Dana 30 Question.

Ok, I read through some posts on the D30. I figured out most of what I need to know. But I still have to ask.

Will a D30 from an '89 XJ swap directly with a '96 XJ D30. Brakes and everything?

The only reason I ask is because I have a '89 D30 that is already geared and ready to go. Or if nothing else, are the gears swappable?

Brian

Hey Brian, this is the other Brian from down the street. Your 89 hsg. should bolt in to the newer body. The brakes /knuckles are probably different, but you could swap the newer entire knuckle out assy. to the old hsg. The gears will also swap if you want to do it that way. Is the old hsg. a disonnect or non? If disconnect, I'd be inclined to swap the gears over to the newer hsg. Is this for the 2-4 swap? Let me know if you need some help.

If you swap the guts, you'll have to reshim the gears and there's no guarantee that they'll be quiet. The 89 housing will bolt up to the 96, but you'll have to figure a way to get the center-axle disconnect to work without vacuum. The 89 t-case has the vacuum connection while the 96 runs all the time. The 96 also has larger (297-x) axle u-joints in place of the 260-x you likely have on the 89.

Thanks for the replys. I think I will swap the gears between the two.

At first I planned on using the '89s disconnect axle and then permently locking the disconnect.

I have a cousin that can reset the gears.

Brian

Yeah, the axle will all bolt up the same. There was a differnce in the rotor used between those years and the uni-bearing hubs, but if you swap over the entire axle, you will be fine. I wouldn't swap in a disco for a non disco axle though, but you can always go with non disco shafts and seal up the disco axle too, just a little more work.