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dana 30 U joint upgrade?

redrider2911

redrider2911

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Yakima, WA
Alright. So now that i have my 4.7 in and upgraded to 35 km2s it seems like im snapping a u joint every other time i go up and im taking it easy! I dont have the money right now or time to upgrade to a 44. Plus i dont want to lose the clearance. What is a cheap axle shaft upgrade with a bigger and stronger u joint? Thanks in advance.
 
Sorry you guys probably need more info. 1990 HP dana 30, non disco. I was still trying to dig up some research while posting this and the only thing i've found is a spicer 5-760x. Is that correct? I do remember reading something a while back about v8 axle shafts? What kind of advantages and what vehicles are they found in to just bolt in.
 
newer d30 shafts came with bigger u-joints. Might be the 760s, I'm not sure though. Look for a 97+. Some 96s had em, but 97 is pretty much a sure thing.
 
Get the 297/760 axle shafts, grind the inside of the ears down, and install the 760 u-joints with full circle clips into the shafts. It is most likely the ears of your shafts are stretching, letting the c-clamp fall out, and the caps to fly off the shafts.

Also, if the vehicle had ABS, then they came with the 297 u-joint shafts. (297 and 760's are the same overall size, but 760's are stronger).
 
You can alos get them out of the 91+ that have ABS. The main problem people have is that the cap come loose and break so you can put a few spot welds on the ends to
 
does anyone have an actual dimension of the cap sizes? i have a few of these but am unsure of which ones they are.
 
760 u-joints are physically the same size as 297's. The 760s use a thicker trunion (cross of the u-joint), and are therefore stronger.
 
KingCopa said:
So if I have 97+ shafts with the 297 joints can u just swap over to the 760's with no mods?
Click to expand...

You have to grind the inside of the ears to fit full circle clips, which is the main reason you are doing the swap anyway. Keeps the caps from coming off and destroying the ears on the axle.

There are a bunch of writeups for this, but you'll have to search for yourselves.
 
bmfm64 said:
does anyone have an actual dimension of the cap sizes? i have a few of these but am unsure of which ones they are.
Click to expand...

I went to the auto store yesterday after work. I believe the newer joints, the 760 and 297, are 1-3/16 cap. the older joints, which i am running are 1-1/16.
 
760's are forged. I run them on 33's, locked with chromos and I know people running them on 37's locked with chromos. A 44 has the same u-joints btw. Im running Yukon stuff front and rear, and I know alot of other people running it. Good stuff. I got the front setup with inners, outers, 760's and the full circle c-clips for barely over 400 shipped. If I were you, Thats the route I would go. I will have my 4.7 in, within a couple months. Ohh and you have 260's for u joints in that rig... The smaller ones.
 
Last edited:
redrider2911 said:
I went to the auto store yesterday after work. I believe the newer joints, the 760 and 297, are 1-3/16 cap. the older joints, which i am running are 1-1/16.
Click to expand...

If you still have the original 1990 shafts then you're stuck with the old 5-260x joints (the small ones). If you have already eliminated your vacuum disconnect you can switch to the later style shafts and run the larger joints. Anything after 1994 will be the larger joint, regardless of whether or not it had ABS.
 
You can keep the disconnect and have the larger U-joints... You just need to find a 95 YJ. They are the only ones with the disconnect shaft and 297 joints. Otherwise, just go with a solid shaft conversion (1 seal and a block-off plate).
 
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