My375hp302

Well, rather I welded all of the spider gears together and then to the case. Before the flame fest starts It's a disconnect Dana 30. I know the 260 U-joints are not the strongest in the world too. As for drivability in 2wd I noticed absolutly no change in driving. There is no chirping or strange handling. In 4wd people have said it's unsteerable if you weld the front or put in a spool. I didn't notice any problems. I tested it on dirt and gravel and it turned just fine with both wheels locked together. I could hear one tire scrubbing as I turned but that's no big deal as long as I'm not on pavement. The true test will come this weekend when I get to take it offroad for real. I'll report back and let you guys know how it worked and what if anything broke.

89whiteXJ

I want to do the same thing so I am interested to know ur out come.

caged

what size tires you running? don't go too low with the air pressure either. and be careful once you put it in reverse, the slightest torque in reverse will pop a joint instantly. if you're lucky, you will only snap the joint and not destroy the shaft.
ask me how i know. lol.

but, incase you didn't know, you can get a split shaft and stub from a 95 yj that came with abs.
apparently they have the 297 joints, but i just haven't found one yet. you don't see them in the yards very often, let alone a 95.

good luck and be sure to carry a few spare shafts and stubs at the very least.

you can also pull the disconnect and get through the weekend that way.

xjmarc

I know several people who run like that. Most run a manual disconnect so they can unlock it if they need to make a sharp turn.

My375hp302

I'm running 33x12.50 Dunlop mud rovers...

I've heard of the 95 YJ shafts too but like you I have been unable to locate any. Maybe I should try the stealership. I have the part numbers somewhere. You know what I was thinking, what I I did find the 95 YJ shafts and only installed the passenger side (disconnect side) and left the 260 joint shaft on the driver side. Then, the 260 side would be the weak link but it's a lot easier and cheaper to change out. Almost like a "fuse" to keep from blowing the hard to find yj shafts.

caged

nah, change em both. the drivers side is a dime a dozen. they came in most xj's and all tj's with the 297 joint.
i've broke both sides in one day before. actually two passenger sides and the drivers side all in one trail. it was a tough trail, but they all broke while trying to reverse, but with 36's and only 2 lbs tire pressure.
i knew it would happen, just didn't think three times in a day.

My375hp302

The YJ shafts have the 297 joint but still have the disconnect feature and are NOT a dime a dozen. If they were I'd buy a truck load of them. I think your talking about the non-disconnect 297 axles right? They won't work for me because I drive it on the street and driving on the street with a welded front axle and no way to disengauge them is a no no for sure!

xjmarc

He said drivers side is a dime a dozen and they are because they can be had from non disco axles as well.

My375hp302

Whoops! My mistake. But I still think you misunderstand. I know the driver side ones can be had from anthing disco or not, the reason I was thinking about leaving the driver side the 260 joint shaft was so if I did break a shaft it would almost always be the driver side because of the weaker design. That way I wouldn't snap the passenger side that's hard to find. I found a few places online that carry it and it's 150-250 depending. I can get driver side shafts for 20 bucks at the bone yard. Follow my retarded line of thinking now?

98 JeepJeep

Things tend to be taken WAY out of text in the forums...Steering will not be a issue...However it is common sense if you try to drive it on the pavement with welded Gears in 4X4...your asking for trouble!

caged

the drivers side would only be the weak link if you were going in a straight line.
once you have the wheel cranked and up against a rock or the like and throw it in reverse, the torque on that wheel would still be enough to snap.