teamsmith Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I have found a guy selling a complete HPD30 with 3.55 which will go well with a separate deal I've found for a '95 C8.25 (C-clip 27spline) rear end running 3.55. Regarding the front end: It's complete with shocks, springs, and steering components, brakes, etc. It had 80,000 miles when pulled. Question: Can I use the springs/shocks/steering on my MJ (stock height)? Is the steering considered an upgrade? Are the brakes better? Will the high pinion bolt right up? I just replaced the hubs on my D30 with Timkens but I assume I can reuse those since it should be the same setup. I'm just trying to understand the full 'value' to me of what he's selling. I got the price for 8.25 down to $50 drum-to-drum which seems pretty good, even though it's C-clip with the weaker splines. This guy is asking $250 for the D30 assembly I but I haven't negotiated. Honestly, I'm a little nervous to get into this because swapping axles, welding perches, etc. seems pretty daunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroNautical Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I've got a 99 D30 from an XJ, it's a direct bolt on. The steering is no better, you can still use your springs and shocks, the brakes are better in my opinion because you can remove the rotor after removing the caliper without any extra wrenching. I've also done the perch reweld on a 29 spline 8.25, soa. Any questions regarding either, me and plenty of people on here can surely help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 It's complete with shocks, springs, and steering components, brakes, etc. It had 80,000 miles when pulled. Question: Can I use the springs/shocks/steering on my MJ (stock height)? Is the steering considered an upgrade? Are the brakes better? Will the high pinion bolt right up? It's all exactly the same. All MJs used a high pinion D30. All MJ suspension and steering components are the same as XJ. It's not an upgrade in any way, but it should be an easy bolt-in swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 It's complete with shocks, springs, and steering components, brakes, etc. It had 80,000 miles when pulled. Question: Can I use the springs/shocks/steering on my MJ (stock height)? Is the steering considered an upgrade? Are the brakes better? Will the high pinion bolt right up? It's all exactly the same. All MJs used a high pinion D30. All MJ suspension and steering components are the same as XJ. It's not an upgrade in any way, but it should be an easy bolt-in swap. Thanks, Eagle. Very helpful. I must have misread that our trucks have low pinion. So maybe it's not worth it and I should just look to re-gear my existing D30 to match the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Swapping the axle will be far cheaper than regearing the current axle, unless the inner bearings (carrier and pinion) on both are shot and need replacing anyway. Unless you are going with something other than a stock offered ratio ... The swap is the cheapest way. Try to get a D30 from an XJ without CAD, that is an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Swapping the axle will be far cheaper than regearing the current axle, unless the inner bearings (carrier and pinion) on both are shot and need replacing anyway. Unless you are going with something other than a stock offered ratio ... The swap is the cheapest way. Try to get a D30 from an XJ without CAD, that is an upgrade. ok, thanks. I was just starting to look at gear prices. Also, since this is from a '98, it will have the bigger U-joints. If it's a non-CAD, that will probably be the clincher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 All '98 D30s are non-CAD. That disappeared around 1992. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 I've got a 99 D30 from an XJ, it's a direct bolt on. The steering is no better, you can still use your springs and shocks, the brakes are better in my opinion because you can remove the rotor after removing the caliper without any extra wrenching. I've also done the perch reweld on a 29 spline 8.25, soa. Any questions regarding either, me and plenty of people on here can surely help. Leist, I'm planning to and try and pull all this together over Christmas. I've found a guy asking $400 for a D30/8.25 3.55 with driveshaft from a '98 with 80k miles. That's a little more than I want to pay but we're still talking. Assuming I go SOA, I will still need new perches, because the widths are different, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroNautical Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Correct, however if it's a clean enough cut you can reuse the perches taken off of the axle. For reference, I got my 29 spline 8.25 for $75, a little over 100,000 and 3.55, and my D30 for $150 I pulled my self out of a junkyard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 Correct, however if it's a clean enough cut you can reuse the perches taken off of the axle. For reference, I got my 29 spline 8.25 for $75, a little over 100,000 and 3.55, and my D30 for $150 I pulled my self out of a junkyard. thanks. and about how much lift will I get from the SOA? ~4"? I looked at your build thread, it was jacked up pretty high vs. the stock front. How much lift did you put in the front to even it out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timeless Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I just replaced the hubs on my D30 with Timkens but I assume I can reuse those since it should be the same setup. The hubs in the Comanche D30 are different than the later model D30's. You will not be able to reuse your new hubs on the "new" axle. I think there are also differences in the brakes. Its probably in your best interest to assume that parts outside the knuckles will not interchange between axles. SOA with an 8.25 netted me over 6" of lift and my rear leafs were in pretty good shape. With that much lift, you will need to upgrade a number of other steering/drive line/suspensions parts for everything to work correctly. $400 for a set of XJ axles (29 spline 8.25) is a little on the high side, but if the brakes and unit bearings are in good shape, its pretty fair. I wouldn't bother with a 27 spline 8.25 f I were you. Its not really a significant upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 I just replaced the hubs on my D30 with Timkens but I assume I can reuse those since it should be the same setup. The hubs in the Comanche D30 are different than the later model D30's. You will not be able to reuse your new hubs on the "new" axle. I think there are also differences in the brakes. Its probably in your best interest to assume that parts outside the knuckles will not interchange between axles. SOA with an 8.25 netted me over 6" of lift and my rear leafs were in pretty good shape. With that much lift, you will need to upgrade a number of other steering/drive line/suspensions parts for everything to work correctly. $400 for a set of XJ axles (29 spline 8.25) is a little on the high side, but if the brakes and unit bearings are in good shape, its pretty fair. I wouldn't bother with a 27 spline 8.25 f I were you. Its not really a significant upgrade. thank you for the guidance. That is disappointing on the hub incompatibility; I thought a D30 was a D30. Rockauto agrees, different part numbers for the Timken hubs. My front end is actually fine, with new brakes/rotors/calipers and Timken hubs. The only problem is that it's 3.07 and I need to match it to a rear. 6+" of lift is more than I want to deal with, so it looks like I'll be staying SUA and trying to hunt for a 3.07 rear to replace my 'popping without stopping' rear end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfrog Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Swap knuckles and you can reuse your current stuff. There were two knuckles used... 84-90 91-06 (XJ/TJ) Then three hubs, 84-90 91-99 99-06 (XJ/TJ) 99 was a crossover year with a mid year change. Hubs need to match rotors (they follow the same year pattern as hubs) Ball joints are the same. My front end on my XJ was an 89 housing, 95 knuckles and 01 hubs and brakes ... until I went to WJ knuckles (on the same axle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroNautical Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 What I did when I went SOA, but didn't lift the front end right away was put XJ shackles in. It lowered it just enough to look like a slightly exaggerated factory rake. I also have sagging springs, I probably get 5 to 5.5 inches of lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsmith Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Swap knuckles and you can reuse your current stuff. There were two knuckles used... 84-90 91-06 (XJ/TJ) Then three hubs, 84-90 91-99 99-06 (XJ/TJ) 99 was a crossover year with a mid year change. Hubs need to match rotors (they follow the same year pattern as hubs) Ball joints are the same. My front end on my XJ was an 89 housing, 95 knuckles and 01 hubs and brakes ... until I went to WJ knuckles (on the same axle). Ok, that sounds promising. What is involved I in swapping knuckles? Do I need special equipment for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timeless Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Ball joint press. Borrow it from an auto parts store for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Question: Can I use the springs/shocks/steering on my MJ (stock height)? Yes. All direct fit. Is the steering considered an upgrade? No. It's all exactly the same. Are the brakes better? Possibly a bit, but IMHO not enough to consider them an upgrade. The real braking improvement in the newer XJs over the early XJs and MJs is the double diaphragm brake booster -- which isn't part of the front end. Will the high pinion bolt right up? Direct fit. I just replaced the hubs on my D30 with Timkens but I assume I can reuse those since it should be the same setup. NO! The hub/bearing units are different and cannot be interchanged. Honestly, I'm a little nervous to get into this because swapping axles, welding perches, etc. seems pretty daunting. The rear is a bit trickier due to the matter of relocating the perches. The front will be a direct, bolt-in replacement so there's nothing to be nervous about. Just remember down the road that anything for the front axle has to be ordered by the year of the axle, not the year of your MJ. (That refers to brake pads and rotors, hub/bearing units, and ball joints.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 If your front end on your MJ is worn out.....27 years old........200K miles........ and you can get a complete front end from the 80K miles XJ- D30, steering sector, UCA and LCAs, track bar and MOUNT........etc...... for $200? Yep, I consider that an upgrade. Getting another 80K to 100K miles for $200??????? you bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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