What would I do...

I'd run it, till it breaks and then fix it untill I got tired of fixing it.
And I'm not as skilled at fixing Jeeps as you are. Breaking them either for that matter. LOL.

 

30's or 2 1/2 tons. I really don't think theres a happy medium for you Andy.

If you bought it with a M1a1 tracked suspension w/ a turbine you would still be asking "whats better".

Wheel it. Yes you will break it. But you're no different than me and neither of us can call our selfs "hard core". I personally take pride in keeping mine alive while going where other people break "bigger" stuff. You know I have since we've wheeled together. I'm not a bad a$$, but still go where 80% of anyone we've been with.

I don't have a rock crawler and neither do you. (right now) Have fun with what you have and learn how to make it go where you want to.

A driver makes the machine.............not the other way around. If you want a tube framed F/R steer,big axled,350/cummins,ect..on and on crawler go for it.

I don't care. Just enjoy the one you have for now. Learn how to drive/fix/upgrade as needed.

While you have "my eyes" I don't remember having a "good night" with a woman with such dark,thick curly hair.

 

Dana 30 axles are weak units by anybody's standards.
Small ring and pinion added to small axle joints and flimsy steering linkage make for an interesting time trying to make the thing work in 'Serious' application.

If all you do is mild trails, and have lockouts,
Then a 30 with a $200 'Lunch Box' locker will probably do you OK.

If you intend to use a mildly built V-8, then you might as well switch when it breaks the first time instead of pouring money into something that will NEVER be as strong as a D-44.

I see guys spending a fortune on full on lockers, heavy duty ring and pinion sets, axles with larger U joints, and beefing up the linkages, but then they just bend a tube or tear a spindle off and start over again.

 

I would run the 30 stock, while looking for 44. The best you can do to the 30 is give it as strong of shafts as a 44 but the ring and pinion will still be small. Given your build plans for a atlas transfer case keeping the 30 in any form just seems silly. An internal splined hub 44 with alloy shafts will be just as cheap if not cheaper then a built 30 and way stronger.

 

I've got time to think about this but thanks for your opinions. It's been a while since I've broken much in the woods though I also haven't put a whole lot of trail miles under my rear in a while. I've been able to control a lot of the full throttle random acts of stupidity.

I all ready have 1 set of spare 30 shafts. The axle currently has 4.56's, a detroit, all new u-joints/ brake parts/ seals/ bearings/ ball joints. Maybe I'll buy stock in spare shafts/ a spare carrier/ ring and pinion wheel it this summer ('10) and next summer ('11) build a front axle for it.

 

Maybe it's not worth much, but my D30 front has survived fine in the YJ. Been, what, 4 or 5 years now since I locked it.

It's just a stock '90 front axle, 4.10s, with '95 halfshafts with the larger u-joints, running 35s. Just a 258, stock auto tranny, SOA, locked f/r, lockrights, 8.8 in back.

I shimmed the vac disconnect so that it's locked in all the time, and took out all the vacuum crap.

I got (2) 1995 YJ complete front axles, with 4.10 gears at the yard for $150 each, and put in one set of halfshafts to replace my small 260-joint 1990 axles. So now I've got spare wheel bearings, axles, gears, carriers..... I carry the spare large-joint axles in the parts box, all set up on the wheel bearings, and can swap 'em out if they break with 3 bolts per side. (not counting the 2 for the brake caliper.)

I don't wheel as much as I'd like, and I'm probably not as hardcore or as skinny-pedal happy as some, but I haven't broken it. For me it works great, and it's cheap.

Just my $0.02
Pete

 

I agree

Some folks can break an anvil with a feather duster... we've all seen folks destroy a D30 with 235 street tires!

OTOH, I know several folks running 35"s on D30s without any issues after years of abuse. Mine has lived on 33"s without so much as a broken shaft, not counting a broken 35 y/o hub, for 8+ years now (I'm easy on it though:laugh. Since I LIKE the narrow width, I opted for 4.27s, a lunchbox locker & a few years back, fell into a stoopid deal on alloys.

As already eluded to, a little brains will go a LONG ways towards keeping your junk alive!

 

After about 70K miles I shucked a handful teeth off the 3.54 ring gear with 10.50-31s backing up out of a soft dirt ditch. I wouldn't replace it while it's working unless there was a chance that it would strand me alone miles from civilization. But I wouldn't spend a nickel on it either.

 

Well I picked some 34x10.5 ltb's that I'm going to run for now and see how axle shafts survive.

Part of me really wants to run 37" boggers in the long run, I know a 30 won't survive with them.

 

I'm still running the 33/12.50 LTB's on my 30 (3.55 ratio). Lunchbox locker and alloys with 297x joints (eliminated the axle disco and went with TJ shafts). I've killed joints and now having issues with ball joints... but shafts and gears have not been an issue.

 

I've been running 35x12.50 on my d30 w/4:10s and this summer I've broken 4 driver side axles at the joint but this was only after i welded the diff early this spring. When the diff was open i never had a problem. I'm currently looking for a d44 but I might try stronger shafts first only cause I have access to a lot of spare parts.

Think about what u want to do with your rig

 

axels

does anyone no what gear ratio is on front and rear ends out of a 1978 or 79cj-7 and will they go into a 1975 cj-5 ok and any recomendations on how u like the amc20 rear end and dana 30 front end for just trail riding

 

does anyone no what gear ratio is on front and rear ends out of a 1978 or 79cj-7 and will they go into a 1975 cj-5 ok and any recomendations on how u like the amc20 rear end and dana 30 front end for just trail riding

I'd bet the ratio is 3.55 or 3.73. The only sure way is to count the teeth.
The Dana 30 was in the front for the years you ask, but the AMC 20 was the rear in 78 and 79.

Jeeptech.com's Jeep Axles Page

 

If it's still stock there's a metal tag under one of the cover bolts that will have the ratio and tooth count. If the ratio has been changed the mechanic should have left the tag off. In '78 I think the only choices for a 6-cylinder were 3:54 and 3:73. V8s might have had a 3:23 also.

You can put a mark on the driveshaft and tie a string to it. Then roll the Jeep exactly one turn of the wheels and see where the mark on the driveshaft is. If it's a half turn away from where it started it's a 3:54. If it's 3/4 past the starting point it's 3:73. A quarter turn past its a 3:23. If it's just a little past the starting point it's a 4:11 or a 3:08 and the string will tell which.

If you're careful you can figure it out that way, because there are only so many possibilities, but counting teeth is foolproof.

 

Ok so I decided to Polish a Turd and ordered up a set of chepie alloy inners ($200 for the pair), yukon super joints, yukon hardcore outers (warns), and a new set of hubs. I'm trying to pick up the stage 8 dana 30/44 hub bolt kit ($35) or I'll just stud the hubs.

I figure the first time I break an inner axle shaft, ring gear, or detroit I'll warranty the part if I can, and sell all the dana 30 stuff and replace it with a 44 housing/ inner shafts and and my current outers (everything is new). The 4.56's/ Detroit that are currently in the axle came with the jeep and I have a spare set of dana 44 4.56's waiting.

I'll report back how it works at the end of the summer.

 

I'm trying to pick up the stage 8 dana 30/44 hub bolt kit ($35) or I'll just stud the hubs.

If you're worried about the hub bolts loosening... I studded one side (planned to do the other but ended up with the dana 44 before I did) and even with lock washers, still couldn't keep the nuts tight or the bolts on the other side.

 

Not worth the time it takes to blow them up.
I've blown two or three in the last few years, two of them I can remember were on the very first run on the trails.
REALLY bummed me out.

Now I keep a ready supply of FSJ D-44s and Hybrid Scout D-44/30s laying around when I find them...

For the cost of cutting down a D-44 from an FSJ and out boarding the springs,
There is no compairson to the beating you are going to take trying to get a D-30 to live anywhere but parking lots & golf courses...

Axles, U joints, gears, then the ring and pinion are still too small to support more than about 32" tires even if you do all that and wind up with $2,500 in the front axle...

Much better to blow apart an FSJ front, have the BIG brakes, big ball joints, large axles, large U joints and full size ring an pinion,
And still be able to buy all the parts off the shelf except for that one shortened tube inner axle...

It's like replacing the AMC 20 on a Q-track vehicle,
if you don't blow out the passenger side axle from a Ford Pickup with rear discs and shorten ONE axle/tube,
You have lost your mind...

More ground clearance, thicker tubes, larger bearings, heavier axles that are ONE piece,
And oh yeah, DISC BRAKES! all for one low price!

 

For the cost of cutting down a D-44 from an FSJ and out boarding the springs,

Now why would you do both? Only one has to be done.

It's like replacing the AMC 20 on a Q-track vehicle,
if you don't blow out the passenger side axle from a Ford Pickup with rear discs and shorten ONE axle/tube,
You have lost your mind...

Or another alternative is the route I took... I used a Dana 44 from an FSJ that had quadratrac and just had to weld new spring perches on. Much simpler.

 

Pretty much the CJ all ready has the geared 30/ locked/ all new brake parts/ bearings/ ball joints in it (bought the jeep that way) so I'm going to run it to it blows then build a 44 housing, On top of the purchase price of the jeep I'll be into the Dana 30 $210 out of pocket in parts that won't transfer to a dana 44 housing. I should be able to sell what's not blown up in the 30 for some decent money

Putting alloys/ a detroit/ 4.56's in a 30 is polishing a turd. If I was building the jeep from scratch/ stock it would have either had a 44 or 60 in it.

As soon as the 30 takes a dump it will have a hybrid 30/44 in it. I do have a 60 lying around but I think that's going to get sold.

 

I never had any problems with them on my 30, but then didn't push it very hard either - just hard enough to shuck teeth off the ring gear. But if I did, I'd drill and safety wire them. Safety wire is always replaceable and has never failed me.

 

I never broke my dana 30 in my 304 CJ-5. It was welded and had 33x12.5's. I did break the welds loose a few times on lower-2 and finally broke some warn hubs toward the end if it's stay with me....

I would get some spares and wheel it with some common sense.... that or get the rockwells...


edit: in fact I even broke the springs in half under it a few times...

 

Here's the bolt kit Stage 8 sells Stage 8 Off Road Fasteners It's towards the middle of the page. Some one with a lathe and either a plasma table, "home made hex punch" or some patience could make their own pretty easy.

It looks like an update on the factory design of the bolt retainers. I wish instead of a kit of 12 it would be a kit of 13 or 14 so you'd have a couple spares.