New to dana 30's. Asking for some help.

[boostin302]

Hello everybody on ,
I'm a new member here and glad i found this place. its chalked full of useful info!

I have a 1988 XJ that has a high pinion,Reverse cut Dana 30 in the front. I was out wheeling Saturday. Heading out of the trail to head, the U-joint on the drivers side axle snapped. (i had just replaced it not even 3 weeks ago.) When the U-joint snapped, the ears off the inner axle decided it wanted to join in on the party and sheer off. The outer axle shaft seems to be okay but i bet a dime to dozen that those ears are on the verge of going also.

Being on a limited budget, I am desperately trying to find a upgraded axle that can handle my 35's. The diff has 4.56's and a loc-rite (that doesn't work right do to something not being right in the cable disconnect on the passenger side).

If i was to go to a salvage yard, what could i look for as far as upgrades vs the stock drivers side axle?

My budget is around $150. (full time college student, wife and a 3 year old daughter that has a sever case of My Little Pony disease lol.)

I am just looking to fix/upgrade the drivers side (if it is possible to do)

Thanks in advance for any help you have to offer,
Joshua

 

[MoparManiac]

Welcome!

Honestly, your best bet is to get the axle shafts out of a newer D30 (95+) or one that has ABS. It will have larger u-joints (x297 series) that should hold up to some abuse on 35s.

Read up/search on modifying the stock shafts for full circle c-clips, and get some Spicer x760 u-joints to go in there. That setup won't cost you much (junkyard cost of axle shafts, and about $80 for the joints/new snap rings) and should be fine for what you're doing.

 

[DeftwillP]

Yup....get the spicers and nobody else. Go full circle clips.

 

[Tim_MN]

Do some searching on , and the Google. Eliminate the Vacuum Disconnect. The locker will work, and you can upgrade to later model axle shafts with the larger 297/760 u-joints. Always use Spicer u-joints.

 

[sidriptide]

Do some searching on , and the Google. Eliminate the Vacuum Disconnect. The locker will work, and you can upgrade to later model axle shafts with the larger 297/760 u-joints. Always use Spicer u-joints.

X2...... the hardest part of that conversion is getting the new seals installed but there are tools available to make it pretty painless.
another option you have in the interest of saving time if you are in a hurry to get back on the road. the last year of the YJ Wrangler (1996, but some parts stores will only recognize the 1995 model) ) still had the disconnect axle, but the shafts had been upgrade to the larger u-joints.
YJ guys just throw that stuff in their scrap pile without a second thought, so if you know a local club or Jeep forum i'd ask there. one mans trash is another man's treasure so they say.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

you use anything to block off the plate on the disco housing. even hack up the old shift fork housing. for an axle seal, some guys just use the outer seals(allow uSA makes some, Sealsit makes some cheaper ones for like 30$ a set ). I would go with a spicer 760X U joint and a ABD shaft. Pre 95 with ABS still had 760x(297) U joints so basically any ABS jeep will have the bigger U joints.

 

[WB9YZU]

Actually, this is going to sound counter intuitive...

But the 760 shafts are weaker at the ears than the 260 shafts were. The only thing Jeep did was make the holes larger. This means that instead of breaking a U-Joint, the ears distort, the cap spins and clip get thrown, the cap gets thrown, and the result is the same. Spicer/ not Spicer, makes no difference except some have brand preference. If the cap spits, it doesn't matter what brand it is, you're done unless you catch it right away.

The Cheap fix is to tack weld the caps to the ears. It works because the cap won't spin and the clip stays put. It is very effective.
You could also take the time to machine a space for a circle clip.

A D30 was simply not built to have 35" tires, 4.56 gears, and a locker all at the same time. Fixing one source of breakage will only cause something more expensive to break. I've seen it many times.

If you plan on running 35's with deep gears and a locker, plan on simply upgrading the axle. It won't be as cheap as polishing the D30, but it will be more satisfying in the long run.

 

[cal]

There's Ron with his usual doom and gloom bad advice.


When you buy chromo axles these days, most vendors if you ask will throw in a free pair of seals and block-off plate.

Buy some chromoly axles, block off the disconnect, and go wheel the piss out of it.

 

[boostin302]

Thanks for all the replies guys! The info has been very helpful to me.

It has been hell trying to find a used axle from a 95+ D30 at my local salvage yards. I had one place offer to sell me some new 4340 chrome moly ones for $400, i just laughed and hung up. I really don't have a issue of paying to play but im not going to be taken to the cleaners in the process.

I'm going to post a WTB thread in hopes that somebody on here may have one and would be willing to ship it out. I wouldn't have a problem of switching it over to a x760 u-joint or as one thread on her stated "tack welding the caps in place since the u-joint is like condoms, use them once then throw away"
edit: Didnt know i couldnt post in the WTB area of the forum until im a paid member. Sorry for not knowing that.

btw, here is my jeep a few hours before the axle break. I decided to play it safe and winch the front of it out of the water before it decided to crab walk even more into the creek. At this point, i already had about 3 inchs of water on the passenger floorboard area.

 

[cal]

$400 is dirt cheap. They were doing you a solid.

 

[boostin302]

$400 for just the driver side inner axle.

 

[cal]

Oh, F that.

I bet one of our vendors here would be willing to make you a good deal on a full set if you were interested.

 

[boostin302]

If i had the funds to do a full set, i would be more then happy to do so. But as it stands, I only have the funds to currently repair the driver's side axle. so a new axle (inner and outer), hopefully one that fits a x760 spicer u-joint and a axle seal.

It doesn't have to be chrome moly (id like it to be but maybe come income tax i can do a D44 swap), id be happy with the standard upgrade that was mentioned above.

 

[DeftwillP]

Dude...nobody quoted you $400 for half of an axleshaft.

 

[boostin302]

uh yes they did "dude". I have no reason to make bullcrap up. Summit racing has a 4340 chrome moly inner for 155 so that is why i was in disbelief when the guy quoted me 400 for one.