Hi all

so my Dana 30 in the front of my XJ is really very noisy, I had a quote to rebuild it by a automatic shop at around 2000 dollars.

my question is, can I try put a thicker oil in the diff, maybe this will help quiet it down or would it damage it even more, I understand the shop might not want to do that due to liability but 2000 dollars isn’t really in the budget right now.

thanks

 

I don't think a 75W-140 is going to hurt it, but I doubt it'll make much difference.

 

Do yourself a favor and just replace the axle with a used unit from a junkyard or locally (marketplace). For the cost of a research you could easily source a used replacement for much less.

Your d30 is gonna be a Low Pinion axle (standard 2000-2001 front axle) any 99-91 older xj will be a high pinion axle (prefferred). If your running a 4.0 motor and auto trans youll have 3.55 gears. 4.0 and manual trans youll have 3.07 gears. 4 cyl manual and youll have 4.10 gears. Just be sure your buying an axle with the same gears and youll be just fine.

These axles are very much readily available, depending on your area typically $100-$250. If your not in the capability to swap the axle yourself then offer to pay someone to do it for you. Buying a complete axle used for sub $300 then offering someone shucks anything less than 1700 and youll be $ ahead vs the current quote. Honestly a couple hundred should entice your average jeep mechanic.

 

If you can get by without 4wd for a while, try removing the driveshaft and see how if that's enough to quiet it down to your liking. If that's not enough, remove the u-joints from the axle shafts, leaving just the stub shafts in the unit bearings to keep them from falling apart. www.car-part.com is a good website for finding parts in JY near you.