What to do? D27 axle broke...

I recently destroyed my D27. This gear stuff is new to me so I am trying to learn what everything is called and take the best route to get it fixed. Here is a picture of the damage. I think all the gears are bad except the main big one that is on the left. I am running a 64 cj5 with a 225 v6 motor in it. 33x12.50x15 tires and dont plan on going much bigger. If bigger it would be the 34x10.50x15.


I found these 2 for sale.

"d30 and amc 20 narrow trac axles, complete, stock. 3.54 gears." I would go for the d30 axle.

This is the other one.

"66 CJ5 Dana 44/27 axles - Take outs from a '66 with the V6, 3.73 ratio, I believe. Complete drum to drum"

Since i will be in there i was also thinking of putting a lock-rite in it.

The d30 should have disc brakes which is a good thing. Right now I am drum all the way around.

What do you think the best direction is. D30 or stick to D27?

Thanks in advance for any info you may have.

 

Dana 30 if you can afford it. More aftermarket support, discs are better than drums, and you have a generally stronger axle all around (shafts, gears, knuckles, etc). I would go 30 over 27 in a heartbeat. This coming from a guy with a scout 44 under the front of mine.

 

What ratio are you running, probably 5:38's or 4:27's. The dana 30 is a pretty straight forward swap but there are a few issues like possibly swapping shock location and new spring plates, degree shims etc. And you will need a new R& P as well as most of the gearing in the dana 30's stank. Where in pa are you? I might have an axle as well. I'm near Allentown.

 

Unfortunately I do not know the ratio.

I am near Pittsburgh.

In total, doing the work your self, how much do you think it all would cost to get back running if going with a d30?

 

What kind of shape is the pinion gear? If it is OK, it looks like you could just replace the spider gears, the 4 little gears inside the differential or carrier, and the cross shaft. You may be able to do this to get by cheaply. You could also replace the spiders with a "lunch box" locker, like a Lock Right. I drove my K3500 for six months with broken teeth on the pinion gear, but it howled.

OTOH, if you are looking for a reason to install a D30....

 

End of the pinion gear has some issues too. I'd follow Steve's suggestions, and find a donor 27. It's your cheapest alternative out there.

 

Replace the Spider Gears, Side Gears and Cross Shaft, (available at Collins Brothers, 4WD Hardware and various other Jeep stores) and next time don’t keep your foot in it when the front starts hopping.
Been there, done that. Scattered two sets of spider and side gears before switching to a Power Lok limited slip.

 

Yea, it looks like the end of the pinion gear could have some chips in it.
And just FYI but that’s looking like a Dana 25 to me.

 

If you are going to run big tires, ditch the 27 and upgrade. Last time rebuilt the spiders on a Dana 27 it lasted about 15 minutes. I finally went with 60's F/R but I'm silly with the skinny pedal.

Extreem

 

I am not sure what it is. I have been told it was a D27. Its a 64' CJ5 so.....

I didnt realize I was getting hop in the front end. I dont know when it even broke. I have an idea but not 100% sure. I was going up this hill and for some reason i was having trouble and i think it went then.

Is there any way to tell difference between d25 and a d27?

 

Now I’m not so sure.
I bought this Dana 27 ring and pinion based on a description and fuzzy photos assuming it was for a Dana 25. My mistake but it wasn’t worth sending it back to the individual I bought it from. It’s a 4.27:1 gear set that’s for sale, if anyone’s interested.
First difference I noticed was the Dana 27 was smaller diameter but is thicker. It seems like the Dana 25 also has a shoulder towards the inside with bolt holes going all the way through. The Dana 27 doesn’t have holes that go all the way through like that.
Lastly the pinion gear has finer splines where the u-joint yoke connects with a much higher spline count.
It’s hard to tell this from your photos but maybe mine will help you figure it out.

 

Dana 25 has 7 3/4" diameter ring gear with 8 bolts. Dana 27 has 7 1/5" ring gear with 10 bolts. Dana 27 didn't come in a CJ till 1966.

 

I believe the spread for the 27 is 54 to 71. I broke mine many years ago and wound up installing a Powr Lok. Never had a problem since. The diff is much stronger than stock and the LS helps spread out shock loads. In the end, you will have to decide how much you are willing to flog the throttle. Average wheeling and common sense will make the 27 last. Heavy mudding, extreme offroading, and high HP will force you to look at a larger front end. There are some advantages to the 30 as stated above, however, you will have to install it and that can be many times more effort and money than most folks want to spend.

 

my 27 is from a 1964. thought they changed over about 1960.

 

Just for future reference that’s not always the case.
The ring gear in the picture I attached is from a Dana 27 but it has 8 bolts holding it to the carrier. That’s actually what got me, why I bought it. I’d assumed the same as you mentioned, if it’s got 8 bolts its got to be from a Dana 25, only to find out differently when it arrived.

 

Mine is a '60 and it's got a Dana 25.

 

That’s exactly what I’ve done.
I went through two sets of spider / side gears before giving up on the entire stock carrier and installing a Power Lok. No more exploding gears and I’ve got a lot more traction, even if it made my manual steering brutal to drive off road it was worth it.

 

Not to hijack this thread, are dana 27 power locks easy to find? Can you buy them new or do you have to look around for an used one?

 

27 and 25 Powerlocks are not available new and haven't been for probably 30 years. Good news is if you find a used one they use the same clutches as the 30 so at least the clutches are available new. Herm the overdrive guy sometimes has some as R&P and other vendors occasionally have them. They were real common in Scout 80's and 800's so that could be another source. Also check E-pay as they occasionally come up there as well as Willystech.