Hey,

I know there’s already a lot of information out there about this, and I’ve read quite a bit of it, but sometimes it’s hard to get a realistic answer.

For context, I live in Australia, so a lot of the parts you guys have easy access to end up costing much more for me once I factor in shipping, import costs, and fees.

My question is about my 1996 XJ Cherokee, which currently has a high-pinion Dana 30 front axle. Right now there’s a guy selling a low-pinion Dana 30 that’s already trussed for about $140 USD.

The issue is that I don’t know how to weld, and learning isn’t really an option for me at the moment. If I were to buy a truss kit for my HP Dana 30, the kit alone would cost around $140 USD, and then I’d still need to pay someone to weld it on, which could cost up to $600 USD in labour.

So I’m trying to figure out what the smarter option would be here.

My plans for the Jeep are a 4" long-arm lift with 32–33" tyres, and it’ll be used for fairly serious off-roading. I also will be running 4.56 Gear Ratio.

Would it make more sense to:

• Keep the HP Dana 30 and eventually truss it, or
  
• Buy the already-trussed LP Dana 30 for cheap?

Curious what you guys think would be the better move.

Thanks!

 

If your Jeep is a long term keeper... Just go for the HP Dana 30 (assuming everything internally checks out good).

 

If it were mine I would save up for the truss kit then trade labor with a welder to get it welded on the high pinion axle. Then I'd be satisfied with exactly what I wanted.

YMMV