This is a short one. The Dana 44 was originally used with the CJ5 in the early day's then replaced with the AMC 20. In 1986, the Dana 44 came back to the CJ in the CJ-7 when supplies of the AMC 20 were low. Then again, it disappeared and we were left with the Dana 35C. In 1997, there were changes. Not only with a new Jeep, the TJ, but also the appearance of the Dana 44 again. The Dana 44 was not offered with the initial release of TJ's but rather trickled out mid-year. The Dana 44 has some mutially exclusive options. The Jeep had to be a 4.0L Sport. It had to come with the Full-Size spare. It was not available with ABS and originally came with 3.07:1 gears. The optional package was called '44-3'.
Over the years the option had changed a bit. In 1998, 3.73:1 gears were offered. During times of low stock, the 44 was limited to their primary sellers, which means 4.0L Auto was left out. Today it's known as the 'Heavy Dury Dana 44 Rear Axle' and can come with either 3.07:1 and 3.73:1 gears. The originally the TJ Dana 44 was offerered with 9 inch by 2.5 inch drums.
It should be noted that the current Dana 44 is not a true Dana 44 but rather a mix of Dana 35c and Dana 44 parts. It's still a good option for someone upgrading from a Dana 35c so don't overlook it. Here's what you should know. All of the internals are true Dana 44 parts. In fact, the axle shafts are carry over from the XJ Dana 44 from the 80's. But to keep cost down the TJ Dana 44 uses Dana 35C axle tubes. These are smaller then true Dana 44 tubes. The outer flanges are drilled for Dana 35C rather then the slightly larger pattern of the Dana 44. This mean bearing retainers, backing plates brackets and spindles need to be for the Dana 35C to work properly. Also, the Trac-Lok is not available with the Dana 44. Currently, the Trac-Lok is not available with 3.07:1 gear ratio either.
Now lets jump to 2003. DC introduced the Rubicon, the pinical of the Jeep line. Not only does it come with a rear Dana 44 but also a front axle to match. Stock gearing is 4.10:1 which is the same as all 2.5L Manuals and some 2.4L's. The rear Dana 44 is basically the same as the TJ Sport axle with some additions. The 9 inch by 2.5 inch drums were replaced with disc brakes. Rubicon's come standard with "Tru-Lok" pneumatic locking frt/rear differentials w/ rear limited-slip manufactured by Tochigi Fuji Sanjyo.
Again, Jeep went cheap and combined parts off the current Jeeps to make a hybrid Dana 30/44 axle. The inner knuckles are designed to be used with Wrangler Dana 30 outer knuckles and not the CJ Dana 30 outer axles. This means manual hubs can not be used unless an expensive Dana 30 hub-conversion is installed.
It should also be noted that TJ Dana 44's use thick gears, This means they use the lower carrier break with thicker gears instead of the carrier designed for higher ratios. This limits the gear ratio to 5.13:1 with aftermarket gears. To get lower gears you will have to replace the carriers.
