dana 30 and 35"

[cjcook]

I have a 80 CJ7 258 rear narrow Dana 44 with 4.10,35'' tires.Dana 30 up front 3.83 gears.Im building a nice solid jeep,custom roll cage,front and rear bumpers 8764 warn,smitty tube fenders, sliders and rear corners.S.O.A with yj springs rancho 9000 shocks, headder.....point is I have spent some money, along the way made some bad decisions and ended up costing more later.I need some help on my next step.I don't plan on being a rock crawler, more of a take my boys wheeling in the mountains and hunting adventure rig,but do plan on adding lockers,I think im leaning towards an ox locker, I like simple. I think I need lower gearing like 4.88's?Should I just put 4.10's in the front temporarily so I can wheel soon (im itching been a 4 year project as money comes in)or look for a new front axle, if so what axle, gearing and locker suggestions.thank you for your advice , it is appreciated

 

[caveman]

With the type of driving that you describe, I believe the 4.10 gears will be enough But if you're hell bent on having 4.88 gears then this is the time to do it. It's going to be about $300 per axle to change it over. I have 4.88 gears and 35 inch tires on my YJ 7 and i need the over drive to go down the road comfortably at 55 mph.
As far as new axles, I would leave the D 30 intact and plan on getting some chromoly axles when you can afford them.

 

[Torxhead]

If you are looking for a low gear ratio in the dirt, I would suggest installing them in the t-case. This way you can have a good tire size/diff gear ratio combo that works good on the road. I am not familiar with 3.83 gears in a CJ or the Warn 8764 winch, btw.

 

[HackFabrication]

An issue with the 4.88 gears in the Dana 30 is the relative small size of the pinion. I've always been told the the lowest gearing (high numeric) that should be run in the Dana 30 is a 4.56. Which I have in my 76 CJ5.

Depending on the rest of your powertrain, you face potential issues with the Dana 30. Of course, a lot also depends on how 'hard' you are on the CJ.

Why not look for a set of Waggy axles? They'll add some width (and stability) to the CJ, and be able to wheel those 35's (and a bit more) without issues.

 

[cjcook]

thanks,unsure of gears and its a 8274 winch,brain dead!but I will take your advice I felt those gears were fine ,but others(rock guys)said even lower like the 5.38 or whatever #.Now Im confident Im making the right decision for MY jeep,thoughts on the locker?

 

[cjcook]

think I will put 4.10 in the 30 and chromoly axles and mayble look for some to build as finances will allow,a few years.thanks

 

[Sasquach]

Narrow track, 35's , soa and boys seams like a bad recipe to me.
just my 2c

 

[Old Dog]

An issue with the 4.88 gears in the Dana 30 is the relative small size of the pinion. I've always been told the the lowest gearing (high numeric) that should be run in the Dana 30 is a 4.56. Which I have in my 76 CJ5.

Depending on the rest of your powertrain, you face potential issues with the Dana 30. Of course, a lot also depends on how 'hard' you are on the CJ.

Why not look for a set of Waggy axles? They'll add some width (and stability) to the CJ, and be able to wheel those 35's (and a bit more) without issues.

Narrow track, 35's , soa and boys seams like a bad recipe to me.
just my 2c

I agree the jeep is going to be mighty top heavy.
You are also going to need some pretty big wheel spacer on the narrow tracks to have any steering and I'm not a big fan of wheel spacers so the waggie axles sound better to me.

If you are going to keep the Dana 30 and go chromoly axles than at least go 30 spline. I like the OX idea and believe they make a 30 spline for the Dana 30.

 

[Petescj]

Im not gonna knock the 35s or the narrow tracks. Just forget the s.o.a. and you'll be plenty stable.

 

[cjcook]

Its already soa....with 1 1/2 wheel spacers.I have been watchin for wider axles,but Im new to this and don't know what Im lookin at, what will fit.....Craigs list is full of axles for cheap but without knowin what to buy Id be wasting more money.?

 

[cjcook]

Waggy...what year do I look for and are those dana 44s disc brakes.Im pretty much stuck my axle knowledge is very Limited,you can probably tell.Thanks

 

[cjcook]

Sounds good what years would work?

 

[cjcook]

any info on waggy axles?

 

[Old Dog]

If you plan on staying SOA (and I presume you do) I would use an axle already set up for SOA (chevy is the first that comes to mind) but it will need to be narrowed.
Google Dana 44 in a cj for enough reading info to last weeks.

 

[cjcook]

when you say set up for soa, is that just perches or is it more complicated

 

[Old Dog]

when you say set up for soa, is that just perches or is it more complicated

In the front I was thinking about the cast in perch and also the flat top knuckles for high steer arms.
The chevy front used a 6 (or 8) bolt pattern that could be changed to 5 on 5 1/2 pattern.
I believe the Rodeo rear Dana 44 uses the same 6 bolt pattern and comes with discs. I think it's around 58/59" wide which is a little wider than cj wide track axles. Closer to yj/tj width.
The rear axle wouldn't matter so much as welding on new perches isn't a big deal.
The chevy front would need the long side cut down to match the rear width.

 

[Shawn76]

IMO I wouldn't worry to much about the SOA lift. Im not a "hard" off roader, but I do take my CJ7 with SOA off road and it is pretty stable. I drive it on the highway a lot too, at 60 mph and it handles great. A lot of people have told me that if it was "done right" that a SOA is ok, now im not sure what "done right" means but apparently mine was. lol I am also looking into wheel spacers because mine is a 81 narrow track and i ahve 35x12.50s on it. It does cut down on my steering so im looking to widen it a little.

 

[Posi]

Waggy...what year do I look for and are those dana 44s disc brakes.Im pretty much stuck my axle knowledge is very Limited,you can probably tell.Thanks

To answer your question, 74-79 wagon or NT cherokee. They come with front disc brakes.