4x4 North

Cant believe im about to ask about a Dana 30 but here i am. so i know they are pretty much garbage and ive been living that Dana 60 life forever but looking for tech on these throw away diffs

i know there are a few different 30s, high and low pinion. leaf spring and coil diffs. also they come in different WMS depending on what kind of jeep it came out of.

so whats the Dana 30 to be after if wanting to "build" one for 33-35 tires and other then throwing away money on lockers and chromos what needs to be done to make it last ?

i guess it depends on what rear axle your trying to match. if the the rear is a 5on5 pattern high pinion out of a cherokee if its a 50n5.5 id say older cjstuff

right now im thinking Ford Explorer 8.8 rear diff as pretty strong and 31spine axles. to get the width i want i would cut the one tube and run 2 short side shafts and that would get me around 56" wide

“Hi, my names Snowracer, and I’ve been in the closet for the last 30yrs and I’m finally coming out….I wAnT tO bUilD a dAna 30”


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HillBilt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:11 am “Hi, my names Snowracer, and I’ve been in the closet for the last 30yrs and I’m finally coming out….I wAnT tO bUilD a dAna 30”


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and it will be a fABuLoUs dana 30

but i must say you are talking some smack for a guy that drives a jeep

Front end you’ll ideally want a high pinion 30 but I’d stay away from the yj one. The reality I think for the 33” range they’ll all be fine, I have preference to the 5 on 5 bolt patterns ones, I feel the wj as it’s heavier and has a 5k tow capacity and v8 power have heavier housings but no proof in that, but they do have heavier steering and knuckles, they are low pinion however and are oddballs width and cv axles. The jk 30 is a way better diff everywhere and wider but the housings bend and flex although it may be heavier than a wj one. I like the d30 and feel like it’s got a bad rap. It’s got good ground clearance and cheap parts but it isn’t bulletproof. I seen lots of people build bulletproof d30’s and I think they all do it wrong, if I was building one, it needs a solid housing/truss setup to stop flex, I’d go for carl Jantz trick and get a heavy diff cover and swap the bolts for the carrier to longer studs and put them right through the diff cover to stop the flex, then load bolt the ring gear and I’d run zj cv axles if I had a xj/zj/tj d30 s as they should break first but they are stronger when turning than a u joint. I feel on the small diffs flex kills them, and that partly why I’ve gone so far on light diffs and big tires. My d35 far outlived what the tj and yj ones would have but it also didn’t have c-clip rear axles so slightly stronger but the housing is way heavier.

The jk ring and pinion have thicker teeth so it’s like 30-40% stronger than the other d30’s it’s kinda the same idea as the super 60 compared to the regular d60.

interesting and good to know about the WJ knuckles and steering. i want to stay away from the JK stuff as thats to wide for what im after and more money to get into one and defeats the whole idea. so whats the best jeep to look for when wanting a HP30?

Xj Cherokee is the one to go for in regarding high pinion, doesn’t have the 2 piece shaft like the yj one and stronger housing. The wj knuckle swap is common on the xj/tj housing. Not sure what’s involved but the guy that bought the one out of red wj that’s what he was after. Other wise I if I was doing a low pinion one I’d just do a wj one as they are way cheaper. Should only be a couple hundred bucks for the whole diff. They don’t fit anything else as a direct bolt up and don’t have much for issues. They are wider than the xj/tj ones but 1.5” narrower than the jk diff

ok so sounds like im after a XJ diff then as want to stay as narrow as i can. that being said are you able to put XJ shafts in a WJ diff if i cut the tubes down?

Snowracer wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:13 pm ok so sounds like im after a XJ diff then as want to stay as narrow as i can. that being said are you able to put XJ shafts in a WJ diff if i cut the tubes down?

I’d think so. The Center section is the same. I’m not sure about the outter axles though. As the wj really only has cv axles or dumb expensive chromos as options.

Snowracer wrote:

HillBilt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:11 am “Hi, my names Snowracer, and I’ve been in the closet for the last 30yrs and I’m finally coming out….I wAnT tO bUilD a dAna 30”


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and it will be a fABuLoUs dana 30

but i must say you are talking some smack for a guy that drives a jeep

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Food for thought since I’m just changing the oil in my white grand. It’s as narrow as one will get without cutting. Stock wj diff. Factory jk wheels 17x7.5 “with around 6.25” backspace and 255 tires. It’s around 70” wide to the widest part of the sidewall on each side. That being said I’m going to guess and say you’ll want 15” wheels for the added sidewall height as you’ll beat it like a rented mule so that’ll add 6” width plus the extra width of the tire

would be 15" wheels as want to run a 33" atv tire, lighter and more aggressive then automotive tires

want to stay narrow so can fit sxs trails is the main goal

Snowracer wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:57 pm would be 15" wheels as want to run a 33" atv tire, lighter and more aggressive then automotive tires

want to stay narrow so can fit sxs trails is the main goal

That’s kinda what I was thinking as well.