Bent My Dana 30 Looking For Axle Swap Options

[Zebvance]

take your pipe used that you used on the tires and rest it on the axle tubes,

see if they are straight, aswell like pete said cneck your toe in/out

 

also 35/37 on 8 inch of lift isnt bad at all,

and a dana 30 can survive 35/37" tires,

depends on how hard u push the skinny pedal, what gears you have, and if you have a locker in the front, trussing it will prevent the tubes from bending

 

get another d30 if yours is bent, preferably a HP, and truss it

 

have you jacked up your front end?

when jacking it up see if the tires droop changing the camber, that will elminate ball joints ( if you checked it while the tires were on the ground, there will be too much preload, and will mask it to seem like theres no play)

 

also, do you have adjustable control arms? if so, you can control the degrees of camber, since your axle is fixed to a pre determined angle, rotating the axle by shortening or extending the lower control arms will actually change the angle

 

could you take more photos, where you can actually see the axle tubes that are not hidden behind your drag link, tie rods, track bar?

ie. from behind (yes youll have to lay under your truck :P) or take a shot from underneath said items?

 

 

**edit** just noticed this, completely unrelated, hows your steering while turning right?

your adjustable steering stabilizer looks like the piston travel isnt set to half way for centered tires

 

Ok so I tried to do this for yall and get some pictures. they are not the best quality but Its all I could do for now. Surprisingly I guess it looks as if my axle is not bent now?I jacked it up and the tire had no camber with no weight on it... However NO PLAY IN BALL JOINTS EITHER!!!! ugh I'm confused.... Here are some pictures...

 

 

 

Pass side sitting on its own weight

 

 

Pass side with axle on jack stands

 

 

Driver side sitting on its own weight

 

 

Driver side with axle sitting on jack stands

 

 

 

And here is a Driveway flex picture for fun :banana:

 

[Zebvance]

The camber is indeed 'adjustable' on a D30.  I just finished doing the D30 on my MJ. There are two ways to change the camber.  Use offset ball joints or replace the bushing the ball joints go into.  They come in varying amounts of change.  The bushings are by far the least expensive and a more stable way of making the camber adjustment.  If anyone wants to hear more detail PM me and I'll send you my cell number.  Far easier to explain it verbally than in print.  I got my bushings at NAPA although I'm sure others have them also.

 

  My camber was out by 9 tenths on the left side and 7 tenths on the right.  I put in 1 degree bushings and that brought it back into spec. It looked like the first photo Zebvance posted though not quite as much.

 

Larry

 Now this is my question, First why would I need a offset ball joint in the first place if nothing is bent? If I put normal ball joints in and it has camber them my logic says something is messed up somewhere right?

 

Net how would I even start to fig out what degree ball joint i needed if I was to use offset ones to correct he problem?

[Zebvance]

Sorry guys forgot to mention before. this is a 4x4 conversion mj. the front axle is out of a 2001 cherokee

[FrankTheDog]

Are your wheel bearings toast?

[92tanMJ]

Are you lug nuts loose and or spacers if you got 'em?

[87manche1]

Driverside control arm looks twisted. I'd check that and unit bearings.

[Zebvance]

Are your wheel bearings toast?

Not that I know of. How would I check? I have already replaced the Uni hub with the bearing in it.

 

Are you lug nuts loose and or spacers if you got 'em?

 

 

Yes I have spacers and everything was lock tighten and torqued. everything is tight and there is no play in the tire if you try to shake it around while jacked up.

[Zebvance]

Driverside control arm looks twisted. I'd check that and unit bearings.

 yes the mount is a little tweaked it has always been like that. and how do I check the unit bearings?

[Stacks]

The surest way to see what the camber is would be to take it in and get the front end aligned and get a print out of all the settings.  From that you can determine what ball joint or bushing to get.  The offset ball joint run almost $100 each in this area while the bushing is right at $25.  Most of the front end shops here agree that the bushing is the preferred way to correct camber.  The reason being is that there is less chance of rotation under stress.

[92tanMJ]

 

Are you lug nuts loose and or spacers if you got 'em?

 

 

Yes I have spacers and everything was lock tighten and torqued. everything is tight and there is no play in the tire if you try to shake it around while jacked up.

 

It wouldnt hurt to check and torque them again :dunno:

[MancheKid86]

seems like your unit bearings or ball joints are shot (ball joints because of the tires dropped to the camber it should be at)

 

do these tests to check both of above items

 

remove your tires. spin the bearings that the disc brakes mount too,

there should be a drag torque to them ( meaning it takes a certian amount of lbs/sq inch to rotate) if they are free spinning or make grinding noises they are toast,

also grab the unit bearings from top and bottom and push/pull the top/bottom at the same time then viseversa a few times, there should be no play

if there is find where its coming from and thats your toast part,

 

that twisted drivers lca is also giving you unwanted camber on the drivers side, it needs to be replaced,

 

you deff have it narrowed down,

you axle isnt bent except for your drivers lca

 

 

get someone to jack on side up and down repeatably and watch that side of the axle. what your looking for is the point where the tires are pivoting from,

either the ball joints (yes i know)

or your unit bearings

 

hope this helps