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Sanity check on Dana 30 plans

Y

yossarian19

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Grass Valley, CA
My plan is to run 30 or 31" tires tops, 2-3" lift. I'm aiming for quality / durability above all, mostly I wheel rocks by accident (when FS road maps omit the "WTF" factor) but I take it out to the dirt pretty often. Sometimes, I drag it across things & dent the underside. So I do want durability upgrades... So far, I'm thinking:
Beef up the passenger's UCA mount,
re-use my solid diff cover from the '30 under my jeep
U-bolt plates welded to the LCA mounts as mini skids
drill / tap the breather line for 1/8 NPT 3/8" hose barb (hate that plastic...)
replace seals & UCA bushings
full circle clips + fresh but probably off-brand Ujoints
Traction aid, probably a lunchbox for budget reason

+ some kind of brake upgrade. I don't know if I'm going to finish the WJ swap or home-brew something with Sport Trac or Crown Vic rotors yet. I could go Black Magic pads but for some reason want to go rotor / caliper instead.
I like the idea of a truss & inner C gussets but don't think I need them.
This all sound reasonable for my intended use? Anything with a high bang for the buck that I'm omitting?
 
A ton of money? He's not buying much. I think this is the perfect "build" of a 30, very little investment, fixes the known week links, and should hold up very well to 31" tires.
 
But the locker adds stress above stock open dif, One rock will mangle a stock lca mount if you hit it right, and the passenger Uca mount may as well be made of cardboard. He's addressing these 3 issues with almost no investment.
 
I've got $75 into the D30, $10 in steel. The Ubolt plates (to be used as LCA skids) were free with the JY leaves I bought to make a bastard pack with. The Solid cover was $65 or so and I thought, what the hell.
I got a bag of 25 full circle clips for under $10, so we're just under $200 in Dana 30 stuff so far.
The plastic breather on my '30 broke & the epoxy I used to fix it doesn't quite seal it - weeps a bit of oil. No biggie, but for another $10 I've got a tap and a fitting that says the next one doesn't break and doesn't leak. Call it $200 in the '30.
Seals are a no-brainer to do while the axle is out. Up to $225, maybe less.
Not spending "a ton"... Probably thinking about the Jeep way too much, though.
By the time lift, shocks, progressive bump stops, fun with my Dana 30, and tires are all done - I'll be into it for under a grand. When / if I sell the current junk to recoup losses, well under a grand.
 
zachandandy said:
But the locker adds stress above stock open dif, One rock will mangle a stock lca mount if you hit it right, and the passenger Uca mount may as well be made of cardboard. He's addressing these 3 issues with almost no investment.
Click to expand...
What I am saying is.
this:

j9.jpg



Is no truss, stock shafts and ujoints, a diff cover, no LCA skids, a locker, beadlocks, and 35's, and I wasn't nice to it.


That's a bit more than 31's and this is definitely not a FS road.
A 30 will take a lot, especially on 30-31, even locked.
 
I think it sounds good, but I would do a Truetrac in the front vs a full locker. Obviously a lunch box is cheaper, but I think a Truetrac is better for the front. I would take a Truetrac and Autozone u-joints over a lunchbox and Spicers. Obviously the u-joint difference doesn't make up for the locker price difference, but you get the idea.
 
The FS road leading up to Fordyce doesn't look a helluva lot different than that in places. Maybe they're better funded in your neck of the woods. Here... Most FS roads are just fine for a Subaru or even a Civic. Some of them have put dents in my rockers, though. It's the latter category that makes me want to beef things up a little. I don't always know what I'm getting into when I pick a spot on the map and go for a Sunday drive. Read as : I never do.
 
id save the coin and put on a winch is what im saying. The pic above is private property. Only point to the pic was to show that really the 30 will take a ton more abuse than most people think.
 
Gotcha.
Yeah... I hear you. For my own piece of mind I'm going to add the steel I've already got to the D30 (why not) and, once the lift is installed, start shopping self-recovery items. Never been stuck yet but it only takes once.
 
yossarian19 said:
Gotcha.
Yeah... I hear you. For my own piece of mind I'm going to add the steel I've already got to the D30 (why not) and, once the lift is installed, start shopping self-recovery items. Never been stuck yet but it only takes once.
Click to expand...
:thumbup:
 
in4aride said:
id save the coin and put on a winch is what im saying. The pic above is private property. Only point to the pic was to show that really the 30 will take a ton more abuse than most people think.
Click to expand...

I wheel fairly hard on my 30. I'm Aussie locked with chromo's and 4.56's. I run 35 inch mtr's and have only ever broke a few 260x ujoints. I usually wheel with guys that have 37's and larger tires. My advice is throw some 760's in your stock shafts, at the same time add a lunch box locker and go wheelin. You aren't gonna break it, especially on 31's. Maybe grab a set of junkyard shafts for piece of mind, but I think it's not needed.
 
I had a spartan and 35" pitbull tires and broke you joints and/or shafts including 1 set of chromoly shafts a half dozen times. Then I stripped a ring and pinion. Some people have better results on the dana 30. Lca skids are cheap and easy and a front locker really helps when you need to climb over something. Not sure where he would save the coin you're referring to, he has the full circle clips and the lca skids already?
 
yossarian19 said:
I've got $75 into the D30, $10 in steel. The Ubolt plates (to be used as LCA skids) were free with the JY leaves I bought to make a bastard pack with. The Solid cover was $65 or so and I thought, what the hell.
I got a bag of 25 full circle clips for under $10, so we're just under $200 in Dana 30 stuff so far.
The plastic breather on my '30 broke & the epoxy I used to fix it doesn't quite seal it - weeps a bit of oil. No biggie, but for another $10 I've got a tap and a fitting that says the next one doesn't break and doesn't leak. Call it $200 in the '30.
Seals are a no-brainer to do while the axle is out. Up to $225, maybe less.
Not spending "a ton"... Probably thinking about the Jeep way too much, though.
By the time lift, shocks, progressive bump stops, fun with my Dana 30, and tires are all done - I'll be into it for under a grand. When / if I sell the current junk to recoup losses, well under a grand.
Click to expand...
He posted having everything but the locker.
 
To clarify -
I don't already have a 1/8 NPT tap or the brass fitting to replace the breather but in any case, that's as much maintenance as modification.
I've already got the U-bolt plates / LCA skids, the UCA bracket steel, circle clips and Solid diff cover
So, depending which way I want to fly, I might be spending about another $15 on my current axle (breather fix, an axle seal) or a fair bit more freshening up the 2nd I've got and putting brakes + steering on it before I swap it in. Haven't decided yet.
 
do this...

292452_381681628552926_1619651088_n.jpg


and go outside.



yossarian19 said:
To clarify -
I don't already have a 1/8 NPT tap or the brass fitting to replace the breather but in any case, that's as much maintenance as modification.
I've already got the U-bolt plates / LCA skids, the UCA bracket steel, circle clips and Solid diff cover
So, depending which way I want to fly, I might be spending about another $15 on my current axle (breather fix, an axle seal) or a fair bit more freshening up the 2nd I've got and putting brakes + steering on it before I swap it in. Haven't decided yet.
Click to expand...

i dont understand these posts... "ive got all this stuff, should i install it?"
 
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