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New axle or rebuild?

1K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  ajmorell 
#1 ·
So as i am slowly rebuilding the 98 zj 5.9 (mind you there are many things wrong with it) but i am waiting for my exhaust to come in i am looking on working on the front axle when i bought the jeep i noticed that both the axle shafts were gone in the front so finally yesterday i open the pumpkin to see whats going on inside for them to take both the shafts out and geuss what i find.... Nothing completely empty.. sigh should i rebuild the whole thing or just find a whole used axle?

Thanks
Mike
 
#2 ·
lol so there is no ring or gears in there? Wow! This would be a great time to put in a high pinion 30 since you have to get gears anyways. Most the the HP 30's will come with 3.55 gears and you need 3.73. If you are going to lift it to 32's or 33's then you will want steeper gears but the rear will cost quite a bit.

If you are just going to keep it the way it is or maybe get 31's as the largest tire then stick with the 3.73's.

How long have you been driving it like this? The reason I ask is the PO must have grenaded the front somehow. I wonder if your VC in the transfercase is still functioning well. I suppose you will know when you get the front taken care of.
 
#3 ·
onlything in there is the gear attached to the yoke...(cracked off teeth lol) i assume the guy who had it before shotguned the front axle and just said **** it and gutted it. i would like to take this opp to upgrade but unsure of what to do lol would like to keep the price under 1200 lol
 
#4 ·
I guess it depends. You could rebuild that axle and know everything is going to be in perfect working order, or you could get a junkyard axle and you might end up having to replace the shafts, bearings, ball joints, etc. If you plan to hang on to the jeep a while the first option seems like the better one even though it's also the more expensive option.
 
#6 ·
I have read over and over that setting the pinion bearing pre load when setting up a diff is a skill learned through proper education and isn't something one of us shady tree mechanics should attempt. I would use dana/spicer stuff in it. Maybe you could put a limited slip in the front. That would be useful. Texas ZJ had one with his 249 and no issues I believe.

Here is an informative article. http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/
 
#14 ·
:thumbsup: ^What he said. You might get lucky enough to find one with 3.73 gears, assuming that's what you need.

If you keep what you've got and buy the axles, u-joints, carrier, gears and all other needed parts separately; you'll have alot of $$$ into a Low Pinion D30 axle.

Find a High Pinion D30 with the Spicer 5-760x u-joints and rebuild it. If you're unfamiliar with setting gears, rebuild the rest of the axle yourself (easy part), and have a reputable shop rebuild and/or re-gear the carrier.
 
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