Dana 30 Turn Radius

I replaced the Dana 27 on my 69 CJ 5 with a Dana 30. I had heard that the turning radius would be better. I can see where it would be, especially since I have wheel spacers, but it’s not. The tires are nowhere near the springs and the tire rod is nowhere near hitting the shock observers but the stops on the knuckles are also nowhere near touching.

Is there something I have to do to get the full turning potential? I still have the Ross setup.

 

Most likely you are out of radius due to the limitations of the bellcrank and associated Ross system. I am assuming you converted to one piece tie rod? The best solution is a Saginaw conversion ( power or manual)

 

Have you gone lock to lock with the wheels in the air to try to find what is doing the stopping? A Jeep with a Dana 30 can actually turn inside the radius of a 25 or 27. Maybe unhook the drag link and isolate which one isn't going far enough.

 

If you are using the second (outer) hole in the passenger's side knuckle to attach your drag link, like this:


...the Ross setup might be running out of travel before you reach the axle's potential. The second hole increases mechanical advantage and slows the steering response, which is great for a power setup but not so great for the Ross because it also requires more steering wheel rotations to turn the same angle. You might have to tie your drag link into your tie rod to get the stock ratio back. Like this:

 

I can't see the pics... Is it just me?

 

I have. I can't tell, the steering wheel just stops turning. Also, somewhat disturbing, it kind of "catches" at full turn in one direction. I have to kind of yank it back. I think all my Ross parts need a good going through. Nothing seems really loose or sloppy, but definitely something wrong.

 

Same here. My tracker blocker blocks jeep-cj.com - unblocking content is not sufficient to show them.

 

Try looking again. I re-hosted the pics.

 

Probably the bellcrank going over center in one direction.......

 

Ok now.

 

I'm guessing the Ross pitman arm is not correctly indexed to the sector shaft.
That can limit travel in one direction.

 

My guess would be the ross linkage binding. I have a saginaw conversion and a narrow track dana 30 and have plenty of travel to turn lock to lock. The limited factor is the tires, they hit the springs before hitting full lock.

 

My stops on the knuckles don't hit either. About 3/4" space on each side when fully turned

 

That makes a lot of sense. Yes, mine is set up like the first picture. Thank you!

 

I had this very same issue. Went to the outer hole and didn't turn very far. Converted to a Y link setup and no issues.

 

On my Ross with a V6, with 31 x 10.5 BFG tires. The drag link hits the block, at the transmission, in one direction. On the right side, tire hit the flange on the axle that limits travel

 

I finally got around to doing this. The steering effort went back up but I got the full stop to stop range on the axle now. Thanks!

 

Man, I thought I was a procrastinator.. Good deal.