LP dana 30, Keep it or swap it?

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this specific application has been covered before, I was a good boy and used the search function and had no luck...

So I have a 2000 XJ and am wondering if it's worth it to keep the LP Dana 30 and beef it up, or swap it out for one of those hard-to-find (at least in my neck of the woods) XJ HP Dana 44's or an HP Dana 30. I don't ever plan on running tires larger than 33", but I would really like to run a lunchbox locker in the front, and regear to 4.56.

I know from searching that a LP Dana 30 is pretty close to the strength of an HP Dana 30, but the standard cut gears have me a little worried, especially when regearing, due to the size of the pinion gear.

Posts I have seen on Pirate suggest that swapping from a LP Dana 30 to a HP Dana 30 is a waste of time due to limited strength gains, but most of those guys seem to think that the only way to go is swapping out both axles for tons, and that's out of my league.

Narrowing and fabbing a Dodge or Ford Dana 44 is not really possible for me either, because I don't have garage space/tools, and my fabrication skills leave a lot to be desired.

What do you all think?

I have my flame suit and a fire extinguisher ready, just in case my search skills failed to find an equivalent question/answer. Thanks all and cheers!

:cheers:

i think for up to 33s, an LP is fine. sleeve the tubes, or truss them, if you like. w/4:56 the pinion will be small, but still safe i think. lbl in front, just have to be a bit more careful w/the skinny when turning.

lp is not the best for big lifts, past 5" i would say, just because of a bit more angle on the ds.

i would keep the lp, if you cant swap a hp 30 for $150 or less.

I have a 4.5" long arm kit so I am pushing the big lift barrier a little bit, but not quite there...

Was thinking trussing it but did not want to get to a point to where I was throwing money at polishing a turd. Maybe 4.11's would be a better route? For the minor gains, swapping an HP 30 seemed like a waste of effort, but I do like to play it safe...

Thanks for the advice and keep it coming!

Forget the xj d44.... its not really an option.
As far as polishing a turd... sure. If your gonna pay $400 to regear an axle, buy a HP D30 to do it to. Gear guys want the axle out of the vehicle to work on usually, so pickup a seperate hp30, get it built, then swap. That helps with downtime too...

Keep in mind, regearing aint cheap, do it once, do it right.
I would go 4.56 for 33's...

So you think I should do an HP Dana 30 swap and move forward with that if I'm going to stay at or below 33"? I might be able to find one of those at a local JY, but a lot of the XJ's I see around here at the boneyards are older, and I don't want to swap in an axle with the vacuum disconnects... I'm not in a huge hurry though, maybe I'll just be patient.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, I understand that pretty much everything except the carrier/ring/pinion is a direct swap between a HP and LP Dana 30 right? My front end is in pretty good shape, and I would probably be retaining most of the parts from it if I went this route.

Yeah, I know regearing ain't cheap... I have shopped around a bit and around here the going rate is $350 - $400 per axle from the corporate 4x4 shops. They say that they'll install lunchbox lockers for free though if I have it done at the same time as regearing... Including parts I'm looking at a figure north of $1,500... Ouch!

Like I said, hopefully my specific question hasn't been covered before but with that kind of $$ on the line, I don't want to make a bad decision and have to start from square one again!

Thanks for the feedback XCM!

put an hp 30 in it..... getting the driveline angles right will be easier and for the money its a good axle.


anything 91+ will have the housing you need, and youre correct youll need the carrier/r&p in the hp, but your knuckles and shafts all swap over.


i've got almost 1200 bucks in her d30 running 35's and haven't looked back. 4.56's, rcv shafts, aussie locker, cover (not pictured) so on.....

Thanks for the input short. If you have been running 35's, 4.56's and a locker without detonating it I feel a little better about spending the time and money with my planned build.

Nice looking jeep dude!

Happy Friday everyone!

SG,

If you think you will NEVER go higher than 4.5 then leave it alone I would say. However, inchitis is always around the corner and purely for the simple fact of a better driveline angle (which is good enough reason in my book) I would go with the HP30 IF YOU GO HIGHER than 4.5 in the future.

I run just over a 6" lift with a LP30 and am lucky to not have horrible vibes (around 70-75mph it starts to vibe a little) but they are slightly noticeable and I don't care for them. I am definitely at the MAX height for the LP30.

shortxjdoug said:

put an hp 30 in it..... getting the driveline angles right will be easier and for the money its a good axle.


anything 91+ will have the housing you need, and youre correct youll need the carrier/r&p in the hp, but your knuckles and shafts all swap over.


i've got almost 1200 bucks in her d30 running 35's and haven't looked back. 4.56's, rcv shafts, aussie locker, cover (not pictured) so on.....

Click to expand...

1200?.... RCVs are over 1k alone..

My 30:
locker (used) 150
Cover (new) 120
4:56s (new) 250
(Installed myself)
HD tie rod (used) 75
chrmo shafts (new) 700
Axle seal things (new)50

So about 1350

whitexj98 said:

1200?.... RCVs are over 1k alone..

Click to expand...

not this set......

2001XJ, inchitis scares me a little bit hahaha! In all seriousness though I would rather have an overbuilt axle that's stronger than I need than risk nukeing a ring gear at a most inconvenient time like, say, when planted on top of a boulder. My current driveline angle bugs me a little bit, because I am getting vibes right now with my current setup (285/70/16 with 4.5" long arms). If swapping to an HP axle fixes that it would be a big bonus.

Whitexj, that $250 included te master install kit? I have no idea how to install gears, so I'm probably going to be stuck with paying someone to do it. I don't have the tools and everyone I have seen talk about it says don't bother unless you have done it before.

You guys running HP 30's gives me some peace o mind though. Definitely going to be looking for a n axle to start building. Come tax return time, its on like Donkey Kong... Until then, I will keep my eyes peeled for a clean used front end.

I appreciate the help guys, thanks.

I paid 500 for front and rear gears, master install kits and a front carrier about 3 years ago, so I just divided it in half.

Advice: Find a HP30 with the larger ujoint perferably. Build it up,
mini skids on the lowers, box in the passenger control arm mount
gears
locker
cover
etc...

or keep you eye out for a "built" 30 somone is getting rid of when going to tons, you can pick them up pretty cheap

and swap it in

Im runnin hp d30. 4:88 gears, sleeved axle tubes, inner "c" gussets, abs shafts, ruff stuff cover, and a Detroit locker on 35's. No problems in two years and I beat on it =)

i ran a hp d30 for a little bit before i swapped in my hp 44 and it mostly took the thrashing i gave it. I killed 2 chromoly shafts, but the r&p held up just fine. that was on 35's with 4.56's, locked. i think you'll be fine. I know oceanside ecology had a couple 4cyl hpd30's in there last time i checked, which would be 4.10's. maybe grab one of those and a ford explorer 8.8 for the rear and call it good for a while. then upgrade when you have the $$$$

SciGuy,

another thing to consider is, if you keep the lp, go with a full carrier locker, detroit, arb, etc. that will also add strength. you need to replace the carrier for anything higher than 3:73 anyway. the $150-$300 you save on keeping the lp, can help for a better locker. i would preferably not do an lbl in front.

Vanimal, thanks for the heads up. I was at the Oceanside ecology boneyard two weeks ago and saw a few xj's and was thinking about how nice it would be to have one of those front axles, but I was alone and didn't have a way to carry it home safely. I was on a Taurus fan mission anyways and succeeded...

Thanks for advising against a lunchbox if its a bad idea, I don't want to blow a carrier up, no bueno but damn, Detroit's are a little spendy! It's ok though, I know building a jeep is not the cheapest thing one can do hahaha!

IMO I would never drop the coin on a detroit for a 30, 150 for a used lock right was more in my price range... havent broke it yet on 35s.....

i beat the crap out of a lock right lunchbox on 35's and i eventually broke the pins, but it was just me being stupid. i wouldnt worry about it, especially if you're only running 33's. the pin kit to fix them is cheap and not too bad to install.

whitexj98 said:

IMO I would never drop the coin on a detroit for a 30, 150 for a used lock right was more in my price range... havent broke it yet on 35s.....

Click to expand...

Agreed- unless you get it for $100 like I did =)

$100 Detroit huh? I need to meet your people haha!

Well, if I run a lock rite or an aussie, what's the worst thing that can happen if it blows? Maybe I will try to find a deal on one and run that. The $250 or so price difference can buy me a truss, or go towards other components.

If it blows, I'll come back here and humbly accept a "told-ya-so" haha