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Dana 30 mod question

Guess it wont work. I was under the understanding that while in 2WD and spooled (or other locker that wouldn't be benefitial for DD street driver) the axle shafts would turn indepentent of each other, until I simulatiously engaged the other axle and shifted into 4WD.
I have a 231 and already have the axle shafts to convert to non-disco.

and replace the inner seal so you don't leak out all the diff fluid.
Click to expand...

Plan on overhauling the axle before I install it, should I get a master rebuild kit for a non-disco axle when I order it (if I decide to go non-disco)?

Thanks, Jesse
 
if your going to make a 2wd 4wd, then dont even bother with a d30. then again.. if your converting a 2wd to a 4wd in the first place, it should be one kick ass truck. otherwise why go through the trouble uless ur planing on a custom lift with 37s? if ur gonna convert a 2wd to a 4 and have 4 inches of lift... thats gay. what im trying to say is, dont even think of a d30. AT LEAST get a d44 when starting from scratch like you are
 
I assume this is on a tight budget.

The spool would be a cheap locker, but it'd also cause a lot of trouble whenever you try to turn in anything except the lowest of traction areas. Your steering components are going to have to overcome the tire's traction just to turn when the spool is engaged. When I engage the ARB up front my steering characteristics change drastically, and it will feel like I've hit steering stops when trying to turn.

I like the idea of a soft-locker that wouldn't require the install of a new carrier, but the choice of disco or non-disco shafts is up to you:

The disco shafts allow your front d/s to remain stationary while in 2wd at highway speeds, whereas the non-disco shafts, if you got some bigger U-joints in the process, could be stronger. It depends on the vehicle's use.

If you are throwing non-disco shafts in a disco housing, realize you'll need a custom seal, which will be placed inside the axle tube on the passenger side of the carrier. The disco shaft that originally went there is a bit larger than the non-disco shaft. The seal you need will depend on the exact inner diameter of the tube, so a good investment would be some calipers that can measure to the 1/100th of an inch.
 
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stupidfast said:
if your going to make a 2wd 4wd, then dont even bother with a d30. then again.. if your converting a 2wd to a 4wd in the first place, it should be one kick ass truck. otherwise why go through the trouble uless ur planing on a custom lift with 37s?
Click to expand...
How many guys run 37s, not many, nor do I want 37s being that I have an C8.25 with 27 spline which maxs out at about 33s, but you must have already known that being the all knowing god of lifts and Jeep mods
if ur gonna convert a 2wd to a 4 and have 4 inches of lift... thats gay.
Click to expand...
oh, im sorry. Ill sacrifice the extra abilty on the off road because I dont want to look GAY. BTW, why is that gay? Oh! its a dated figure of speak that people with a small vocabulary use. Gotcha! [thumbup]
what im trying to say is, dont even think of a d30. AT LEAST get a d44 when starting from scratch like you are
Click to expand...
Dude I got this donor for $200 dollars, dont have a welder, am a poor college student, and like the abilty to bolt on. The D30 is more than adequate for 33's, light and cheap the fix and replace axle shafts, much aftermarket stuff, should I go on?

What IM trying to say is that unless you bringing anything to the table, or have some real world advice STFU.

Dont get me wrong, I dont dislike you, and if you have anything else to say ill listen, but be tactful and think before you type, bro.
 
kubtastic said:
The spool would be a cheap locker, but it'd also cause a lot of trouble whenever you try to turn in anything except the lowest of traction areas. Your steering components are going to have to overcome the tire's traction just to turn when the spool is engaged.
Click to expand...

Thats what im trying to figure out. the spool wouldn't be engaged if the axle is disconnected, right? Kind of like a spool with lockable hubs. Or I maybe completely wrong and this thinking.

Thanks everyone for your responses
 
noresttill said:
Dude I got this donor for $200 dollars, dont have a welder, am a poor college student, and like the abilty to bolt on. The D30 is more than adequate for 33's, light and cheap the fix and replace axle shafts, much aftermarket stuff, should I go on?

What IM trying to say is that unless you bringing anything to the table, or have some real world advice STFU.

Dont get me wrong, I dont dislike you, and if you have anything else to say ill listen, but be tactful and think before you type, bro.
Click to expand...

Good for you gotta start somewhere.
 
noresttill said:
Thats what im trying to figure out. the spool wouldn't be engaged if the axle is disconnected, right? Kind of like a spool with lockable hubs. Or I maybe completely wrong and this thinking.

Thanks everyone for your responses
Click to expand...

You were right the first time: A spool on a disco shaft would allow your front tires to spin independently, but the front driveshaft will spin with your driver's side tire, even when disconnected, so you now add front pinion angle as another constraint.
The drawbacks would be the handling when in 3wd (4wd on 231, disconnected), or steering in 4wd (4wd on 231, connected), not to mention the installation cost of a spool (replaces carrier so you do a whole new carrier setup, couple hundred bucks right there. A soft locker would just replace the spider gears and so you could install it yourself without extra special tools, and no need to do a ring and pinion setup.
 
I lincoln lock me d30 and put in the posi-lock cable, works great if you are not really hard on it and have extra shafts for when you break out on the trail. With the disco axle disingaged you can run down the street fine, only difference the front driveline is spinning so you may get some vibes from it. Just have to know when to let off the skinny while off road and the axle locked. Also will want to replace the fork in the axle to a stronger steel one and try not to use the cable lock while on the fly.....
 
HammsBoy said:
I lincoln lock me d30 and put in the posi-lock cable, works great if you are not really hard on it and have extra shafts for when you break out on the trail. With the disco axle disingaged you can run down the street fine, only difference the front driveline is spinning so you may get some vibes from it. Just have to know when to let off the skinny while off road and the axle locked. Also will want to replace the fork in the axle to a stronger steel one and try not to use the cable lock while on the fly.....
Click to expand...
Does the steering stiffen up when locked or is that just my ARB?
 
kubtastic said:
Does the steering stiffen up when locked or is that just my ARB?
Click to expand...
When you lock the ARB or weld the spiders in front in a non-disco or an engaged disco, it removes the differentiation of the axles.
This is the same as locking the rear.
In the rear, the tires scrub.
In the front, they will bind before they scrub.
 
To keep this thread from going on forever, ill reiterate what ive learned and call it a day.


With Locker in front and cable disco Axle

1.If I were to use an automatic locker in the front and disconnect the axle I would see no difference in street driver.

2.If I were to use a spool in the front and disconnect the axle I would see no difference in street driver, except possibly some vibes.

3. whenever 4wd is engaged the axle better be too.

4. No ill effects off road cept for the possibility of axle breakage and turning radius not a sharp (but I could disengage the axle and turn in 3wd temporarily and endure bad handling).

5. with this setup dont have to look for special seals and such to do a rebuild (as a shaft conversion would).

6. going the non-disco route would give me stronger shafts, but i would be limited to an expensive selectable locker (ox, arb) and would need to hand piece together a rebuild kit.


Thanks for all the help and i hope to offer help to yall someday.

I think Ive decided to keep the disco shafts, at least for now, and use a posilock cable.

This info is pretty correct, right?
 
noresttill said:
2.If I were to use a spool in the front and disconnect the axle I would see no difference in street driver, except possibly some vibes.
Click to expand...
Can't run it like that, in 4wd, on dry pavement even when discoed.
The left wheel, in a turn, will spin at a different speed than the rear wheels and bind the TC's insides.
 
Okie Terry said:
Can't run it like that, in 4wd, on dry pavement even when discoed.
The left wheel, in a turn, will spin at a different speed than the rear wheels and bind the TC's insides.
Click to expand...
Not if he installed a T-case disconect kit.
I put one in last week and it wokrs great!
 
seanR said:
Not if he installed a T-case disconect kit.
I put one in last week and it wokrs great!
Click to expand...
But then he'd have to reverse his secondary linkage.
I would just flip the TC.
 
Okie Terry said:
But then he'd have to reverse his secondary linkage.
I would just flip the TC.
Click to expand...
But flipping the T-case will cause a miss alignment in the rear drive shaft angle.
He should install a heim joint eliminator on the rear axle if get rid of the vibrations.
 
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