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at what point are strong axle shafts helpful/needed

M

md21722

NAXJA Forum User
Location
TN
I am wondering at what point (tire size, wheeling style, etc) stronger axle shafts are needed for a Dana 30? I can't imagine a XJ with a mild lift and 30's would benefit to stronger axle shafts? But maybe by 31's, 32's, 33's? Would it make sense to truss/reinforce the tubes, switch to 30 spline shafts at the same time? Or better to put in a different axle altogether?
 
id say once youre locked its a good idea. and depending on terrain and wheeling style, you might want them once you step up to 33's, open diff or locked
 
What is a good price for stock used shafts? And is there an easy way to determine if the used shafts are good?

Is there a noticeable difference in 27 vs 30 spline axles?

I like the idea of doing it at the same time as a locker. That way you can buy the 30 spline locker and 4340 30 spline shafts at the same time.
 
27 spline is fine, first weak point is ujoint's, second is ring & pinion.

Upgrade shafts when you break. Full circle clips are a big help too
 
when you get sick of replacing broken stock shafts or when you have an extra 400$ to spend on chromos, thats when you go to chromos. Id wait until you break a few front s shafts before going to chromos.
Its one of those things where if you have to ask then you probably don't have to worry about it.
Ive seen guys break front shafts on 31s open and on 37s locked so it depends on terrain, driving style, and your shaft and U joint maintenance (full circle clips, welding caps in and making sure your U joints are in good shape and swap them before they die)
 
blondejoncherokee said:
when you get sick of replacing broken stock shafts or when you have an extra 400$ to spend on chromos, thats when you go to chromos. Id wait until you break a few front s shafts before going to chromos.
Its one of those things where if you have to ask then you probably don't have to worry about it.
Ive seen guys break front shafts on 31s open and on 37s locked so it depends on terrain, driving style, and your shaft and U joint maintenance (full circle clips, welding caps in and making sure your U joints are in good shape and swap them before they die)
Click to expand...

X2: I have been on 31's for almost a decade and darn glad I went to chromo's way back when when I put in the front locker. I have always run full circlips. Never broke a shaft or an R&P on the Chromo's but I broke two stock shafts before I made the change. The splines on the Chromo's are twisted pretty good and have been since 2007. I do a lot of stupid stuff. Moving up to 35's finally on a highly polished 30 with 35 spline RCV's. R&P will be weak link now, no backing up bound.

Wait till you break a shaft a couple times. Carry a spare for each side, stock from a 97 up XJ (larger U joints), you get them for about $20 at the pick and pull. When you break the shafts you have in now order the Chromo, keep the spares.

John
 
All good points made so far. The only thing that I would add if budget is the major consideration and if you're on 33's or less its a no brainer to grab some shafts out of a later Dana 30 that excepts the larger 760 joints. Open them up to except the full circle clips.
Keep your old shafts as spares.
 
If you can afford it, and plan on locking your front axle, just buy them. No sense in using stock until it breaks, knowing you had the chance to buy them. I highly doubt you saying "Gee I sure am glad I kept the stock shafts" as you're replacing one on the trail. Now if budget is a concern then do what Russ says
 
I would argue against the point that 30 spline is useless, or that the gears/joints break before the shafts. That's kind of an ignorant statement.

30 spline shafts are *way* stronger than 27 spline stuff. You lose the ability to use your old stock shafts as spares, but also lower the likeliness of needing them. Yes the weak link becomes the ring gear, but would you rather break a shaft once a year or a ring gear once a decade?

All perspective.
 
I would rather not break anything at all :D

That said, I would rather the fuse be somewhere I can reach it.

In the last year, I have eaten (2) LP D30 Ring gears, and after I removed the locker, a set of spiders. That is with "Stock" 27 spline shafts with the U-joint caps tacked on. No damage to the shafts or U-joints.
Obviously, the shafts are no longer the weak point ;)
Might be the Nut behind the wheel :scared:

Personally, I would rather go back to not breaking anything and have seriously considered either upgrading the axle (Swap with something more in-line with how I wheel), or stop going to nasty Off-Road parks that push rigs with Dana 60's to the edge.

~Ron
 
I've never understood the idea of a 'fuse'.

"lets build shit and plan how we're going to break it."

why not build it to not break?
 
Agreed. If there was some way to know the "fuse" was only a tiny but weaker than the parts you're trying to protect then go for it. But in this case there's no way to know. It could be like putting a 5 amp fuse in a 30 amp circuit and then blowing fuses all day long for no good reason. It's even worse than that, it would be like putting an unknown rated fuse into an unknown rated circuit but we somehow think the fuse is a lower rating than the circuit... but we don't know by how much.
cal said:
I've never understood the idea of a 'fuse'.

"lets build shit and plan how we're going to break it."

why not build it to not break?
Click to expand...
 
I think of the parts like shafts as part of a component that should operate together. I've understood that u-joints are designed to be a weak link so they don't take out shafts and R&P. Well, the u-joints may take out the shafts as part of their failure. I think this stuff is engineered so you break "small things" before you break big and expensive things. It would be like putting an indestructible axle in there and having it rip apart your unibody.
 
the collateral damage from a broken shaft is not worth it. stock shafts can live on 33"s, but that depends on your wheeling habits.

if you already have a locker that is 27 spline, get a set of 27 spline chromos and high quality u-joints. (spicer at the minimum)

if you don't have a locker yet, go 30 spline. in the very near future there will be 30 spline shafts for our D30s with the larger JK44 Ujoints. (they are not doing a 27 spline version to my knowledge)
 
Rockclimber; I've heard this a few times now, just curious who 'they' are, and if you have any idea when said shafts will be available???
 
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