Redwolf624

So i've gotten to the point with my XJ i'm sick of junkyard hunting and just wanna do the upgrades and buy the parts new right off the bat; however axle shafts are exspenivce and the upgrades are almost the price of a XJ. I was wondering if all dana 30s were made the same or if some are a little more "heavy duty". I know with the ZJs with the V8 the steering system is more solid and considered an upgrade, i was wondering if maybe there was a similar case with dana 30s,

Thanks in advance,
Redwolf

andrewmp6

No they made them a few different ways like the 90 and older are cad and the 00-01 xj all zjs and all tjs are low pinion.Really the xjs 91-99 dana 30 is probably the strongest oem made one out there.When it comes to axle shafts the aftermarket stuff is better most of the time then oem.But when you mod any car from road racing,drag racing to even off road things are gonna get pricey even worse when you break stuff.Cars are a pricey hobby to have but to most of us every penny spent has been worth it.

bad_idea

The ?96-99 D30s in the XJs had larger u joints on the axle shafts.

Veeb0rg

96-01 shafts got the bigger joint. Low/high pinion used the same shaft in the d30.

Bigger joint shafts where found pre96 but only in abs equipped xj's.

ohio95xj

My 95 had the bigger u joints. No abs. 8.25 rear.

Redwolf624

so if i was to go for the junkyard upgrade route what year and model would i wanna pull a dana 30 from, and how do i tell the difference between low and high pinion and what's the difference between the 2?

Redwolf

unidentifiedbomb

JK D30 have larger ring and pinions and can run 5.13s.

Jeep Driver

Find one from a 97 and you'll be good2go

Redwolf624

what are the odds i could pull just the axle shafts out of a 97 xj dana 30 and throw em in my 96 xj's dana 30 and be fine?

Redwolf

Jeep Driver

Yep, you can do that.

Redwolf624

awesome! so much easier to pull axle shafts rather than an axle swap,

Redwolf

andrewmp6

If your a off roader keep your stock shafts with you when you trail ride in case you break one.

Redwolf624

deffently! if i had already gotten new shafts a spare would have came in handy when i lost a ujoint cap in my axle shaft joint on corolla beach,

Redwolf

Big David

You can tack weld the caps in if the ears are a little wallowed out.

Redwolf624

there was no little wallowed about this, one ear looks like an egg now,

Redwolf