bolt and this guy offering a goooood price....is it much better than a 10 bolt for strength

 

Parts for the Dana 44 are as common as dirt, but they weren't widely used in the thirdgen, so they're not advertised in that context much.

As far as being stronger than a 10 bolt, there is absolutely no comparison between a 10 bolt and a Dana 44.

 

so no comparrison=danna44 much stronger i assume?

 

The Dana 44 is much stronger, no question.

 

I gotta Dana 44... From what I hear a Dana 44 is comparable to a 8.5" 10-bolt, maybe a little better. Gears, posi units, spools, etc are all pretty common and inexpensive too. Good find if you can get one, direct bolt-in. The only problem I had was that the rear is designed for 89-up PBR brakes. What I did was modify the backing plates off my 88 9-bolt brakes and put them on the Dana 44 (rather than spend a forture on 89-up brakes).

 

No, 10 bolt backing plates would have bolted right on, regardless of whether they were for PBR or Delco Moraine calipers.

 

Welp, my 9-bolt brakes didn't quite bolt up. I had to elongate the bolt holes on the backing plates off my 9-bolt to make it bolt to the Dana. I remember everyone on here giving me crap for not buying newer style brakes when I was installing this... Guess they like spending money.

 

Yes, the 9 bolt and 10 bolt use different bolt patterns on the axle flanges. You could have just taken backing plates off any 10 bolt rear and put them right on without any modification at all.

 

I'd pay up near a $1000.00 for one in good shape if I could find one. The last time I saw one offered in the GM parts book was 1996.

 

IIRC, SLP sold them as well. A friend of mine had a third gen drag car with an LS7 454 (used to be sponsored by Year One, back in the early-mid 90s), and he had the Dana rear in it. It held up fine, even with the big block.

 

SLP bought GM's old stock when they discontinued it. They sold the last one a few years ago.

 

wow i didnt know dana 44 came in gm cars but i learn somthin new every day.. i have had 4x4s for years now and the 44 is real common.. they are a little stronger than a 10 bolt. i have broken lots of them but for a car its great.. with 500 horse power and 44" tires they dont hold up hahaha... if you want strength get a dana 60..

 

It didn't come in the car, it was available over the counter as a performance part, or in some rare cases possibly as a warranty replacement to appease difficult customers.

They're not "a little stronger" than the 7.5" 10 bolt used in our cars.

 

ok what i meant about being a little stronger is under heavy torque loads the axle shaft is what breaks first... not always but im my experiance they do.. the axle diameter is not much bigger.. i have taken them out of jeeps and other vehicles and put them through hell. i have used 10 bolts too and they go through the same crap before they break.. if i had a cance to put one in a car i would go for it.. it IS stronger and there are more diff options... then again i have a weak 26 spline 10 bolt in an 86 bird...
oh yea have you consitered the weight diffrence.. how much heavier is the dana 44????

 

Which 10 bolt? 7.5" or 8.5"?

 

well all the ones i have used the 8.5 out of trucks.. my firebird has the 7.625 as far as i have researched... i guess there are lots of versions of the 10 bolt...

 

Just the two, really... the new 7.5"/7.625" version which is as strong as a bundle of wet spaghetti, and the old 8.5" which GM reportedly based on the Dana 44, so it's not surprising they're similar in strength.

 

well i found lots of info on all these axles on the net.. i found i have a 7.625 in my bird.. it has 2.73 gears and 26 splines.. sounds kinda weak to me.. it doesnt have posi yet but after a 383 it will need it.. maybe upgrade to a 28 spline will be in order...

 

With a 383 (especially if you keep the T5), you might as well start saving for something better than a 28 spline 7.625.

 

Is the dana 44 the same 10 bolt that came out of a 2nd gen f-body?

If so, im hopefully getting one very soon .

 

No, thats an 8.5...too wide, and no provision for LCAs, panhard, or torque arm.

 

Ah, i'll have too look more into it. Still getting me a 8.5 10 bolt .

How much wider are we talking? Fourthgen size?

 

Not sure exactly, but I think its wider than that...wide enough to need narrowing. Frankly, I'd look into the Ford Mustang 8.8 someone here was working on... they're cheap, available, and have a very good aftermarket...and don't require narrowing to fit in an F-body.

 

Im getting it for free practically... I'll see if we can work this out. I know people have done it, but when I do a search for 8.5 or 2nd gen ten bolt, I get very little or a lot of non-topic threads.

 

A Dana 44 and a 10 bolt aren't the same thing at all.

 

Yup, been addressed .

 

The GM 10 bolt in any configuration is called a Corperate differential because GM produced it. A Dana 44 is made by Dana.

GM also produced a 10.2" 10 bolt for a short time but it's not very popular.

 

so i should be happy with a dana 44?and with the moser axles it has and a richmond gear i should be good to go with a healthy small block and an auto?im jacked that i got this thing

 

Ecstatic would be more like it.

 

well ihope it pans out ,havent gotten it yet,got drive 3 hours and make the trade ,hopefully this weekend