I need to replace a D30 front end in my buddy's 2002 TJ ( he hit a pole and it is F'd up) Will a D30 front end be a direct bolt in for a TJ? I have searched and didn't find anything to confirm this fact just people saying "it should be a direct bolt in".

Yes. Commonly done for change to high pinion. It will bolt directly in. Look for 96+ models. They will have larger 297 u-joint (D44) opposed to ealier models with the 260's. Ealier models will work then you can swap in new shafts will larger joint later. Avoid VAD!

the vacuum disconnect housings are far stronger than the non-disconnect housings. that piece of additional cast iron on the passenger upper mount and tube does two things - acts as a truss, and also shortens the length of the tubes between the disco and the differential and the disco and the inner c's on the passenger side. shorter tubing is stronger than longer tubing. you can weld pipe over the inner tube to stiffen it too.

with a Disco housing all you need to do is just swap in a seal at the differential and your TJ shafts/hubs/rotors and you will be good to go.

the vacuum disconnect housings are far stronger than the non-disconnect housings. that piece of additional cast iron on the passenger upper mount and tube does two things - acts as a truss, and also shortens the length of the tubes between the disco and the differential and the disco and the inner c's on the passenger side. shorter tubing is stronger than longer tubing. you can weld pipe over the inner tube to stiffen it too.

with a Disco housing all you need to do is just swap in a seal at the differential and your TJ shafts/hubs/rotors and you will be good to go.


:shaking:Thats the dumbest shit Ive ever heard. That little disco thing is absolutle not a truss in any way what so ever. And if i choose to strenghten a houseing why in the hell would one wanna use PIPE? If its need Im sure a REAL truss is more than negotiable. Espically when I see them for as little as 85 bucks.

Yes it's a direct bolt up. I have a D30HP from a '98 XJ that I put under my '06TJ. Mine was a direct bolt in. I have a 4" spring lift with no TC drop (SYE). The driveshaft fit like it did before my lift, right in the middle of the slip joint. I did however decide to use the outter C's, unit bearings, brakes and axles from the '06 only because they were newer. I installed new ball joints (due to the HP axle being 10 years old). I welded up my own truss and skids to the lower control arm mounts just to get all the "beef" I could out of the D30.

thanx for the info.....The front d30 i am looking at is out of an 84......is that one of the bad ones or should I get it. The guy that is selling it says everything is rebuilt 100%

That would be fine. Then swap in newer shafts when you can.

Was this axle modified in anyway? Gears? Locker? Or did it come out of a bone stock XJ? And what has he told you he rebuilt and how much is he asking for it?

It sounds bone stock. He is asking 100 but it has new calipers rotors u-joints gears and all bearings. I am not sure if the brakes are even usable with the TJ.

Go for it then. Brakes should be fine. If not it would just be a matter of fitting new brake lines.

Well the axle is in......There are a few minor problems. The holes in the lower control arm mounts are just round and only big enough for the bolt. There is no alignment horseshoe so there is no way to align the front end. the lower control arm at full droop hits the shock/control arm bracket (easy fix). I will try and get some pics of these problems later today.

:shaking:Thats the dumbest shit Ive ever heard. That little disco thing is absolutle not a truss in any way what so ever. And if i choose to strenghten a houseing why in the hell would one wanna use PIPE? If its need Im sure a REAL truss is more than negotiable. Espically when I see them for as little as 85 bucks.

:shaking:

that disco is cast iron, just like the differential. it is much stronger than a long tube on a regular dana 30.

if you don't believe me, ask billavista. actually, why don't you tell him that's the dumbest shit you ever heard?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/HybridAxle.htm

as far as the pipe, he used 2.5" ID schedule 40:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/Axle25small.jpg

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/Axle23small.jpg

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/Finalassembly6small.jpg

:shaking:

that disco is cast iron, just like the differential. it is much stronger than a long tube on a regular dana 30.

if you don't believe me, ask billavista. actually, why don't you tell him that's the dumbest shit you ever heard?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/HybridAxle.htm

as far as the pipe, he used 2.5" ID schedule 40:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/Axle25small.jpg

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/Axle23small.jpg

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Hybrid_Axle/Finalassembly6small.jpg


:shaking:Try again man. You didnt read what I wrote. I said "Thats the dumbest shit Ive ever heard. That little disco thing is absolutle not a truss in any way what so ever." And I said that because it is NOT a truss. It may provide strength, sure but it is still not a truss.

BTW Ive read that article and Bill mentions NOTHING about strengthening the housing ANYWHERE in the entire atricle. He has one picture mentioning the sleeveing but no such non -sense of a VAD housing being a truss equivilant.

There is no alignment horseshoe so there is no way to align the front end.

The only thing you can't align is the caster, that's what adjustable control arms are for. My 2000 TJ didn't come with adjustable caster bolt/washers...

:shaking:Try again man. You didnt read what I wrote. I said "Thats the dumbest shit Ive ever heard. That little disco thing is absolutle not a truss in any way what so ever." And I said that because it is NOT a truss. It may provide strength, sure but it is still not a truss.

BTW Ive read that article and Bill mentions NOTHING about strengthening the housing ANYWHERE in the entire atricle. He has one picture mentioning the sleeveing but no such non -sense of a VAD housing being a truss equivilant.


if you want to argue semantics, fine. the simple fact is that the longer a tube is, the more prone it is to bend. the VAD design amounts to two short tubes on the passenger side. Have you ever bent a short drivers side tube? does it not stand to reason then, that the VAD housing is stronger, assisted by the cast iron control arm housing?

I said

acts as a truss

a truss serves two purposes, correct? - to strengthen the axle and in some cases to mount control arm brackets to...which the VAD does both.

I wasn't referring to Bill's article about the truss. you said using schedule 40 pipe is dumb - i simply pointed out where i got the idea.

Well the axle is in......There are a few minor problems. The holes in the lower control arm mounts are just round and only big enough for the bolt. There is no alignment horseshoe so there is no way to align the front end. the lower control arm at full droop hits the shock/control arm bracket (easy fix). I will try and get some pics of these problems later today.

The axle end mounts are supposed to be round. There adjust frame side on XJ's. This shouldnt be a hard issue to address. You can grind away quite a bit of that mount for more drop but you dont gain very much. I see this issue a lot with short arm kits.

[QUOTE=Greg_Volkman;9200731]if you want to argue semantics, fine.
QUOTE]

WTF are you talking about? Your twisting my words all around. You simply stated that the VAD housing acts like a truss. I reply stateing exactly why it is not a truss. I dont wana argue semantics....I could care less. I was simply stated the saying the VAD housing is truss is the dumbest shit Ive ever heard. Stop maniplulating my words to argue your point. Your not getting anywhere. And honestly your making yourself look dumber.

Take this into the Ford forum. The late 70's D44 is a highly popular swap for jeep guys. However the type that has complete cast wedges (not weld on) is frowned upon because the tube does not go threw the wedge making this a VERY weak point. The same applies to the 30. Which is why time and time again, when I see XJ's that have been in front end collisions the axle tube always breaks on the diff side of the VAD housing.

Here why your making yourself look dumb. Those pics you posted up.... look at the one with the yellow arrows adressing weak points on the axle tubes. See the one one the diff side of the VAD? Why do you suppose thats there? Also keep in mind the VAD housing is not welded on...simply pressed. Youve have completely misunderstood the point of his reinforceing. He is trying to avoid the break the ford guys try and avoid. He does this with that SCH 40 pipe. Think about it. And dont reply with some assinine reply twisting my words around again.

so, is it stronger, or weaker - because you've said:

It may provide strength, sure but it is still not a truss

but then you said:

when I see XJ's that have been in front end collisions the axle tube always breaks on the diff side of the VAD housing

what are your opinions?

i said it acts as a truss. weld those tubes up like mine is and you fix your problem.