Dana 30 ?s Please help

Mutant_Xj said:

Questions
-Are the unit bearings and the breaks the same. If I could unbolt my caliper and put it on the new axle I wouldn't have to bleed the brakes and could save myself some time.

They should be the same. A quick visual inspection would determine that.

-Am I missing anything. I have been told the Zj axle will fit in the Xj. I'm assuming I'll just have to unbolt the control arms, Drive shaft, shocks, and calipers. Swap axles and bolt everything back up.

It'll fit in the XJ, BUT it will be low pinion. A downgrade from your current high pinion. The ZJ has the caster adjusters on the LCA brackets as where the XJ has them on the 'frame'. So getting it lined up correctly on both sides and dialing in the caster is a must.

-Would it be easier to swap just the shafts? Do you have to change the axle seal when you change the shafts? If I have to pull the carrier do you have to mark the R&P so the same teeth match back up? I haven't heard if you do, and if you do how? Are the unit bearings the same? I don't have a 36mm socket right now and it would be quicker to swap bearing with the shafts anyways.

Swapping shafts would be easier. You do not have to change seals, but be carefull when putting them back in, make sure not to get dirt on the shaft, or scrap the seal. Use grease on the shaft when putting it in. You only have to pull the carrier if you are going to replace seals, and no, you dont have to mark the ring gear, because it doesnt need to come off the carrier to replace seals. Unit bearings should be the same as well. And you are right, it would be faster and easier to swap the bearing with the shaft.

-I was leaning towards swapping axles because I didn't know if the ball joints could be bad, how do you check for certain? I had the wheels jacked up and was tugging and twisting on them and they felt solid and I watched the knuckles as I jacked them up and the wheel didn't drop at all and I couldn't lift up on it on the jack stands.

To check for bad BJ's, put the one side on a jackstand. Get a long pry bar(anything would work), stick it under the tire. Lift up on the end of the prybar. If the wheel/tire/knuckle moves up and down any, the BJ's need replaced. Have someone watch them or lift up on the prybar so you can watch them to see how much they move. If you grab the top and bottom of the tire and can move it in and out, that means its a bad wheel bearing, and you should have no slop in those either.

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Begster said:

Low pinions didn't start in XJ's until 2000. ZJ's and TJ's never came high pinion.

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