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Dana 30 build - need advice

Y

yossarian19

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Grass Valley, CA
I'm trying not to ramble on my 3rd draft here, but bear with me:

I bought a LP Dana 30 from a ZJ with the inline 6. I think it is 3.73 ratio. 150K on it.

I want to build it with WJ parts and U-joint style shafts. Probably go heim steering, too.

Here is my reasoning: I want to stick to 3" & 31s at largest for the forseeable future. I'm new in my field and don't have a ton of money to spend on a hobby vehicle. This makes the 3.73 ratio desirable as a builder - it will match the 8.8 rear end that I'll eventually pull from a junk yard. 3.73 should be just right for 30" tires, which won't rub on my current suspension.

The question is this: Am I seriously going to suffer at 2.5" of lift with an LP axle? Break my R&P / fold it like a taco under 30 - 31" tires? Is the ZJ with an I6 even 3.73 ratio?

If the axle is junk, I'll just take the XJ style shafts it came with & sell the axle, get my money back out of it. Maybe even keep the hubs.

Advice?
 
Theres no reason it wont work,Ive been running my 2000 with a LP D30 for 10yrs now.Im locked front and rear,6" of lift,33's with 4.10 gears and a 4:1 transfer case!!
And I wheel it hard!
 
I really doubt you'll break anything with 30-31" tires, especially the ring gear. Sounds like you are going a little hardcore for such a small lift and tires. ZJ steering should probably work out fine and maybe Currie if you want to go really beefy.

Does the ZJ 30 have CV ball style shafts or u-joints?
 
The ZJ shafts are CV style. That being said, the joint position spline count and length are all identical to the XJ shafts. I'd put them in between 260 and 760 joints for strength. I plan to put XJ shafts into it, I think.
The advantage of ZJ joints is quieter, smoother operation on the street.
They interchange just fine, though XJ shafts aren't all ABS compatible. Not a problem - I don't have it.
Thanks for the encouragement, guys!
And yeah, it will be seriously over built for 30-31" tires. I want the brakes, though. Steep mountains, deer, loved ones in the car, crazy Oakland drivers, etc.
Everyone needs a hobby...
Thanks again.
 
If you go with the low pinion I recommend you get a flat flange and driveshaft adapter from Tom Woods because you will be basking the yoke on stuff all the time and the flat flange will hold up much better. And it will match the 8.8 when you get it.
 
yossarian19 said:
The ZJ shafts are CV style. That being said, the joint position spline count and length are all identical to the XJ shafts. I'd put them in between 260 and 760 joints for strength. I plan to put XJ shafts into it, I think.
The advantage of ZJ joints is quieter, smoother operation on the street.
Click to expand...


early ZJ's had u-joint style shafts with the larger u-joints. i want to say up to 95 or so.
 
yossarian19 said:
The ZJ shafts are CV style. That being said, the joint position spline count and length are all identical to the XJ shafts. I'd put them in between 260 and 760 joints for strength. I plan to put XJ shafts into it, I think.
The advantage of ZJ joints is quieter, smoother operation on the street.
They interchange just fine, though XJ shafts aren't all ABS compatible. Not a problem - I don't have it.
Thanks for the encouragement, guys!
And yeah, it will be seriously over built for 30-31" tires. I want the brakes, though. Steep mountains, deer, loved ones in the car, crazy Oakland drivers, etc.
Everyone needs a hobby...
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

While I agree the WJ brake setup is an awesome upgrade, it is pretty damn expensive to get all new hubs, balljoints, knuckles, brakes and all that. If you are replacing that stuff anyone, go for it. Might be more worth it in a HP30 though.

That being said, I have Brembo pads and powerslot rotors in my front axle and I can lock up 35s on the street. Its a serious upgrade over the cheapo autozone pads and rotors I had before. I'd imagine with 31's, it would be more than enough braking power and much cheaper than WJ stuff.

Oh, and yeah, I love my (R)CV shafts ;)
 
sunburned said:
That being said, I have Brembo pads and powerslot rotors in my front axle and I can lock up 35s on the street. Its a serious upgrade over the cheapo autozone pads and rotors I had before. I'd imagine with 31's, it would be more than enough braking power and much cheaper than WJ stuff.
Click to expand...


The Black Magic pads are supposed to be even better than Brembo or EBC pads, and cheaper. I've done the WJ swap (last XJ), have chevy half ton stuff on this xj (d44) and have a similarly built friends jeep on the Black Magic stuff. I stop better on the 44 than the WJ did, and my friend with Black Magic stuff stops better than I do.
 
yossarian19 said:
The ZJ shafts are CV style. That being said, the joint position spline count and length are all identical to the XJ shafts. I'd put them in between 260 and 760 joints for strength. I plan to put XJ shafts into it, I think.
The advantage of ZJ joints is quieter, smoother operation on the street.
They interchange just fine, though XJ shafts aren't all ABS compatible. Not a problem - I don't have it.
Thanks for the encouragement, guys!
And yeah, it will be seriously over built for 30-31" tires. I want the brakes, though. Steep mountains, deer, loved ones in the car, crazy Oakland drivers, etc.
Everyone needs a hobby...
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

You'll be fine. I'll eventually be running 32's on an 8.8/44 combo. Overkill is where its at! Hanaxj87 ran ZJ CV shafts in his rig on 35's before he did a 44/60 and he wheels hard!
 
cal said:
The Black Magic pads are supposed to be even better than Brembo or EBC pads, and cheaper. I've done the WJ swap (last XJ), have chevy half ton stuff on this xj (d44) and have a similarly built friends jeep on the Black Magic stuff. I stop better on the 44 than the WJ did, and my friend with Black Magic stuff stops better than I do.
Click to expand...


Cal, do you run the chevy bolt pattern or or XJ bolt pattern? I'm wanting to build a front 44 for mine and better brakes will probably be included!
 
Yea I'm stickin on 31s too but can't get out of the idea of building it more than nessecary. I also started with RC crawlers where I'm used to the hardcore wheelin so it's different now.
It's my DD and I've had a 1 major long distance breakdown so far.
Actually it was the bearings in the d35 failing and melting the axle hub end off at 65mph. So after that and looking at my options I went for the 8.8 I had been eying up which I welded the tubes and built unnessecary u bolt eliminator perches for. My plans were for 35s and a d44 front but I changed my mind again and decided to stick to 31s, good mileage, driveability and keep the hardcore wheelin to the RC cars considering I'm young with not a lot of money either. Though it still looks like I'm building everything else but just sticking to a d30. But my plans are for reliability and capability so I'll still be looking for a front select locker and building a LSD for the 8.8 so it's inevitable.
 
FlexdXJ said:
Cal, do you run the chevy bolt pattern or or XJ bolt pattern? I'm wanting to build a front 44 for mine and better brakes will probably be included!
Click to expand...

The only way to get 5x4.5 on a front D44 is to run 70's Dodge unit bearings that don't hold up well.

Most people run 5x5.5 and convert the rear with either adapters or dual drilled alloy shafts.

You can also run 6x5.5 or 8x6.5.
 
FlexdXJ said:
Cal, do you run the chevy bolt pattern or or XJ bolt pattern? I'm wanting to build a front 44 for mine and better brakes will probably be included!
Click to expand...

My Dana 30, Dana 44, and now Dana 60 have all been 5x5.5.

You can get the Black Magic brakes for the dana 44...
 
if you're going no bigger than say.. 33's, powerslots/hawk pads and a goodsized drum(d44) will be plenty for stopping power
 
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