So I have a dana30 in the front of my XJ out of a Wrangler (90's i think). I am trying to figure out how to lock it up...there is a pin on back of the axle with a spring attached to it....what the heck do I do to get it to lock up?

Ill throw some pics up in a few hours for more info.

 

what year jeep?
those CAD disconnect axles only came in the early cherokees up to 90 and all yj's. but yj versions were leaf spring, so i'm sure you have the early xj d30, but if your jeep is the 96 as listed in your sig, then someone swapped it in, and i'm not sure why. they are a pain to deal with the disconnect and they have the small 260 joints.

i'd just toss that axle and get a newer version with solid shafts and larger joints, then you don't have to try locking the axle.

is there a lever somewhere in the jeep, maybe on the dash? if so, pull that while you put the jeep in 4wd, that sounds like someone made their own posi cable.

if not, you can take those four 11mm bolts out that hold the vac motor to expose the shaft with the splines.
what you want to do is slide the collar over the split in the shafts, that's what locks that axle as one. then take a cheap gear/hose clamp and tighten that around the shaft up against the collar. that should hold it in the locked position so you will have front drive when you put the jeep in 4wd.

 

What kind of 90s? Like caged said, early XJ and all YJ (87-95) D30s had vac disco. All TJs (97+) are solid, like post-91 XJs.

All YJs are leaf sprung and will not bolt up to an XJ. A TJ D30 is basically identical to an XJ.

If you mean a locking differential, none of them came with one.

 

What do you mean by lock it up?

 

Sorry for the late reply been a tad bit busy. I will grab a picture tonight for you guys. I have no idea what year the axle came out out of the previous owner told me it was from a wrangler.

 

TJ D30s are low pinion.

 

Yes I meant same as in steering, suspension, brakes, U joints... it will bolt right up. They're literally the same as 2000+ XJ D30s

 

Gents, here is a pic of what i was talking about...thoughts?

 

That's.... Unique. There is supposed to be a vacuum motor not a spring, so somebody obviously modified it. I would guess you attach the side of the spring to the other hook near the differential to engage the axle, but I may be wrong. Definitely not factory at any rate.

 

i have tried that haha, it doesn't budge. I even tried to tug on it a little. How far out do you think that pin should slide out?

 

No idea. I would take the vacuum disconnect housing off and have a look.

 

Good idea, I ill have to grab some PB blaster for those bolts lol

 

You probably just want to go here> https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/fr...ss-91-a-38629/


I'm fine with having mine function as designed, but having the right axle engaged full time is not a problem.
The stock D-30 does not lock, ever. Just when you select 4wd the T-case will drive that front drive-line. Heck, that spring might be doing the job if the collar is over, (making the 2-piece axle one) "locked" happens in the differential, where the spiders won't spin and let one wheel on that axle spin, and not the other. That's not an issue here, the d-shaft will push both axle's, if one wheel spins, that's that. Hope the rear is pushing.

It's OK to eliminate the "disco", CAD, leave the axle connected and run it like that.

 

I suppose i could go that route as well, that is a good idea. At any rate i think ill pop that part off and see if that pin is far enough over to force the axle to connect...it could just be really gummed up.

 

If you still want to be able to engage and disengage the axle then you could look into this upgrade

http://www.4x4posi-lok.com/app_jeep.html

It would replace that spring there with a locking cable you mount inside the cabin. Much easier than crawling under it each time to lock it in.