Dana 30 Upgrade 'journey'

So, I thought about finding a Dana 30 from 72-76 that has 11" brakes as a bolt on upgrade to my Dana 27 9" brakes BUT my rear Dana 44 is at 5:38. So do I change gear ratio in Dana 30 to match the 5:38? I like the open knuckle because later down the road I can put the 11" in back and upgrade to disks in front. I have 16" wheels sitting here for the larger brakes. At what price does finding a Dana 30 make sense? I would think that would also need to be part of the decision. I am looking to refurbish the new axle over the winter as a small project - suposedly something fun to do! Thanks for your input. Cheers.

 

A Dana 30 is probably the easiest front axle ever made to work on. I put a set of 5.38 gears into a Dana 30 last year and they are not cheap as the only available gear set in 5.38 is from Spicer. It is getting much harder to find Dana 30s(and the prices have gone up in relation) as they were only used for 10 years in narrow track form. The 72 to 75 are the most desirable as they have the best pinion angle with stock spring perches but the 76 to 81 work just fine. If you want disc brakes and are going to change the gears anyways, it is probably best to go for a 77-81 to start with.

 

I don't know what price it makes sense but here's my experience. I bought a wide track D30 with disc brakes for $350. I found some cheaper but this one was in better shape, rotors were good and new pads, steel brake lines and all the steering linkage. He also threw in new u-bolts, spring plates and a new carrier so I could re-gear it, it came with 3:54 I think. I spent $430 on a lock-right locker, 3:73 gears and a D30 rebuild kit (all new stuff). The gear swap and rebuild was easier than I was anticipating, went pretty smooth and took probably three days total time.

I feel like that's about as cheap as it can be done. It's hard (impossible) to find a D30 with the correct gearing so you almost always have to spend to do the gears. A junkyard near me wanted $800 for a D30 with 3:73 in it, with no locker.

 

I paid $150 for my 77 Dana 30 w/disks all steering linkage and the driveshaft. Guy was converting to a Dana 44. I converted mine using a set of used 3:73 gears and case, all of this back in 2005.
With new brake pads, seals, tierods, bearings and an Aussie locker I probably have $500 or less in my front axle.

 

The Dana 30 is definitely a big improvement in turning radius compared to the Dana 27, but if better brakes is what you're after, you can swap the bigger brakes onto your current axle. Also, depending on your use you can find matched sets of axles. I have a Dana 30 from 1974 and a Dana 44 from 1969, both with 3.73 gears that is going in my jeep.

That combo won't be great for an off road only rig on the Rubicon, but for ice cream runs and fire roads it'll still be lower gearing than stock when paired with my new T-18 tranny

 

Hey guys thank you! I saw an older post from 2007 but still had some more specific questions. Focker, I was more asking if I should change the rear to 3:73 haha or visa versa - thanks. I plow with this on pretty steep hills so I probably need to stay with 5:38. I read somewhere that changing the gears is sort of technical and requires several special tools. Is changing the gears to tough for a weekend mechanic like me?
As for price, I think I would like to do this over the length of the winter. So I could slowly buy what I need to clean it up and then hopefully swap out in spring. Thanks guys - any other experiences/pitfalls please pass along.

 

You'll want to keep your axles 5.38s if you're keeping your stock trans and FHead, specially for plowing wet snow. You can only have different R&P ratios (front vs rear) if you run different sized tires front to rear, which is generally never done in a Jeep/Truck (and for good reason).

I got my NT D30 5.38 R&P from Yukon via Amazon:

Amazon.com: Yukon (YG D30-538) High Performance Ring and Pinion Gear Set for Dana 30: Automotive

 

Axle center section rebuild wasn't too too bad. I will say the early 30 is more annoying than other axles I've done, due to how it's inner race is shimmed (instead of the pinion) and no reliefs for removing the inner race are cast in the case. This makes you to blow through a ton of shims and oil retainer plates.

All in all it's a good project, but will be frustrating at times.

Also, depending on how your Jeep is sitting up front, you may not have any/much slip left in your stock front drive shaft. I have very little slip room left for up travel.

 

I got my 1976 D30 w/discs for free but see a bunch around here for $100 to $150.

 

Lol, suddenly I feel like this is about as cheap as it can be done, compared to 5 minutes ago when I thought what I did was as cheap as it could be done.

 

Yeah I saw $500 and my eyes boggled. I prolly have just over double that in mine: new gears, disc brake hardware and a truetrac.

I did ford saginaw with crossover steering at the same time too. It got spendy up front.

 

Thanks guys. It does seem like you could spend a lot of $$ pretty quickly. My CJ is never going to see an engine upgrade - f134 so I don't want to over due it. I really want: 16" mil rims, bigger drum breaks (for now) and definitely single tie rod but keeping my Ross box. This is like pulling that thread on a sweater! So I was thinking if the starting price was good, get the Dana 30 and work it up slowly. All great info - appreciate it as always...

 

My upgrade was substantially more than others have listed at right around $1,400. I did have to change gears to match my 4:88's and added a used ARB. I pretty much changed all bearings, seals, ball joints, tie rod, drag link, new rotors and pads. I have a write up here in another forum.

 

You'll need a custom length 'drag link' from your 'pitman arm' on the axle side of the bell crank on the crossmember (I used quotes as not to confuse with the Ross' pitman arm and drag link TO the bellcrank). You'll basically be marrying the old steering with a modern style. Very doable, and if my Ross was in any way usable I would have gone this route instead.

Herm cuts rods to length. Send him your length and he'll cut it. He did mine (Ford sag and no drop). I do have an extra 22" rod tapped for Jeep TREs if that will fit for ya (prolly too long though).

 

Living in Alabama has some disadvantages but also has advantages. Parts are sometimes harder to find but are usually way cheaper when you find them. There used to be a junkyard about 25 miles from the house that had hundreds of cj's in it, had been here since the mid 50's. Great part source until the EPA shut the old guys down back in 2010. Soil was contaminated from years of rust and oil soaking into a he ground. Now it's just grown up with privet hedges, saw grass and water oaks. It was sad to see it all crushed and discarded.

 

Thanks Jrobz. Ahh another thing. I reached out to Herm and he only does rods at 11/16" threads. I bought m38 TRE wich are 3/4" - not sure the count maybe 16? So I was thinking of just getting DOM tubing locally and ordering threaded inserts - weld then split with thin grinder blade. You are totally correct. I will use a long TR 35 1/2" I think from wheel to wheel then another short TR from wheel to original pitman arm which is basically in the center of the jeep. My jeep is a rolling experiment so I don't want to get into any fab work for the sag which I do admit would be cool.

 

oh man -that is a shame. I get keeping the environment clean but it sure is sad to hear all those cjs were terminated...

 

Just for reference

Jeep cj5/7 narrow track Dana 30 w/arb

 

Buying the arb and getting the axle for free.