[mbuna]

So I snapped my dana 35 driverside axle shaft a couple weeks ago. Picked up a whole dana 35 rearend for $75 bucks and replaced that. Then I discovered that the vibration I've been feeling for two weeks was my driver side u-joint breaking out of the ears.

There's a dana 30 front on my local craigslist for $75, but it only says it's out of a "jeep". Judging from the fenders he's selling in the same ad, I would guess it's some sort of cherokee. Would that work for replacing the whole drivers side inner axle (shafts/ujoint) on my 97 TJ?

This would be a bandaid for now, I'm also curious what my options are for replacing both axles with a dana 60 rear and 44 front. IE: what junkyard trucks can I gut and have something pretty close to fitting without all kinds of crazy welding / cutting / fabbing. I'm on a budget, so I'm not TOO scared of SOME of that, but I guess I'm curious if there are any write ups out there any of you know about where you can take the front/rear out of an f-350, and slap it into a TJ. Would I definitely have to replace the transfer case as well?

thanks

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by mbuna

So I snapped my dana 35 driverside axle shaft a couple weeks ago. Picked up a whole dana 35 rearend for $75 bucks and replaced that. Then I discovered that the vibration I've been feeling for two weeks was my driver side u-joint breaking out of the ears.

There's a dana 30 front on my local craigslist for $75, but it only says it's out of a "jeep". Judging from the fenders he's selling in the same ad, I would guess it's some sort of cherokee. Would that work for replacing the whole drivers side inner axle (shafts/ujoint) on my 97 TJ?

If it's from a cherokee it should fit fine. The only issue you mave is if it has a vacuum disconnect front end you will have to remove the vaccum stuff and make a plate or buy the plate from warn so that you can use the TJ's shafts. But why don't you just replace the U-joint for $30

Originally Posted by mbuna

This would be a bandaid for now, I'm also curious what my options are for replacing both axles with a dana 60 rear and 44 front. IE: what junkyard trucks can I gut and have something pretty close to fitting without all kinds of crazy welding / cutting / fabbing. I'm on a budget, so I'm not TOO scared of SOME of that, but I guess I'm curious if there are any write ups out there any of you know about where you can take the front/rear out of an f-350, and slap it into a TJ. Would I definitely have to replace the transfer case as well?

thanks

Other then the XJ front ends there are no other vehicles, that you could scavange axles from that will bolt in. Everything else requires bracket kits and some weldings.

[mbuna]

But why don't you just replace the U-joint for $30

Sorry, I should have explained better, the u-joints are toast, as well as the ears on the shafts. So I only need to replace the inner/outer shafts/ and the u-joint. I read somewhere on here someone saying they NEVER remove the hub nut without a replacement... are those a one time use thing? Sorry if that's a silly question, but it was in a thread describing someone's fatal accident.

Other then the XJ front ends there are no other vehicles, that you could scavange axles from that will bolt in. Everything else requires bracket kits and some weldings.

Ah, I see. I was just wondering if there was a common budget swap people did for TJ's, with a minimal of fabbing. I can manage some fabbing / welding, maybe I'm more curious how far I'd have to go up the drivetrain to get a dana 44 and dana 60 on my TJ. IE: I'd definitely HAVE to get a new t-case as well, or I'd need a new tranny, or whatever. I can google all this I guess, but I was hoping you experienced dudes already had some favorite options, like good rigs to find at a junkyard and such.

thanks for your reply

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by mbuna

Sorry, I should have explained better, the u-joints are toast, as well as the ears on the shafts. So I only need to replace the inner/outer shafts/ and the u-joint. I read somewhere on here someone saying they NEVER remove the hub nut without a replacement... are those a one time use thing? Sorry if that's a silly question, but it was in a thread describing someone's fatal accident.

No you can reuse the hub nuts. If you need to replace all the shafts you may as well go for alloy's. Yukon has the cheapest alloy shafts, I think you can get all 4 for osmething like $30o or so, then alloy usa, and the most expensive are superior. Unless the XJ is a newer one the shafts will be the weaker 260x style and the 4wd wil be vacuum acuated and not compateable with a TJ's system.

Originally Posted by mbuna

Ah, I see. I was just wondering if there was a common budget swap people did for TJ's, with a minimal of fabbing. I can manage some fabbing / welding, maybe I'm more curious how far I'd have to go up the drivetrain to get a dana 44 and dana 60 on my TJ. IE: I'd definitely HAVE to get a new t-case as well, or I'd need a new tranny, or whatever. I can google all this I guess, but I was hoping you experienced dudes already had some favorite options, like good rigs to find at a junkyard and such.

thanks for your reply

You can have custom driveshafts made so that almost any rear axle will work. The front though has to have a drive side drop differential. Personally if you wanna upgrade I;d do a XJ HP30 front end and your choice of a super 35, Dana 44 or ford 8.8 in that order for the rear axle. Dana 44 rear's from other Jeep TJ's are very easy bolt on swaps. You could find dana 44's with the correct width in Honda Passports, Isuzu Amigo's, and Jeep wagoneers. You would have to buy a bracket kit for those to work though. The 8.8 you would need would be found on late model Ford explorers. You would need the correct bracket kit for that as well.

[mbuna]

cool, cool, good info for me there shawn, thank you.

So the guy got back to me, the dana 30 is from an 87 cherokee. Am I correct in deducing from the above that the shafts from that can replace the broken shafts in my existing dana 30? I'm only interested in getting it rolling again as cheaply as possible, he's selling the whole dana 30 for $75, whereas a friend of mine will sell me just the shafts for $140.

I hear you on the yukon alloy upgrades, I'll definitely go that route after getting 44's / 8.8's / or whatever.