How can you tell the difference between a reverse cut and standard cut dana 30? I always thought that the reverse cut was a high pinion and a standard cut was a low pinion. I have a wrecked 2000 model cherokee and from what I have read the 2000-2001 cherokee came with a standard cut while the 99 and older have the reverse cut. However my 2000 dana 30 is a high pinion just like my 97 is so are the standard cut dana 30s still high pinions or do I have a reverse cut dana 30 in the 2000? The top muddy one is the 97 and the bottom one is the 2000.

 

All 2000 model year XJs came with a low pinion Dana 30 in the front to drop the drive shaft to make room for the routing of the exhaust for the extra catalytic converters in the CA emissions version. If you have a high pinion Dana 30 in your 2000, it's because someone swapped it.

It's a common swap. I have a HP D30 in the warehouse waiting to go into mine whenever I get around to starting that project.

 

So the axle in the bottom picture is a high pinion reverse cut Dana 30? I don't think it would have been replaced because the jeep was all stock and only had 120K on it before they totaled it.

 

Looks like it.

Either it's been replaced, or that's not a 2000 XJ. I'd like to think I have a million dollars, but thinking it won't make it true.

 

It has a build date of January 2000.

 

Doesn't matter when the XJ was built if someone swapped the LP for a HP at some point.

That one is a HP. Reverse cut. Bottom line.

This is one of the dangers of buying a modded rig, unless you know exactly what it is you're looking at, it's easy to buy the wrong parts when something goes wonky...gotta know what ya got to get the right replacements

 

He'll especially need to know exactly what was done next time he goes to buy rotors.

 

The 2000 model Is totaled, I only got it for parts so I won't be buying anything for it. It is completely stock.

 

I was thinking about pulling the front axle and regearing it, then swapping it in to my 97 and needed to know if it was the same.

 

It may be the same. Or it may not be.

The pumpkin will likely be the same. However, Jeep switched from composite to cast rotors at the mid-year break in the '99 model year and kept the cast rotors through 2001. Additionally, occasionally when people swap an earlier axle into a 2000, they'll swap back parts from the 2000 LP D30 and keep the cast rotors. The cast and composite rotors are slightly different and are not interchangeable.

So you can build it and swap it into your '97, but you'll still need to know what's on the ends whenever you want to buy rotors. It could be a late '99, it could be an earlier axle or it could be a bastard that someone built for it. It's not a real problem. Just keep it in mind when the time comes.

 

Did you mean "kept the cast rotors through 2001", or am I misunderstanding?

 

DOH! Fixed it. I also mix up HP and LP all the time when writing. Even though I know what I'm trying to say, nobody else does.