How to: Tj/Xj/Yj 30 with 44 knuckles

[Jeepaholic]

Though I would do a write up of sorts on the dana 30 I built.

The goal was to use all easy to get parts, IE stock tj inners. But to also have high steer and lockouts. And not have to build another truss for the driver side uca :stan3: . Started out as a Xj hp 30, you will also need a cj dana 30 for tubes and inner C's, and dana 44 knuckles and hubs.

First cut these off


I used the shafts to measure for the amount of tube I needed to leave on the CJ dana 30 knuckles


Cut




Doing the other side


Mocked up


I used 2" 1/8" wall dom as a internal sleeve




One side done


Just a couple of brackets left to weld on.

[JohnnyJ]

That's pretty sweet. Much better than the one BillaVista did many years ago.

[Jeepaholic]

Ya I took his idea and thought I could improve on it alittle. Thanks

[TJontherox]

Nice job, looks seamless after you ground it down.

[Jeepaholic]

Thanks, worked out real well

[brimy311]

Cool. You should post the benifits of this, say over a Newer d30 housing and shafts :)

[Jeepaholic]

You mean something along these lines?

PRO's
Lockouts
Serviceable bearings
bigger brakes
stronger ball joints
high steer for less $$$
parts availability
added tube strength (if you sleeve the whole tube)

CON's
added width
welding required (for some)
wheel bolt pattern changes


I have in axles:
$60 for a waggy 44 (flat tops, spindles, brakes)
$50 for ford hubs and rotors
$100 for the XJ 30
-$10 for the cj 30 :tonka:

Plus high steer arms and machining for ~$200.


Add a super 30 inners and locker and be really close to 44 strength, I am gonna run stock shafts for now and see how they hold up

[redmud]

You can also use Chev. 10 bolt outers for this -Kevin at Jeeperz Creeperz told me he'd done one a while back for a guy this way. It's a pretty cool idea for a cheap axle upgrade.

Edit: Didn't the billavista one need custom axle shafts? How do you get around that?

[Jeepaholic]

He just cut off the stock inner c's but saved the tube, then installed the cj c's. But the newer 30 knuckles have a longer c so to switch to the 44 stuff you need to add about a 1" of tube. Which is why I cut and sleeved the old 30 knuckles. Does that kinda make sense?

This whole axle, including all the new steering and 4:88's installed will cost less than the warn hub conversion by itself. And I gain strength in places it doesn't, plus replacement parts are a auto store away

[muddy maki]

hmm very cool.

[JohnnyJ]

can you grab a measurement between wheel mount surfaces?

[Jeeperz Creeperz]

Originally Posted by 99grandtj

He just cut off the stock inner c's but saved the tube, then installed the cj c's. But the newer 30 knuckles have a longer c so to switch to the 44 stuff you need to add about a 1" of tube. Which is why I cut and sleeved the old 30 knuckles. Does that kinda make sense?

This whole axle, including all the new steering and 4:88's installed will cost less than the warn hub conversion by itself. And I gain strength in places it doesn't, plus replacement parts are a auto store away

Why not just cut off the stock inners and weld on the CJ inners? You needed to get the shafts resplined to fit the Dana 30 center anyway, so you could have them cut down at the same time. This way you'd have a stock-ish width front axle.

[JohnnyJ]

somewhere in there he mentions he's using stock XJ D30 inners with stock D44 outers, no resplining needed

[Jeepaholic]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJ

can you grab a measurement between wheel mount surfaces?

Yes I will hopefully have it all put together tomorrow
I was roughly guessing 62" though


Stock 30 tj inners (297 joint) to the fsj/chevy stubs. Easy to find replacement shafts. Not ONE custom shaft

[Jeeperz Creeperz]

Originally Posted by 99grandtj

Stock 30 tj inners (297 joint) to the fsj/chevy stubs. Easy to find replacement shafts. Not ONE custom shaft

After thinking about it more, I realized that's probably what you did

[nick_n_ii]

As for streingth your about as strong as a D44 LP or stronger do to using a Dana 30 HP sweet write up.....

[Monkeyevil]

Was the ID of the CJ inners the same as the XJ inners or no? Could you have just swapped inners on the stock tube?

Good write-up.

[Jeepaholic]

Yes, you can they are both 2.5" od, but would have to have custom inner shafts made. BillaVista did it that way, his writeup http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...HybridAxle.htm

[Jeepaholic]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJ

can you grab a measurement between wheel mount surfaces?

Originally Posted by 99grandtj

Yes I will hopefully have it all put together tomorrow
I was roughly guessing 62" though

I was way off it is exactly 61 3/4" :tonka:


Finished pics

[Mclovin]

dude you change front axles in your TJ more than i change my socks..