I am looking at selling my dirt bike and as part of it trying to get a hold of a nice used marlin 1894 in 44mag as another feel good gun i can tinker with. I already have a winchester 94 in 30-30, but it was my grandfathers so i refuse to do too much at all to it. Is there any common problems or any info at all i should know about before making a deal??? Any info at all is greatly appreciated.

I should also add that the reason i want it in 44mag is that it will be used as a hog hunting gun on occasion.

Best bet?  Pre-crossbolt safety, JM marked guns. REP marked Remlins can be nice, but you gotta look hard at em.

The crossbolt safety was added long before the quality became an issue.  It is easy to remove if you desire from a later gun.
If you shoot cast and don't reload and don't tinker too much.., seek Ballard type rifling vs Microgroove.   Microgroove CAN be very accurate with cast, but it requires a properly sized bullet.  My 38/357 Marlin is a laser with cast now, but it sucked and shot patterns vs groups until I found the proper diameter cast bullets.

Ensure smooth cycling of action, both fast and slow.
Make sure sights aren't canted.

I would say biggest thing these days with Marlin guns, especially newer models, is do not buy sight unseen.

This is exactly what I needed to know. Thanks for the great info

If you want to shoot heavy (long) bullets the twist rate is too slow.  

I didn't buy a 44 mag Marlin because of this.  (Went with 45 LC.)

Here's some info:

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=54

You need to decide if you want a blued or stainless marlin. The price of stainless has gone crazy.
My 44mag  marlin is smooth as butter and shoots great with iron sights. You should look at
reloading, you really save with 44mag.  

Pre-safety Marlins are from 1982 and earlier. All the pre safety guns will be blue, with micro groove barrels.

The cross bolt safety came along in 1983, stainless and cowboy (octagon barrel) versions sometime after that. Micro groove rifling went away about 2000.

A lot of the .44s have oversize bores, making cast bullets a challenge. I had a pre safety 1894 with a .433 groove diameter. I've never measured one that was under .430.  Most "44" caliber jacketed bullets are .429.

All that said, unless you intend to mount a scope, get a model 92 clone or if weight doesn't bother you, a Henry.

You should be able to find a Browning 92 in 44 magnum for about the same price as a JM Marlin, better gun for sure but is likely to have similar barrel issues.

I sold my last Marlin 44, but still have a Browning and a Rossi. Both would outshoot the Marlin, and the Rossi is by far the most accurate of the three.

I never really put much thought into a Rossi, and never even knew about a browning lol...the marlin was really just the first straight grip side eject lever action that got my attention....not to mention that I found the xs sights rail and do plan on putting a scope of sorts on it, and more than likely a light....I also do plan it being my first caliber to reload(no matter what caliber I end up getting) after I recently discovered the super easy and cheap Lee loader kits...I'm not 100% against a curved grip, I just really appreciate the straight grip and have never tried the pistol grip...the only thing I didn't plan on compromising on was the side eject but I suppose if there's a mount for it there's nothing wrong with a scout mounted scope