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JY axels; what to replace?

VAhasnoWAVES

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lake City, Mi
'97 sport, 4.0, AX15, 231, HP30, 8.25 (3.07s)

little info:
been thinking of picking up a set of axels to help me get my gear ration back at least CLOSE to where it should be. im on 31s right now with 3.07s, moving to 33s next week. a local yard has a set of axels with 4.10s. its a '00 4 cylinder, with a 8.25 and a LP30.

my thinking:
now, i know the LP30 isnt a desirable axel. im well aware of the disadvantage of its clearance and harsher drive shaft angle. but truth be told... i dont wheel super hard, just a two track or trail ride here and there. my jeep doesnt have any protection at the moment, and is my daily driver. i dont see the rocks. i also know that many TJ guys wheel the piss out of LP axels without many complaints. ive seen a few cherokees well over my lift height with no complaints either. ideally id like to install these axels to help my gas mileage while i am at school (work full time, and go to school full time at central michigan) and have my current axels sitting on the work bench to build at my leisure. the ability to work on them while my jeep is still drivable is appealing. at $500 for the pair the stepping stone is worth it (to me).

***THE QUESTION AT HAND:***
upon buying junk yard axels what would you absolutely replace and what would you recommend replacing or checking? also note the fact that these axels have been sitting since last winter to my knowledge, very possibly longer. for the rear i figured the breaks at minimum, shoes, springs and hardware, adjusters... i can reuse my drums and brake cables. for the front, i can reuse my calipers and rotters while replacing the pads. u joints maybe? diff fluid all around. wheel bearings probably? is there anything im overlooking?

essentially... im trying to gauge the added cost(s) of running junk yard axels.
 
I'd replace all the brake hardware, no question (or swap yours over.)

The rest -
Unit bearings: if they seem bad
Balljoints: if they seem bad
U-joints: if they seem bad or you're replacing the unit bearings or balljoints
Inner axle tube seals on the d30 if they leak
pinion and carrier bearings if they seem worn/bad
seals where you have to remove them to replace bearings, or if they seem bad
diff lube for sure.

Bear in mind that a '00 axle is going to have 99.5-up unit bearings, which require 99.5-up brake rotors. You will need to swap your unit bearings over (really, I'd just pull your old unit bearings and axle shafts and swap em in whole, then pull the unit bearings off the 00 axle shafts and keep the shafts as spares. If you plan on doing WJ steering/brakes on your old axle during the build-up, save the 00 unit bearings for that.)

Not sure I would pay 500 for an 8.25 and an lp30 with 4.10s, I have seen a couple hp30s with 4.10s go for 150 each recently (including the one I bought) and you can pick up a ford 8.8 with 4.10s for 100-150, though it won't be bolt-in.
 
breaks were my first obvious thought. was assuming i could reuse what i mentioned. this is exactly why im asking these questions... i was completely unaware of the difference in unit bearings. describe, "seem bad." id like to dump some money into the axels while they are in my garage and not under the jeep. so i (or you) would feel safe putting them on your wife/girlfriends car and letting her drive them for another 50k miles.

(the rear is actually cheaper than the LP30, so i think i may be picking that up regardless...)

also... im completely axel illiterate beyond servicing my breaks or changing the diff fluid. can someone provide an exploded view of the axel (dana 30 maybe?) for me to work with? another vantage point of doing this would be gaining knowledge at some cost.
 
I wouldn't let the LP D30 stop you,I've been running 6" of lift on my 2000 now since day 1/2! Wheel the hell out of it!
BTW:its -axle/brakes
 
seem bad - balljoints should move fairly easily, smoothly, with no play. ujoints should be the same. unit bearings should rotate smoothly, no grinding feeling and no side to side play. Pretty much the same for the rest.
 
Yep... aside from balljoints and steering components I agree with that.

All of this stuff can be fixed ALMOST as easily once it's on the vehicle. If you want to do things before putting it on, you should fully weld the passenger side upper control arm mount, box it in, fully weld + gusset the lower control arm brackets, and maybe gusset the top arms of the inner Cs. Those are all things that are a royal PITA to do in the vehicle, and trivial when it's on the workbench.
 
I wouldn't let the LP D30 stop you,I've been running 6" of lift on my 2000 now since day 1/2! Wheel the hell out of it!
BTW:its -axle/brakes
this is what im talking about. im only at 4.5" of lift (RE kit) and see no harm in running a LP axle.


Yep... aside from balljoints and steering components I agree with that.

All of this stuff can be fixed ALMOST as easily once it's on the vehicle. If you want to do things before putting it on, you should fully weld the passenger side upper control arm mount, box it in, fully weld + gusset the lower control arm brackets, and maybe gusset the top arms of the inner Cs. Those are all things that are a royal PITA to do in the vehicle, and trivial when it's on the workbench.
what im understanding is to check and make sure everything is functioning 100% and replace as needed. right? these axels will be run temporarily (1-3 years while i finish school, until the existing ones are ready to go back in) so i dont see that work being worth it... but DEFFINANTLY something to note for the build of the other set.
 
I'd do it anyways, it took me less than two hours and about ten or fifteen bucks in materials to brace my current axle. That was enough metal to fully box the passenger UCA mount and put a couple of gussets on each LCA mount, with enough left over to gusset the inner Cs as well (though I didn't do so, I was up till 3AM the night before the wheeling trip prepping and installing the axle as it was.) It'll increase resale value and those mounts really are pretty weak.

And yeah, just check the stuff everyone listed... if it seems fine, run it, if you notice issues, check more carefully. Really only the brake hardware (swapped over from your XJ and thus known good) and steering hardware (TREs, links, balljoints) can kill you, the rest is just "would be nice" / "will make the axle last longer" and can be run till it becomes a problem.
 
Yep... I didn't think my lincoln handy mig (I think that's what I have, it does like 85a) would cut it either, but it seems to be holding fine. Used .035 fluxcore which helped, wirefeed at ~3.5 and current on max.
 
Nope, no preheating at all. I'm FAR too lazy for that crap :roflmao:

I have pics for the upper control arm bracket box-in, not sure where the pics for the LCA gussets went... will see if I can locate them when I get out of a meeting.
 
The housing and such are, it will bolt in. The u-joint sizes are different if your XJ doesn't have ABS, but the shafts are the same length and spline count so you can just use the ones with larger U-joints and keep the small U-joint shafts as trail spares.
 
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