Dana 30 & factory shock location issue

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2 things come to mind.
1 - Is what Jim said, is this all bolted down and does it have weight on it?
2 - Are the steering stops adjusted right, that looks awfully sharp for a turning radius.

 

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I had this problem also and actually the bolt on the drag link sliced threw the body and vented the shock .I went behind now and shackle reversal.

 

My 77 dana 30 is fine, I'm thinking more like the shock body is bigger.

 

I had the same problem. I had to move my shocks to a different position. I originally thought it would work fine when I first assembled everything but the first time I rolled the chassis around and turned the wheels I realized that the steering rods contacted the shock. I do have heavy duty tie rods and the shock bodies are large but there was really no option but to move them. I am using a 82' CJ5 Dana 30.


Before



After

Maybe there is a change to the knuckles from the early to late Dana 30s. I didn't see any other option other than moving the shock. Good luck with it.
Greg

 

When I did this swap with my 78 D30, I had to re-weld the attachment point for the shock on the U-bolt plate- I moved it closer to the axle. Hope this helps.

 

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I have a tie rod flip and experience some contact at extremes, but not enough to matter. I had none until I rotated the axle w/ wedges to bring the caster in.:v6:

 

Can you flip the springs plate from side to side, so the lower attachment point is in the rear. The get yourself of a set F250 shock tower brackets and bolt them to the frame rails. The plus is you'll be able to run longer shocks for more / better travel.

 

Unfortunately no on the front. The passenger side has a u-bolt that goes over where the tube presses into the carrier and is larger. The U-bolt plate has a different bolt spread because of this. Depending on how much room there is on the u-bolt plates you might be able to add shock studs to the rear of the plate though.

I just looked at the front axle in my '59 CJ-5 with a Dana 44 with 30 diameter tubes and there is no issue. Rancho RS 5000's with no contact between the tie rod or drag link to the shock body with CJ knuckles. I think they are drum brake knuckles though. Not aftermarket U-bolt plates either (slotted stock 25/27 plates). There is 6" between the center of the ball joint and the tie rod holes. Just measured another set of drum brake knuckles and they are also 6" from center to center. #'s are R C36266 and L C36267. I don't have caster shims though so that could make a difference.

 

Here's a couple of pics. Ignore the foliage