guys
how strong are the CLOSED knuckle 44-6CF axles? this is the axle that has the HUGE ball NOT the light duty one! Are they comparable to the dana 60? Finally, what years did they make this axle--ive seen a ton of light duty closed knuckle 44's but hardly any BIG ones. Is this a special axle?

regards
ben

 

well nut I think the last year for these was 1975 and it is a special option. they have 1 ton u joints and the units are very strong. the only thing that still makes it a 44 is the center section and gears.

there was three sizes of 44s put under a ford truck. light med. and HD. I have seen some older 1/2 tons with leaf front springs had a tiny lil' thing. the most common one ya see is the med. size. and I think the HD was offered in 74 and 75 only but don't qoute me on this!

the brakes, bearings, seals, u-joints, all that stuff is one ton also if you go to the parts house looking for parts. if you tell them f-250 4x4 they will bring you a bunch of parts that will be too small to fit the large units.

Will

 

will
thanks a lot! this closed knuckle HD i have has huge bearings and races where the kingpins go. i never in my life saw this before. 1 ton eh? well thats good to know because i was going to rebuild it and put it under my 70 F250 that i use for snowplowing. however i need a few parts that i cant find at the parts house and no junk yards here in jersey have what im looking for!:-(

 

When you say 'huge' how big are you talking about? I saw a pic in the book that had two hubs, straight across (no tapper) and another that had the bolt on hub with the larger bolts toward the outside. Kinda hard to put into words, but mine looks like nether one of those in the book.

My axle housing ball is about 5" where the felt/rubber seal goes and the # on the housing is the 44-6CF but the book says the HD has 'HD' after the numbers. How big are yours?

As a side note, I'm doing a rebuild on it right now, and found a source for seals, bearing etc for cheap, what parts are you looking for?

I was told that the options are 3300# and 3500# (doesn't seem like a big difference really.

 

karljay

i went out adn measured two knuckles that i have for each type. the one that i believe you have is 7" across the back where the felt and retaining plate bolts on. Mine, on the other hand, measures a whopping 9 1/2 inches. does this give you any idea as to how big the ball is?? i have no idea where to get bearings and seals for this

the parts i need are pretty weird. i need the bearing caps that hold the front dif in. the guy i got it from felt a need to take the assembly apart to see how it worked and lost those caps. In addition, i need a kingpin cap on one side; the side that the steering arm bolts to--do you know what im talking about? these would definitely be junkyard items but no place here has this axle--unless im blind! so unitl i find these parts, i guess i cant rebulid this sucker

regards
ben

 

karljay...

I just went out and measured mine and they are 6" at the felts and the nuckle is 10" top to bottom (including bearing caps).

I know its hard to explain things sometimes and I don't always get it the first time around but I'm not exactly sure what you mean on your hubs? on the outside of my two trucks (one closed nuckle and one not) they both have a hub that bolts on the end that drives the wheel.

but the hub itself is diffrent between the two. the closed nuckle axle has a hub that tapers slightly inward where the wheel goes around it. the open nuckle axle has a hub that is shaped around the studs that go into it that holds the same end cap. gosh this is hard to discribe but I hope this makes sence!

oh and one other thing.... the nuckle has 12 bolts that hold the felts instead of the usual 8. and the kingpin bearing caps are larger and diffrent bolt pattern than others I have seen.

If you like and if I can spare a few minutes I can be perswaded to go pull of my steering dampner bracket and get the #'s of the axle tube. my front axle weight rating written on the door tag says 3550lbs.

Will

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-Jun-02 AT 05:01 AM (EST)]>karljay
>
>i went out adn measured two knuckles that i have for each
>type. the one that i believe you have is 7" across the back
>where the felt and retaining plate bolts on. Mine, on the
>other hand, measures a whopping 9 1/2 inches. does this give
>you any idea as to how big the ball is??
GEEEEEZZZZZEEEE that's gotta be big!

>i have no idea where to get bearings and seals for this

Try here:
http://www.bearingssupplyco.com/
or 1-800-339-4816

>the parts i need are pretty weird. i need the bearing caps
>that hold the front dif in.
Aren't those machined for each axle house seperately? Just like maing bearing caps on a block and can't be swapped without machine work?

>the guy i got it from felt a need to take the assembly apart to see >how it worked and lost those caps.

I hope you didn't pay a lot.

?In addition, i need a kingpin cap on one side; the side that the >steering arm bolts to--do you know what im talking about?
Yea, isn't that cast as part of the turning arm, mine looks like it's all one unit.

I just talked to a guy down at bearings supply today and asked about that setup, he said the seal is the same as the Dana 60, so maybe if you just get the parts from a D60 they'll work. Worth a shot.


Interesting thing about this is that the book said the two axles are rated at 3300# and 3500# but that's only a 200# difference. That just doesn't justify such a large size difference. Plus, I've always heard the weak point is the U joint and shaft, not the housing.

Anyway, try out Bearings supply, I bet they have it! If you get the same guy I got, he'll know the part number WITHOUT using a book or computer (a rare breed).

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-Jun-02 AT 05:02 AM (EST)]Will

I think I get most of the picture, one thing that sets these apart is the # of bolts, mine is 8 yours is 10. that seems to be the easy to tell and the most accurate.

The confusing thing about the book is that the pic had the hub for an F250 that had no tapper:

..| <- rim
..|
..------------ <- hub
..............|
..............| <- lock/free selector
..............|
..------------
..|
..|

Where as mine are much larger at the rim area and angle down to the selector area. But the ball is the smaller D44 type, certainly not 9.5 inches. Measured from king pin bearing race to king pin bearing race is about 5"

I just don't understand the rattings, 3300 for one 3500 for the other. That's just not a big difference.

I wonder what the D60 front end is rated at.

 

oops sorry to confuse ya Karljay, I didm't tell ya that my trucks don't have a "lockout" hub on them. they are just a plain cap with a little grease cap on it.

12 bolts on the felt seal.

I had to ask for 1 ton for bearings, but they didn't make a 1 ton 4x4 in 1975. wierd huh?

if you are looking at a factory shop manual from ford it is a generic picture. it looks like they used a picture for a half ton five lug hub in the section for a dana 44 hd. sometimes they don't get the pic's quite right in those books. but it gives ya the idea.

not sure what a 60 is rated for, it does seem silly that the 44hd is not rated for more. the axles have the same size u-joint as a 60 so I don't see how it could be weaker?

Nice picture by the way! that is pretty artistic! I never thought about text drawing! cool

Will

 

Karl
im going off the top of my head here but i think a dana 60 was rated either #3800 or #4500...i think dont hold me to it though.
as far as the center dif bearing caps being integral with the housing...yeah thats what i thought too but i cant be fixed no?
i paid NOTHING for the axle; heck i wouldnt have given him 10 bucks for it since it was in about 6 pieces in the back of his truck :P
anyway, thanks for that bearing supply adress; ill let you know how i make out!

regards
ben