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Front Axle Options

volumeknob

NAXJA Forum User
Location
MI
Hey guys, recently acquired a 98 XJ Sport with the HPD30 3.55 front axle. It has a 4-1/2" Zone lift on 33" BFG AT's. I've been researching aftermarket support for the D30 and coming up with some options for how to move forward. After my investigation on my axle, it's going to need a drag link, tie rod, pinion seal, diff cover refresh, U-joints on at least the axle shafts, most likely the driveshaft as well and potentially wheel bearings. I'm not sure what the health of the pinion and ring gear are, haven't cracked the cover yet. The brakes are good but that's about it LOL.

My first thought was to just snag another HPD30 off of a bone yard XJ but that's rolling the dice too, most likely would be better than what I have now though.

So the question that's been asked a million times, what should I do here? Budget is pretty skinny, I bought a house and a trailer to haul the XJ, along with several other major purchases this year. I have a few wheeling trips planned in the next few months so I either do this now or just wait until late fall. Thanks for the pointers guys!
 
HP D30's are cheap and damn near everywhere. Bring a 13mm socket/wrench with you to open the covers and check the gears. Even if you do get one that looks good I'd still change out the inner tube seals and ball joints. Steering stuff is pretty cheap also. V8 ZJ tie rod/ends are a decent upgrade for the money. If you can find a later model XJ in the junkyard grab the shafts. The years escape me at the moment but they're able to fit larger ujoints and slide right into the older HPD30s. You'll want to modify them to use full circle clips though. Plenty of youtube videos and just takes some patience and a hack saw.
 
Sounds like normal maintenance stuff even on a jy d30.
The only real benefit to getting another d30 is that you can throw it on some stands and re build it at your leasure.
 
^^^^ agreed

i would be replacing all of those things on a JY axle anyway.

as long as the backlash feels good and the fluid doesnt call for alarm in your current axle, i would just rebuild that one. the only reason i see to replace a D30 with another JY D30 is because something happened with the gear set, and its simply cheaper to replace the axle than it is regear it to stock.
 
HP D30's are cheap and damn near everywhere. Bring a 13mm socket/wrench with you to open the covers and check the gears. Even if you do get one that looks good I'd still change out the inner tube seals and ball joints. Steering stuff is pretty cheap also. V8 ZJ tie rod/ends are a decent upgrade for the money. If you can find a later model XJ in the junkyard grab the shafts. The years escape me at the moment but they're able to fit larger ujoints and slide right into the older HPD30s. You'll want to modify them to use full circle clips though. Plenty of youtube videos and just takes some patience and a hack saw.

I've read up on replacing those seals, ball joints and the ZJ steering upgrade. The good years for the Dana 44 axle shafts are 97-99, I think not sure. You're talking about the 5-760X U-joints I'm assuming on the later XJ's? youtube has been a very useful tool for maintenance on this trucks and most of the work I've done so far has gone smooth.

Sounds like normal maintenance stuff even on a jy d30.
The only real benefit to getting another d30 is that you can throw it on some stands and re build it at your leasure.

Right, just curious if I'm better off going with a different axle all together or just find a decent D30 and rebuilt that, then swap it in. Or run it and rebuild the one on the truck. Just looking for a direction to go in.

Can I use a HPD30 from anything else other than a XJ?
 
I've read up on replacing those seals, ball joints and the ZJ steering upgrade. The good years for the Dana 44 axle shafts are 97-99, I think not sure. You're talking about the 5-760X U-joints I'm assuming on the later XJ's? youtube has been a very useful tool for maintenance on this trucks and most of the work I've done so far has gone smooth.



Right, just curious if I'm better off going with a different axle all together or just find a decent D30 and rebuilt that, then swap it in. Or run it and rebuild the one on the truck. Just looking for a direction to go in.

Can I use a HPD30 from anything else other than a XJ?
44 shafts do no good for you and your D30.
early model D30s with ABS all got 297 (spicer 760) joints.
im not sure what year the smaller joint was phased out, but the years 91 or 94 come to mind.
id be willing to wager your 98 has 297/spicer 760 size joints in it.

the rebuild you are talking about doing is nothing more than regular maintenance and is an saturday job at most with the axle still under the vehicle. there is very little need to replace it entirely... unless there is something catastrophically wrong with it or you just like scrap metal laying around your yard.

a non XJ HP D30 will not bolt in.
 
44 shafts do no good for you and your D30.
early model D30s with ABS all got 297 (spicer 760) joints.
im not sure what year the smaller joint was phased out, but the years 91 or 94 come to mind.
id be willing to wager your 98 has 297/spicer 760 size joints in it.

the rebuild you are talking about doing is nothing more than regular maintenance and is an saturday job at most with the axle still under the vehicle. there is very little need to replace it entirely... unless there is something catastrophically wrong with it or you just like scrap metal laying around your yard.

a non XJ HP D30 will not bolt in.

I'm sure it has the Spicer 760's due to the year alone, unless it's been messed with before I got it. I don't have ABS, I've confirmed that. Only real reason to replace would be to actually build up the other one, more than just maintenance items. So truss, locker, aftermarket outer seals, re-gear, full C clips, moly shafts, clean and paint. Thought about doing the WJ knuckle swap since my knuckles are toast where the drag link ties in. This would be a over the winter type project and swapping in a JY D30 just for better manners. Trying to keep it on the road and doing all this work would be easier with the axle off the truck.

Right, needs to be a HP D30. I was just curious if any other Jeep models have the same HP Dana 30 or if it needs to be an XJ.
 
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94-up are all the thicker u-joints, I would get those shafts if nothing else

If its a trail rig you can probably get away with cheap wheel bearings for a little while

Replace the seals and wheel it

Reason I feel the U-joints are bad is because I have a constant chirping at low speed, seems to go away at any speed over 10-15 mph but sure sounds like a little birdie in there. I get some lovely clicking in 4 high too, especially when turning the wheels. Even in 2WD high I have plenty of drive line vibs / noise (humming, rock tumbler sound), so that could be the axle and/or driveshaft U-joints, the pinion and/or wheel bearings.
 
chirping is probably the driveshaft centering ball, you can get a rebuild kit from Denny's Driveshaft for pretty good price (new centering joint and u-joints), if there's not a lot of slop in the slip joint that's the best way to go
 
chirping is probably the driveshaft centering ball, you can get a rebuild kit from Denny's Driveshaft for pretty good price (new centering joint and u-joints), if there's not a lot of slop in the slip joint that's the best way to go

Alright cool, I found his site when I was looking for Spicer U-joints a few months back, he's got great prices. I'm sure taking the front shaft off completely and taking it for a spin would help determine if it's that shaft or not. I just did the hack and tap on the rear and that didn't change any vibs or sounds at all.
 
With 33" tires you should also be looking at gears!
 
Right, just curious if I'm better off going with a different axle all together or just find a decent D30 and rebuilt that, then swap it in. Or run it and rebuild the one on the truck. Just looking for a direction to go in.

Can I use a HPD30 from anything else other than a XJ?
The only benefit to getting a jy axle is that you can take your time and rebuild it as your budget and time allows then swap it in.
We have all had projects take longer than expected and only you know whats acceptable for how long your jeep can potentially be laid up
XJ, MJ, TJ, and ZJ will interchange. ZJ's are low pinion
 
The only benefit to getting a jy axle is that you can take your time and rebuild it as your budget and time allows then swap it in.
We have all had projects take longer than expected and only you know whats acceptable for how long your jeep can potentially be laid up
XJ, MJ, TJ, and ZJ will interchange. ZJ's are low pinion

tj is low pinion as well
 
to op your overthinking this a bit every complaint you have is normal for a 20-something year old vehicle and if you have any competence with tools you can bang it out it in a weekend like vahasnowaves said and if your looking at regearing you gotta do the back axle too and a regear requires a bit of coin and you have already stated your budget is small
 
The only benefit to getting a jy axle is that you can take your time and rebuild it as your budget and time allows then swap it in.
We have all had projects take longer than expected and only you know whats acceptable for how long your jeep can potentially be laid up
XJ, MJ, TJ, and ZJ will interchange. ZJ's are low pinion

This is what I was looking for, THANK YOU! Makes finding one that much easier. The Bleepin Jeep guys said 95 is when they changed the axle U-joints, so that'll help too.
 
to op your overthinking this a bit every complaint you have is normal for a 20-something year old vehicle and if you have any competence with tools you can bang it out it in a weekend like vahasnowaves said and if your looking at regearing you gotta do the back axle too and a regear requires a bit of coin and you have already stated your budget is small

Not overthinking it, just curious what you guys feel is the right avenue to take. I figure this might be a good time to upgrade to a different axle all together but now that I've read all of this, sounds like the D30 is just fine, even if I decide to go with larger tires in the future. I'm not complaining, I'd just like to drive it down the road and maybe even the high way to go to meets, shows, what have you and not have it be rattling my teeth out, I'm in no way upset, I completely understand the age and I live in MI, so the salt is very harsh. I'm sure I could rebuild the one that's there in a weekend, not an issue at all. Budget is small now but with time I'm sure it'll be a good project to build and have ready for next summer.

Thanks guys! :cheers:
 
This is what I was looking for, THANK YOU! Makes finding one that much easier. The Bleepin Jeep guys said 95 is when they changed the axle U-joints, so that'll help too.
TJ and ZJ at low pinion. given the age of the MJ, youll want to steer away from that axle even if you find one. and you now know what year XJ axle you are looking for. so... your still looking for an XJ axle.

"finding one is much easier now." :laugh3:

Not overthinking it, just curious what you guys feel is the right avenue to take. I figure this might be a good time to upgrade to a different axle all together but now that I've read all of this, sounds like the D30 is just fine, even if I decide to go with larger tires in the future. I'm not complaining, I'd just like to drive it down the road and maybe even the high way to go to meets, shows, what have you and not have it be rattling my teeth out, I'm in no way upset, I completely understand the age and I live in MI, so the salt is very harsh. I'm sure I could rebuild the one that's there in a weekend, not an issue at all. Budget is small now but with time I'm sure it'll be a good project to build and have ready for next summer.

Thanks guys! :cheers:

i think where our confusion lies is that it sounds like you have both wants, and needs.

if you need to keep the vehicle on the road... perform the required maintenance on the axle you have to keep it road worthy. if you want to build an axle, and are looking down the road, thats fine. if that is the case, then rebuilding an axle on the bench may be a good stroke of business, so you can work on it as time and budget allows (someone stated this). keep in mind that just because you put good parts on your current axle to keep your vehicle running doesnt mean you cant use them when the time comes to install a more built axle down the road.
 
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