Axle Identification

From my earliest posts at EarlyCJ5.com I learned that my Jeep came from the factory with a Dana 27A front axle and a Dana 44 rear. After reading hundreds of archived posts I haveseen a trend of owners saying that one of the "best" or "ideal" setups for a Jeep is 4.88:1 gears and a OverDrive.

I climbed under the Lil' Rusty Red armed with a toothbrush and a cup of kerosene to aid me in removing the thick layer of crud that has accumulated on the axles and pretty much everything that is located under the Jeep (except the underside of the tub).

I scrubbed through the years of accumulated oil, grease and debris and found both the front and the rear axle tags as well as the USE LIMITED SLIP DIFF LUBE ONLY tag.



I was excited when I first read 4.88 on the front tag!! When I got to the rear I was confused when it said 4.89...

I went back inside and scoured the web for a definitive guide on Dana axle tags. That's when I found out that the important numbers are the ones separated by the dash (i.e. 39-8 or 44-9)

To find the axle ratio you simply divide the first number by the second number and you get the ration. ( 39 / 8 = 4.875 or 44 / 9 = 4.88)

EarlyCJ5.com has cool way to confirm what gears you have. It is located at the bottom of the page at this link.

I can't wait to try this out.

See ya soon, Tim