Swapping Scout Axles into a CJ

by Scott Peterson

I hardly qualify as one who knows much about jeeps, but I recently did a little work on mine. You know how the saying goes "Only in a jeep", I think it should be "only to a jeep (must you replace everything)" :)

Ok, here is the basic project: I got a 78 Scout's Dana 44s for $200 and threw them under my jeep. The rear took about 4 hours total, just torch the spring perches off and reweld them over about 3/4" each. The front however was a different story. The spring perches could not be moved over due to the diff. Housing occupying the necessary space. So the old spring hangers were unbolted on the front and drilled and cut on the rear (of the front springs). Then rewelded over about an inch and a quarter. Side braces were put on the front (rear) spring hangers, so a triangle extended from the frame. The front shackle was just bolted on to a piece of 1/4" angle iron scrap that I got with the scout front springs (I didn't end up using the scout's springs). Also, the front drive shaft had to be shorted an inch.

The other real headache was the steering gear swap. I looked at a few junkyards before I found one that looked like it would work right as far as mounts and that wasn't as loose as mine. I ended up with one from an old olds. Delta 88. I didn't get an excellent deal on it at $75, but the guy threw in the pump, hoses, steering shaft, and pitman. The steering shaft turned out to be most useful. NOTE: (it has been said before) the U-joints in the steering shaft are also a major culprit in the loose steering equation.

Anyway, the delta 88 steering shaft was cutover and the Jeeps pounded apart and the two slid together (using the Delta 88's lower section and Jeeps upper section). The telescoping (safety) part of the stock Jeep was kept (at full extended length). The completed (fabricated) rod was welded together. The steering gear itself bolted right in, although it was only a three bolt, instead of 4.

Overall conclusions: Well, the front was a real pain in the rear. In retro though maybe I would have tried to see how long I could have gone without breaking the stock dana 30 before going to the scout's big dana 44. Every tire does stick out about an inch more that stock. Backspacing to over come this looks impossible, at least with 15" wheels. However, the jeep is more stable on the road.

Overall, I would say the project isn't for the weak at heart. We used about 3 1/4 lbs. Of welding rods and more than one metal cutting disk for the saw. New custom axles are a massive expense.