How to: Tj/Xj/Yj 30 with 44 knuckles - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest

Jeepaholic · November 14th, 2007, 02:05 PM

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 · November 14th, 2007, 02:21 PM

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

Jeepaholic · November 14th, 2007, 03:00 PM

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

TJontherox · November 14th, 2007, 07:12 PM

Nice job, looks seamless after you ground it down.

Jeepaholic · November 17th, 2007, 09:43 AM

Thanks, worked out real well

brimy311 · November 17th, 2007, 10:12 AM

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

Jeepaholic · November 17th, 2007, 10:44 AM

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 · November 17th, 2007, 11:20 AM

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 · November 17th, 2007, 11:48 AM

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 · November 17th, 2007, 02:39 PM

hmm very cool.

JohnnyJ · November 19th, 2007, 09:24 AM

can you grab a measurement between wheel mount surfaces?

Jeeperz Creeperz · November 19th, 2007, 01:51 PM

Quote:

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 · November 19th, 2007, 02:22 PM

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

Jeepaholic · November 19th, 2007, 05:12 PM

Quote:

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 · November 20th, 2007, 10:14 AM

Quote:

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 · November 20th, 2007, 11:36 AM

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

Monkeyevil · November 24th, 2007, 11:27 AM

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 · November 24th, 2007, 11:43 AM

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 · November 27th, 2007, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyJ

can you grab a measurement between wheel mount surfaces?

Quote:

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 · November 27th, 2007, 09:07 PM

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

November 14th, 2007, 02:05 PM	#1
Jeepaholic Douche Mod #1 Join Date: 04-08-06 Location: St. Johns 48879 Posts: 6,121 iTrader: (102)	How to: Tj/Xj/Yj 30 with 44 knuckles 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. __________________ Axle Guru Extraordinaire Last edited by Jeepaholic; January 14th, 2009 at 01:19 PM.

November 14th, 2007, 02:21 PM	#2
JohnnyJ Low Range Drifter Join Date: 11-09-05 Location: Hartland, MI Posts: 2,968 iTrader: (18)	That's pretty sweet. Much better than the one BillaVista did many years ago. __________________ 2001 Wrangler

November 14th, 2007, 03:00 PM	#3
Jeepaholic Douche Mod #1 Join Date: 04-08-06 Location: St. Johns 48879 Posts: 6,121 iTrader: (102)	Ya I took his idea and thought I could improve on it alittle. Thanks __________________ Axle Guru Extraordinaire

November 17th, 2007, 09:43 AM	#5
Jeepaholic Douche Mod #1 Join Date: 04-08-06 Location: St. Johns 48879 Posts: 6,121 iTrader: (102)	Thanks, worked out real well __________________ Axle Guru Extraordinaire

November 17th, 2007, 10:12 AM	#6
brimy311 Smells like a Fork Liftis Join Date: 11-05-05 Location: Kzoo, mi Posts: 3,559 iTrader: (37)	Cool. You should post the benifits of this, say over a Newer d30 housing and shafts :) __________________ JcrOffroad.com Cruiser Trail Buggy Build

November 14th, 2007, 07:12 PM	#4
TJontherox Mall Rated Join Date: 06-14-06 Location: Sterling Hgts, MI Posts: 1,228 iTrader: (6)	Nice job, looks seamless after you ground it down.

November 17th, 2007, 10:44 AM	#7
Jeepaholic Douche Mod #1 Join Date: 04-08-06 Location: St. Johns 48879 Posts: 6,121 iTrader: (102)	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 __________________ Axle Guru Extraordinaire

November 17th, 2007, 11:20 AM	#8
redmud 10 0011 10101 Join Date: 03-26-06 Location: Fenton, MI Posts: 2,051 iTrader: (28)	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? __________________ Jason www.bds-suspension.com

November 17th, 2007, 11:48 AM	#9
Jeepaholic Douche Mod #1 Join Date: 04-08-06 Location: St. Johns 48879 Posts: 6,121 iTrader: (102)	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 __________________ Axle Guru Extraordinaire

November 17th, 2007, 02:39 PM	#10
muddy maki Its tough out there. Join Date: 04-12-06 Location: Canton MI Posts: 2,663 iTrader: (10)	hmm very cool.

November 19th, 2007, 09:24 AM	#11
JohnnyJ Low Range Drifter Join Date: 11-09-05 Location: Hartland, MI Posts: 2,968 iTrader: (18)	can you grab a measurement between wheel mount surfaces? __________________ 2001 Wrangler

November 19th, 2007, 02:22 PM	#13
JohnnyJ Low Range Drifter Join Date: 11-09-05 Location: Hartland, MI Posts: 2,968 iTrader: (18)	somewhere in there he mentions he's using stock XJ D30 inners with stock D44 outers, no resplining needed __________________ 2001 Wrangler

November 20th, 2007, 11:36 AM	#16
nick_n_ii Senior Member Join Date: 03-12-06 Location: Lakeport, Michigan Posts: 1,435 iTrader: (11)	As for streingth your about as strong as a D44 LP or stronger do to using a Dana 30 HP sweet write up.....

November 24th, 2007, 11:27 AM	#17
Monkeyevil Now abduction FREE! Join Date: 11-05-05 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 8,440 iTrader: (15)	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. __________________ JcrOffroad Renegades FTW.

November 24th, 2007, 11:43 AM	#18
Jeepaholic Douche Mod #1 Join Date: 04-08-06 Location: St. Johns 48879 Posts: 6,121 iTrader: (102)	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 __________________ Axle Guru Extraordinaire Last edited by Jeepaholic; November 24th, 2007 at 12:14 PM.

November 27th, 2007, 09:07 PM	#20
Mclovin "The Situation" Join Date: 11-07-05 Location: Dearborn Heights, Mi Posts: 13,229 iTrader: (12)	dude you change front axles in your TJ more than i change my socks.. __________________ 06' GMC 2500HD 6.0 00' Honda 440EX 11:1, stg 2 Hot Cam, T-4, W.B. CDI 89' Chevy S-10 "kinda" D44's D300 38's FOR SALE Lowlife Offroad "UNIONS" Protecting the Lazy American worker

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