Old International Scout Axles

will old scout axles fit ecj5 frt and rear?

 

What is old? I think both the 80 and 800 used the D27 and that's not worth the effort to swap. The later D30's maybe, and the Scout II D44's yes. As to fit, no. Not a bolt-in. You pretty much need to out board the front springs as the right side tube is really short. The Scout II axles are a little wider than Jeep wide track width, maybe a couple inches wider than Willys wagon axles.

 

The Scout ll 44’s are around 1” wider than the Willys Wagon. The front needs to be “rolled” a little for better caster angle.
A lot of the old Scout 80s had PowrLoks in the rear. That would be the only incentive to look at them for a CJ.
-Donny

 

Pretty sure the Scouts ran a different caster than the jeeps so there are steering issues. Its what I recall. Might be wrong. I think on the Scout 30s and 44s you have to cut the Cs off and rotate them. Not sure how you'd fix this on a 27. Pull the axle tubes out and rotate them????

 

I had a Scout 44 in the front of the first build of my 3B (Woodstock). I wanted stock width, so I cut off the C, shortened the long side, moved the spring pad, and re-splined the shaft. The bigger problem is the cast spring pad has zero caster, so I had to wedge it. The outers (spindle, knuckle, brakes) are all unique to IHC, and I pitched it all and used CJ7 stuff, (dana 30). So it's a bunch of work, and I only used it because I had it, but you can do the same thing with any 44.

 

The Scouts run zero caster. The spring perches need to really be moved anyway so not too big a deal.

 

I still have a Scout II D44 housing in the shed that I was contemplating installing in my 3B. I ended up with a narrowed F250 housing that I could use with the stock under frame spring position. I did use the Scout 8 bolt spindles with Reid knuckles. I also have a Ford F250 high pinion D44 axle in the shed. There was no way my front driveshaft was going to work with that without a huge lift.

 

Scout 2 axles are real close to the same width as narrow track Wagoneer axles. Faster is an issue as said above, width, the unique spindles and brake brackets, not to mention the very long steering arms. This can all be overcome with work and money, I’ve done it many times. Question is how much effort do you want to put into it? What are your goals for doing it?

 

I put a scout D44 with disk in my CJ. Take the Cs off and cut both the tubes to get down to your narrow track. Give it about 5° of caster when you weld them back on. The spring mount is part of the differential . I had a Dana 30 where I used the outer knuckles from to keep the tie rods correct and have steering stop to stop. You will need to cut both axles and find an extra one for cutting. The short side is not long enough to cut and re spline properly. I used Dutchman to spline the axles I had cut to length. If a cabinet maker can do it so can you.
Dana 30 set up for measuring.

Here is my 44 Note where the passengers spring perch is. I needed to cut a flat for the bump stop to land.



The D44 pumpkin is larger than the 30 so check your travel closely. My vent smacked my oil pump housing first time out. Luckily on the 304 they made two styles of oil pumps the other style clears the vent.


That was the end of fun that day.

I made a spreader for the rear instead of fighting the locker in.

 

So, for my money.....and this is just my opinion......it makes a whole lot more sense to swap in a later narrow track 30 rather than go through all this work. And the 30 can be built pretty stout and, from what I have seen, generally holds up pretty well with 33 and even 35 inch tires. Anything can break but I think the 30 is fine for most JEEPs unless you're throwing some higher horsepower at it and/or big tires. A serious serious rock crawler is another story all together in my opinion.

This is just my opinion from what I've seen and read and researched. Others with first hand experience may disagree and I would defer to their knowledge and experience. I depends on your overall goal and build plan. If I were building a dedicated rock buggy or racer of some type I'd think about a custom 44 up front or maybe something even more stout than that.

 

I agree with everything you said. I only diverge a little because there is a different category: those that either just want a project, or want to be fairly safe from breakage. I have a friend with a YJ with a 30 and 35's that has done a lot of trails here, (Rubicon, Barrett, Deer Valley), Johnson Valley, Moab, never broke anything. I fell into the category of build it once, and forget it. My 44 has held up to 37's, Detroit, big rocks, towing, etc, worry free. Yes it's a lot of work, and unless you are going to go in the rocks, it's probably not necessary.

 

With my 360 I don't need to worry too much about busting axles like I have seen others do in the with the Dana 30.

 

Very good points Tim.

 

I have several Scout ll front 44’s, but have always been reluctant to try to cut the “C’s” off to narrow or even change the caster. Mine have a weld bead around the hole for the axle shaft, and on the back tube side of the “C”. How are you guys cutting these loose to reposition? If these are anything like a 12 bolt Chevy housing I modified, the tubes are pressed in mighty tight.
-Donny

 

This thread is mighty interesting for me. I have a set of Scout D44s I was going to put in my CJ7. Now I'm rethinking this and just going to leave the WT D30 and AMC 20.

 

I cut the tube just inside the C. Then grind the outer weld (inside the C), then reach in with a sawzall and cut the tube in line with the tube, that relieves the pressure, and the tube comes right out. For putting it back, you can warm up the C to get it on, or just get it to a firm tap-on fit, then weld inner (which factory didn't do), and outer. Plenty stout. This also allows you to play with the caster before you weld it.

 

I’ll most likely be doing this at work tomorrow. I’ll report back.

 

Nice but one has to ask why the rotated C's on something that obviously isn't ever going to be wheeled----- Won't show any benefit at the mall.

 

It has 1 1/2° of caster the wrong way. It’ll definitely show improvement on the trip to the mall.