looking to transplant a dana 30 out of an xj, zj, or tj, with a clayton hardarm kit. i'm not planning on anything bigger then 33's. but i was wondering if there are any threads on a similar build like this?? i just want to make sure i won't end up with any crazy steering angles, or death wobble. other questions about track bar angles. i've run lifted xj's for years, but the ranger is a hell of a lot more cargo friendly. and i just like it better. so if anyone has links to smiliar builds it would be helpfull.

 

I dont read too good....

 

a dana 35? are you serious? they dont make solid front dana 35s that steer

 

D44 HP out of a grand wagoneer maybe?

 

this thread is filled with idiot

Jeeps dont come in high pinion

 

cant take a joke

 

that was no joke you were serious

 

I forgot your a mind reader

 

yea i am cause i know what vehicles high pinion axles came in

 

Paul you are pretty much looking at my truck I will try and get some photos up for you today of the work I have on it. So far I have used parts from rusty's off-road and skyjacker for XJ and Ranger parts.

 

The Dana 30 that was put in the Cherokee (XJ) and Wrangler (YJ) is a high pinion, reverse cut unit and are the stoutest Dana 30's built. The Cherokee (XJ) and Wrangler (YJ) differed in that the Wrangler (YJ) was set up for leaf spring and the Cherokee (XJ) used a coil spring setup. These axles use a live spindle design which featured a sealed wheel bearing and no locking hubs.

The Jeep Dana 30

 

I was referring to the waggy 44 he had mentioned in his post.

 

this funny. anyways, its been established.....if ur gunna be wheeling it hard and ur not getting a built d30....go stronger.

if you just want a solid axle....fine, getta d30

 

Paul are you able to weld at all? If so then i will do a write up on my truck for you.

 

Welding is easy. Espically with a miller matic230. The coil buckets on my 94 appear to be in the correct location in order to use the xj front end with factory shock locations. I haven't taken it apart to measure anything yet. I picked up a dana 30 complete from a 99 xj. Hey it's got the bigger u-joints, and no disco. Swapping the gears to match the rear diff is easy, so i'm not worried about that. Will the factory drive shaft fit the dana 30 or are the u-joint caps a different size?? Making new shafts will be fairly easy if I have to. Track bar mounts will be no problem, as well as making frame mounts for the long arm kit. The only other question I have is can I use the xj steering with my stock pitman arm? both drag links have the ball sockets built into them. are the studs on the drag links the same size or will i have to ream the pitman arm out?

when you were done with yours did you have any death wobble?? what are you running for caster angles?? camber and toe i'm not worried about, but since I drive the truck more often then not, I'd like to be able to not have it wander like crazy.

 

dana 30

 

chain fire said to get a dana 35 front like a tard.

 

Correct. However there isn't a mount for a bump stop in the spring bucket. I dont' currently have a bump stop in front.

They may very well be the same at 3.73

I am not sure on the ujoint but you will need to have the drive shaft at least lengthened.

that I don't know. My steering arm is from a full size. I don't remember where though.

No death wobble for me. the alignment is just the same for any xj. one thing to remember though is the hole in the ranger rims is just a little too small for the Dana30 so you will either need bore them out or get new rims.

 

kyle how did you know what length arms to order? on the web sit it says they make them to fit your lift applications.

 

Are you referring to Rusty's Offroad? At the time i ordered my kit they just had one length.

 

I'm not worried about the bump stops, I can make something work so it hits the long arm and not inside the coils.

I'm not sure what gears i have in my ranger currently, but it's easy enough to set up gears. i've done over 40 sets on dana 30's.

Making the drive shaft shouldn't be too bad, my shop has an account with fleetpride.

I purchased a reamer from harbor freight so I should be ok unless the hole is already to big.

The alignment will be easy then. I'm not worried about the wheels, I have American Racing wheels already.

Are you running a sway bar?? The factory ranger sway bar looks like it can work with a set of jks discos. What height coils did you use to clear the 33's?? I have a set of 3" left over from one of my last jeep abortions and I'm hoping those should be tall enough. And If I use the 3" coils will 3" lift shocks be tall enough, or do i have to cycle the suspension and order them by length (collapsed and extended)?? Also your brake lines, did you use standard xj extended lines, or another type? I know yj brake lines are 4" longer then xj factory ones, and I've used them on my xj's in the past.

I've built custom buggies before, but asking questions about a "common" swap is easier then trial and error.

 

clayton off road has a nice set that is perfect for my swap. plus they're local to me (about 35 min away). check em out Clayton Off Road - Jeep Lift Kits - Jeep Cherokee Lift Kits - Jeep Wrangler Lift Kits - Jeep Suspension Lift Kits

 

Yes i do have a front sway bar, no rear

The coils I have on there now provide about 5.5 inches of lift and are for early 70's broncos. I am going to swap those out for some Skyjacker 6" coils as those are actually rated for the front end weight of our trucks and the Bronco ones I have are sagging. I don't see this working with just 3" springs, I would see things starting to hit on bumps. even with that I don't see all this work worth it for only 3 inches of lift.

I am still running the stock braek lines

Oh this particular swap isn't all that common. A few guys have front leaf springs, but not many have the a long arm kit.

Here is my shopping list for my truck. Prices listed are retail from 4wheelparts. the part numbers are from skyjacker's website.

Need to buy
Softride Coil Spring (pair) 136 $165.99
Pitman arm fa600 $204.99
Stainless steel brake lines (pair) front fbl36 $105.99
Stainless steel brake line rear rbl36 $52.99
Track Bar Assembly tba60 $225.99

Have bought
Softride Leaf Spring 6" Pair fr36s $215.99
Bilstein 5150 8.5" (front) $226
Bilstein 5150 14" (rear) $226


One last thing you will need to contend with is the rear drive shaft. it is a two piece. this will lead to a shudder at low rpm's from a stand still. The skyjacker leafs will correct for the pinion angle with stock shackles. But the only way to eliminate the vibration is to get a one piece drive shaft and remove the cross memberthat it goes over.

 

could i keep the two piece and lower the crossmember with the carrier bearing?

 

You could, that has been done before, there is a write up on it on the ranger station tech forum.