i would go with home brew trus, just make sure you take the passenger side all the way to the upper control arm mount. also weld the tubes before you trus it that way the heat from the trus doesnt pull your tubes up when welding the trus on.

also are you gonna weld the LCA mounts on the back of the axle or on the bottom (stock location)?

 

Hey Guys, so I have been doing some research on the Balljoint choice for my new axle. I came upon these while searching online. They look like pretty stout units. This is the only Lower Balljoint for an XJ D30 that is greasable. They say they are made of sintered metal. From what I've read I guess sintering metal is a way of using heat and pressure to make a super strong lightweight metal. Now if these things come with a good warranty I may just get them.
http://www.synergysuspension.com/Synergy-Suspension-D30-D44-Heavy-Duty-Front-Ball-Joint-Sets-p-26182.html

 

doing the mini trusses on the dana 30's will not pull the axels from the tubes just as long as you weld it correctly, 2in weld 3inch space and so on front and back.

 

they have been "pre-order" for almost a year now. emailed poly 6 months or so ago and they keep pushing the release date back. dont know what to think about those ball joints but they dont come with a warranty.

i bought the cheap lifetime warranty ball joints from autozone. i have broken one of them but have had to replace a set a year for the last 3 years. not bad for a lifetime warranty.

 

The only problem with this is that I just read through the limited lifetime warranty offered by Autozone on their Duralast Balljoints (which is the kind of ball joints I currently have in my D30 in my XJ now) and it says Off Road use voids the warranty. I know they have no way of knowing or proving that I use my Jeep primarily off road but, I just don't like being dishonest and the guys at my local Autozone in Oak Harbor definitely know me and what I use my Jeep for...LOL.

 

huh didnt know that. I just remove them and take it into autozone and they give me a new set.

 

Yeah, I suppose ball joints are just like the starter, alternator, water pump, battery or any of the other warranty parts I have on my Jeep from Autozone. Like you said, pull them off and carry them into the store in hand for the replacement. They have no way of knowing where you've been driving...LOL.

 

Here are a couple of pics after about 20 hours, all together, with my various wire wheels and brushes. The axle is cleaned, most of the rust is gone and it is stripped and ready for welding.

 

The old ball joints are toast so I will be pressing them out before we weld on the axle. I will be getting all new replacement Moog HD greaseable ball joints.

 

Wow that is the cleanest axle I ever did see
Are you going to set up the gears yourself or take it to a shop?

 

Hey they Mr. Wade. I always set up my own gears. I set up gears 2 times in my old D30 axle. The bearings and gears in my old D30 have only been in there a few months. All of that stuff is basically new and will be transferred over to the new axle.

 

I bought these pieces of raw steel at a local place thinking I could save a few bucks by doing some template making and grinding to build my own trusses for my axle. Boy was I wrong. I spent $35 on these 2 pieces of raw 1/4"x1 1/2"x46" pieseces of cold rolled steel.

 

I did a little more looking around and I came upon a very nice find on good old Rusty's Offroad. http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan...egory_Code=AXL. For $39 plus tax and shipping a guy can have these already made truss pieces ready to be welded right in to your XJ HP D30.

 

I seen one and they are small and if I remember right kinda thin....So when are we doing this looks like your ready.

 

Yeah, I know Dave, the gussets I ordered are only 1/4" steel. Yours are 3/8". My new HD LCA mounts are made of 1/4" steel, too, and they look plenty strong for me. I just couldn't justify buying steel and then building my own when that would have cost me more than buying these ready made ones. When I have to pay extra just for the fun of building my own that makes no sense. I've always built and fixed my own stuff in the past to SAVE money.