hp30 swap question/ driveshaft compatability

Hey im looking for a hp d30 to swap into my 01 ..
so what am i supposed to look for ? i found a non vac. 17? i think he said spline.. it out of a cherokee so it should bolt right in i imagine but

Heres what im wondering, i was wanting to do the front driveshaft in the rear thing so i could carry one spare for both.. i have a 8.25 29 spline in back.. So what im wondering is since its a 17 spline reverse cut in front does that mean that the front will be a different shaft than ill use on the back .. also is it a specific front driveshaft that can be used in bck with the chryco 8.25..

Do you have a lift? If so, you'll be able to use the same front driveshaft.

I have no idea what the 17-spline refers to. It will be a straight swap over, and you can use your shafts, knuckles, balljoints, and hubs if you want to.

Yea he seemed unsure of what he was saying on the whole 17 spline thing. ill just chalk that up to not knowing what he was talking about.


I have 4" of lift.

Cool thats what i thought from the searching i had done thanks for confirming before i buy

17 spline was probably either the size of the outer shafts / stub shafts (that go into the unit bearings) or completely random useless info. I am honestly not sure which.

As long as it came out of an XJ it will bolt in. With 4" of lift your front shaft will be fine.

There are some unit bearing, caliper, rotor, and knuckle changes over the years on the d30 (all 4x4 info, there is some very confusing stuff about the 91/92 or so and earlier 2wd front beam knuckles and brakes):
* 91-01 knuckles are all the same
* 84-94 non-ABS XJs got shafts sized for 260 ujoints
* some random early years got CV joint shafts
* all ABS-equipped XJs and all 95-01 XJs got shafts sized for 297/760 ujoints
* 91-early 99 the brake rotors and unit bearings are all the same
* 99.5-01 the brake rotors and unit bearings changed offset/hat height
* calipers are all the same 91-01 I believe, but might also change from 99 to 99.5 like the rotors and unit bearings

so basically if you get a complete axle rotors/calipers and all, it will bolt in directly. If you get a complete axle with no brake hardware you might have to swap your unit bearings onto it depending on if the donor was a 99/earlier or a 99.5/later. Comparing the height of the flange/ring around the unit bearing hub bolt will tell you which side of the split you are on, if it is the same as yours it will bolt in, if the flange sticks out less you will have to swap unit bearings OR get 99-down brake rotors, new pads, and maybe calipers.

Confused yet? :looney:

the most desirable D30 is from the '94+ years i believe it is. they have the larger 297 U-joints in the shafts. you can keep the unit bearings and axle shafts from your LP30 as trail spares.

as for the front shaft... yours will work fine. might as well pick up the one the guy has if its in good condition though. its all 1310 U-joint size. its really just a matter of making sure the shaft you get is the right length for your application. the fact that the HP30 is reverse cut doesnt mean anything other than the fact that the pinion is above the axle center line rather than below. the shaft still spins the same way, and so do the tires... lol.

Makes sense , Thanks alot for the input..
So im looking for a 95 and up so that the knuckles and u-joints (297) would be the same.

But if i cant find a 99.5-01 ill have to swap the bearing and brake components over from my old axle.

as long as i understood correctly i know just what im looking for now..
now ill just have to figuure whats a fair price before somebody overcharges me..

Correct.

Another piece of info I forgot that you already know, all 00-01 axles are low pinion. So you really want a 99.5 axle, if you can't find one, any 95-99 axle is a close second.

Make sure it has the right gears, most will have 3.55 (auto 4.0), 3.73 (rare-ish, auto 4.0 towing package in some cases), 3.07 (standard 4.0), or 4.10 (rare-ish, standard 2.5, if you find one of these buy it and keep it for later upgrades or sell it at a profit.)

OK so i am kinda clueless as to what i should be paying for the axle, so i thought id ask you guys if this seemed like a good deal..

Front Differential: non-vac Dana 30, High Pinion, Reverse Cut, 297x/760 universal joint, 27-spline axleshafts.1996 to 1999

It is just the axle housing with the stock 1997 4sp. auto gears 3.55? wich im not shure but i think i have stock as well. no axle shafts or hub/brake components ..

Wich actually works out well because i can use my D30 Lp Axle shafts right?
ANd the old brakes/hubs wouldve been swapped for my newer ones anyway..

While im at im going to try and grab a driveshaft for the back as well..

So sounds good enough. He's asking $75 for it . Does that seem fair?

Dunno about 75 without shafts and hubs. 130 is the going rate lug to lug around here. I would offer 50 and if he doesn't say yes, pay 75. It isn't the best deal but it is pretty reasonable.

Yes, you can swap your shafts and hubs and brakes over no problem. Ditch the dust shields from the brakes when you do, they are annoying and hold mud against the rotors very nicely.

OH that makes sense had one off recently to do a new hub and put it on facing wrong way and had to pull it all back apart .. haha lesson learned..

I can ditch that huh? makes sense i think i will thanks

Yeah they don't do anything really, except get in your way and cause frustration. Mine were rusted and bent anyways so I just junked em.

Why bother changing out the axle? I might see it if you were doing gears and lockers! Im at 6" of lift on my 2000 and a LP D30,its never given me any issues in 10+ years now!

I wanted the driveshaft clearance was told it would be a little stronger and have better driveline angles .. wich maybe isnt a concern if your at 6 with no troubles.. anyway i will be regearing and locking. just not right now . The axle may sit untill i can regear and lock it to put it in.

guy says he opened up the diff and it says 317c-36

I offered him $50-60 for it . for that much why not upgrade and it can sit and get geared and locked outside of rig . and sit untill i can affored to gear/lock the back.

I want to make shure to gear/lock each axle in one shot so as not to pay a guy to open er up twice..

I just waited and got a free housing from a member. I had it geared and locked out of the jeep and saved a little coin.

Swapped in my 2001 hub, shafts, calipers and rotors.