dana 44 or amc20

[dan erickson]

my 86 GW has the amc 20 rear axle. i have an 87 GW for parts that has the dana 44 rear axle. which is the best? also can i find the gear ratio of each without openning them up? the 86 has the 228 tc, will be swaping it out for the 229 in the 87. I dont do a lot of off-roading, mainly daily driver and work vehicle pulling light duty tool trailer. also have a ? about the power windows. drivers door plastic gear track has busted. can the track from the 87 GW be swaped or are they to brittle to be removed safely and installed in the 86? thanks Dan

[Brent]

The AMC 20 and the Dana 44 are comparable in strength, there really isn't an advantage to the two. If you hear talk about how the AMC 20 is weak, they are typically talking about the CJ AMC 20 which has 2-piece axles which are the weak link.

On the AMC 20 there are some letters on one of the flat surfaces by the cover which will tell you what the gears should be. Also on the Dana 44 there should be a tag bolted onto the cover on the left side that spans 2 bolts that tells you what the gears should be too.

You can spin the yoke and count the axle revolutions as well.

The AMC 20 center section was used in the early H1 Hummers so they are plenty strong.

On the flex track, you can swap it over but it probably wouldn't last too long. We have new ones here:

http://www.bjsoffroad.com/prod-313.htm

[Ryan]

The AMC 20 also has a ring gear that is larger than a Dana 44. The only two weak spots of the AMC 20 is the axle shafts (35's and above should look at our Dutchman Alloy shafts as an upgrade) and the axle tube can spin with larger tires (a bead of weld around the tube where it meets the center fixes this). Aside from that, it is a great axle.