I have a TJ with 32s and a D30. I lost a u-joint (297x) this weekend and distorted the outer stub. I think I will stay witht the 30 unless I go over 35s. What's the best way to remedy this? I wil fix it with stock parts for now, but should I carry complete axles as spares? Re[place the inners with sapares and carry 1 outer (they are the same, right) and a couple of u-joints? I don't think it will happen oftn, so should I just say screw it!? BTW, anybody got some D30 parts lying around?

-Bart :usa:

The question is not who is breaking a 30... Its who isn't?

Everone is busting the 297's.. I just did an axle last sunday. It took out the u joint and then later the little bolts that hold the ARB together.

I just ordered both axle combo's to carry as spares. I got a good price on SPICER's But I wont ruin your day and tell you how much. :D Its a secret......

Lets just say it wasn't that much. :flipoff2: Suggestion, Carry both as spares. At least the short side.

dont forget when you bust an axle in a TJ 30 you have to have the outer part that goes threw the wheel bearing assembly. Or youll be in a world of ____________.

Maybe I should ask who on 32-33" tires are bustin' 'em!? What size are you running? I think the D30 with 297s is a good axle for smaller tires an my wheeling. The outer part that goes through the wheel bearing? Are you talking about the outer stub axle? I know it is much faster if you change the whole axle assembly but I try to keep a light Jeep and light spares. If the Warn or Moser inner axles will not give up the ghost when the u-joint lets go, that would be much lighter. And it was may long side that broke instead of the shorts side.

-Bart

Here are some pics of some wheeling this weekend, if you wana see what it like in AL. http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1665700&a=14002526&f=0

Bart, My 30 has had 3 years of 33's and one year of 35's

ARB and 4:10s since the beginning. I have broken 4,,, 297's

and broke the bolts in the ARB 3 times now.

Only one axle has broken on mine. But I have seen a few go.

Yes I was talking about the stub shaft.

The WARN shafts are warrentied I think, They are much stronger. But since 97 I have only done one shaft to date, so thats why I replaced with SPICER.

Our wheeling is about the same. EAST...

BART,, nice pics I like #7 the best. do you have any more of that jeep?

I guess you are talking about Joseph - I have on the comments to the pic that you can see more of him on ww.xtvengineering.com

I have some more pics of him, but do not have a good (ie free) photo hosting place on the 'net. I can email you a few. He was also in the Oct 4wd&SU with the Green Wrangler on it - just a couple shots of him. He's also the pres of the SCARS off road club in AL.

I may think about some Warn or Moser inners, but I am inclined to beleive that if I wheel smart, I will not have to change them often. Other than this weekend, I have had no prolem with my front stock axle parts or EZ Locker.

-Bart

I finally lost one after 1.5 years of hard wheeling. The cap on the 297 on the driver's side decided to come out. I caught it before it did any damage and replaced the u-joint. One member in our group is tack welding the caps to the yokes, and this seems to help.

Yes, you need to carry full assemblies. Try to find a used D30 complete, I've seen them for as little as $200.

Broken ARB's don't count, when you buy them new they are AlReadyBroken. :) My Detroit has held up great.

Well, I guess Im a miracle child or something.. Ive lost ONE 260X, yes, you read that right 260x, U joint in the 3 years Ive been wheeling my rig. And the best part is, I didnt even break it off road.. I was actually pulling away from a stop sign... Go figure! At any rate, a 44 or 60 front is in the works.
Scott:grinpimp:<><

There's not a damn thing wrong with the Dana 30. I've been running it for the last 3 years and have NEVER broken a u-joint.

My jeep's run Sledgehammer, Rubicon at least 15 or 20 times, Moab, Ocotillo Wells, Truckhaven, Hollister, among others.

If you treat it with respect it'll last really well.

http://www.offroadmarketing.com/archive/Pics/Archive/sledge/sledges11.jpg

Stock u-joints with 60k miles on them. 4.56's and a detroit.

Howdy Bart, I have been wheelin my TJ for 4+ years and in June I finally destroyed my Dana 30. My TJ has 4.56 gears, Lock right locker, and 35 inch MT/R's. While on a trail ride in Clayton Ok. I broke a 297 u joint while attempting to back up with my tires turned. That was my first u-joint breakage. The very next day I managed to rip 9 teeth off my front Dana 30 4.56 ring gear, the pinion was alright but I replaced both anyway.
I feel the Dana 30 is adequate for my Jeep even with this breakage, I will not upgrade it until I can afford a Ford 9 inch Dana 60 hybrid from Sunray.

Hey Bart,
This is Tom, the guy in the CJ that you wheeled with Saturday. Had a good time, too bad you broke there at the end, we went and ran a couple other trails after we split up that were pretty cool. Maybe next time both of us will make it up "The Rock"!!!:D Send me whatever pictures you've got so we can post them on our web sites for the rest of our club members to see. My email is jagert59@yahoo.com:smokin:

Tom

Originally posted by sethmark
There's not a damn thing wrong with the Dana 30. I've been running it for the last 3 years and have NEVER broken a u-joint.


Still want to buy my front 44, Seth? :flipoff2:

Paul

I was gonna say... seemed to have changed his mind reciently ;)

Originally posted by tjs80cj
Hey Bart,
This is Tom, the guy in the CJ that you wheeled with Saturday. Had a good time, too bad you broke there at the end, we went and ran a couple other trails after we split up that were pretty cool. Maybe next time both of us will make it up "The Rock"!!!:D Send me whatever pictures you've got so we can post them on our web sites for the rest of our club members to see. My email is jagert59@yahoo.com:smokin:

Tom

Hey Tom! We had a blast, huh? I didn't have any rock lights on and I was a three wheeler after Penske, anyway - guess it was time to go. Did you make it over to Rock Garden? I did it before in the daytime. Hey, let me know your websites so I can take a look at them. Did you see the link to my photopoint album above? Those are some highlights, I have 40 something pics - I'lll email you some more. Take care, my friend.

-Bart

I broke the spider gears and a few u-joints/shafts over the years (running 35's).
As for replacing the axle shafts, I can get you a discount ($89 for short side complete (inner/outer/joint), and $95 long side complete, all brand new).
If that helps PM me and I can give you the details.

Phil

Originally posted by nasvik


Still want to buy my front 44, Seth? :flipoff2:

Paul

Yep. You ready?

Breaking 297x U joints is pretty common oon built rigs - D30 or D44.
I've bent a D30 TJ housing, so I'll be going D44 shortly. The locker is slowly self destrucing due to the tube being in there a little skewed.
Probably didn't help to play with the twin stick front wheel low option on an obstacle awhile back to jockey the front end around. At least with the D44 front I can do that without worrying about wrecking the R&P.

I been running mine for few years and still good and I run 38"s and ox locker. It's the you way drive will make a big differences.:smokin:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/images/ppp24.jpg

Originally posted by ROKCRAZ
I been running mine for few years and still good and I run 38"s and ox locker. It's the you way drive will make a big differences.:smokin:



You mean this is bad?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1145125&a=12227582&p=44496320&Sequence=3&res=high

Last year, I saw a stock CJ dana 30 puke the U-joint (260x)and launch the whole damn knuckle with wheel stiill attached off of the axle. Oxjockey has it on tape. It's was beautiful wanton destruction...

Yeah, I think wheels up = bad. I try to stay away from that, but it happens sometimes ;)

-Bart

Yea, I usually if my tires start to spin I let-off the gas and I find another way to get over the obstacle. Its worst when the whole heep start hopping thats when you start breaking axel. My advice is use your common sense, it goes a long way...

I haven't broken the shaft or the U-joints yet (got some spares for when it does happen) but I did manages to rip most of the teeth off my spider gears in this spot here:
http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={80EC068D-B225-4C3C-8E55-3F3B942D34F1}

Here is what was left of my spider gears:
http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={8F1C8592-4706-41A7-B487-025979ACAD30}
http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={439C2AFA-1870-4E12-B146-BD5E0147EE51}

I am looking into either dual 9" or Dana 60's for when I jump to 37" SSRs

What are spider gears? I haven't had a Jeep with those things in it for a long time!

Well I got a 95 yj which came with them great 260's. I broke 5 of them. I finally wised up and last year I bought the warn heavy axles and went to the 297's. Since then I have been lucky. Although I do think I am getting a little bit easier on the stupid pedal I think people still like to watch me go over rocks :flipoff2: But if you make a habit of breaking axles I think the warns are a good choice.

Oh yeah that picture of the airborn jeep is probably bad on them :p I know that is how I lost a few. :rasta:

Originally posted by TornadoTJ
What are spider gears? I haven't had a Jeep with those things in it for a long time!

Yeah the lockers went in front and rear pretty quickly after that. I guess I needed a good excuse to spend $400.

Another good fix is get a whole bunch of spares. Ever since I started collecting them I havent broken any axles. I have been lending them out to some friends that have toasted hubs and u-joints. Murphy's dumb ass law.

Originally posted by wild1
Another good fix is get a whole bunch of spares. Ever since I started collecting them I havent broken any axles. I have been lending them out to some friends that have toasted hubs and u-joints. Murphy's dumb ass law.

I hear that! I have a complete spare D30 that I picked up for cheap and having complete parts around seems to prevent breakage. :flipoff2: Why is it that the Jeep can sense when I forgot to pack spares, and thus blows itself all to hell?

On a serious note though, if you can't afford a D60 or D44 front just yet and want to keep things in check then picking up a spare D30 isn't a bad idea. Most parts yards let them go for pretty cheap ($200 including brakes for mine) and having everything right there sure helps.

You guys who claim to have some magic driving ability that keeps the 297 from breaking are full of crap. You just havent wheeled it in a situation that will tear it up. Sure, anyone can get off the go juice if they are wheel hopping, but most of your wheel hop will not even be present once you dial in your suspension propperly.
The kind of manuevers that take out a front U joint, is inside wheel, on an uphill turn. As the rear tires are pushing you forward and the front tire is trying to climb, you will have the combo of the weight of the rig, and the increased pressure from the rear tires trying to push you up. At that point you either climb successfully, or spray the crowd with spicer 297 parts. If you dont mind going around any obstacle that will put your gear into a potential break, or taking the easier line, or hooking up the winch, sure you can make me last. NOw, back to wheel hop, very often, "throttled out" is the only way up, you can say that you sensibly look for another way up, but that only other sensible alternative is way to aften, "the strap". So if you arent breaking 297 joints, dont think its because you have somehow magicaly solved the problem with some sort of spiritual driving finess, you just arent pushing your rig to that level. If you are using running the Hammers as an excample of how hard you are pushing it, that means nothing either, I was at the Hammers a few weeks ago, and exploded 2 assemblies in about 10 minutes of driving time,on Sledge, since I was out of spares, I took it easy and drove the middle of the slot, and made the remaining pieces last through the day,...but I didnt get go where I wanted too. If you want to let your U joints dictate your limits, then keep running the scrawny joints, but.. "If you really drive it,... they will break".

They fail!
Carry extra parts. If you go to 4wd.com that is Four Wheel Drive Hardware they have an upgrade for the Dana 30. That is next for my jeep. That is when I go through the axles I have in the jeep and the extras that I have on the roll bar and all the spare U joints I have in the tool bax. About a year. If Bellyup told you stories about a jeep on its side, they are true. But my jeep was put back on its feet and his jeep went home on the trailer after his ARB and Dana 30 gave up all at once.
Good luck
Dana

Originally posted by jeepplr
They fail!
Carry extra parts. If you go to 4wd.com that is Four Wheel Drive Hardware they have an upgrade for the Dana 30. That is next for my jeep. That is when I go through the axles I have in the jeep and the extras that I have on the roll bar and all the spare U joints I have in the tool bax. About a year. If Bellyup told you stories about a jeep on its side, they are true. But my jeep was put back on its feet and his jeep went home on the trailer after his ARB and Dana 30 gave up all at once.
Good luck
Dana

Ok nice intro.. Well, jeepplr here trys to follow me up this wicked twisting deep steep uphill rain rut with rocks and trees and stumps and mud.... I made it without so much as a spotter... (ahem) Ok nuf braggin... Well jeepplr trys to go up makes it to the hardest part without a spotter and lays his CJ5 on its right side.
A quick look and I say, No problem you can drive out of this. I grab his strap, wrap the roll cage and jump on the left side. (which is now the top) Pirate Surfing, I saw lance and bob do this in Cedar City on a video! "thanks guys"

Well my little 170lbs wasn't enough to upright the 5.
Another guy, (a total rookie, who has never been 4 wheeling before) asks if he could help. I say yea do what I am doing. So he jumps on too. With the weight of both of us Pirate Surfing way way over. We were able to balance the 5 on just the right side tires. (NOTHING ELSE WAS TOUCHING THE GROUND!)
I tell dana to go ahead and he drives the 5 up this ditch and up the hill over the trees and rocks and out of the mud while balancing on his right side tires. (with us hangin on his strap standing on the side of his jeep!)

Well it worked and nothing blew up! Talk about stress on parts. This was not an easy climb by anymeans. It took both driver skill and a well set up vehicle to get him safely out of that spot.

KUDO'S DANA!

I wish I had a pic of that. :rasta:

Originally posted by H8monday
You guys who claim to have some magic driving ability that keeps the 297 from breaking are full of crap. ".

Well put :D

Phil

Originally posted by BellyUp



I wish I had a pic of that. :rasta:

That just means that you have to do it again and snap a few shots off this time :flipoff2:

I am game. I'll even bring a camera this time.
The secret to not destroying U joints for me, is 232 CID 1978 I6. It does not have the power to bust much. And driver skill, and the fact that I have all the stuff to fix it. If ever I left something at home needed to fix it, it will fail, even in 2wd. Old jeeps know when you have the parts to fix'em.

Originally posted by TornadoTJ
What are spider gears? I haven't had a Jeep with those things in it for a long time!
Those are the parts that keep your locker boxes from falling off the shelf in the garage when theres an earthquake!:flipoff2: