Dana 30 3.55 ring & pinion

[Johnboy]

My Dana rear 35 gave up on my 1988 MJ manual.  So I’m doing an Explorer 8.8 swap with 3.55 ratio. Does anybody know where I can order 3.55 ring and pinion for my front Dana 30

[GonzoTheGreat]

Looks like there are not a lot of options on rockauto.com for the dana 30, but USA Standard gear does have 3.54s available. There are many options for bearings/seals/rebuild kits.

[Johnboy]

Thank you Gonzo, I’m looking now

[derf]

East coast gear supply is my go to for parts.  Great customer service.

 

I will say that if you don't have the tools to do the installation right, it's a good idea to have a shop install the gears.  Most people can do it but it's meticulous work that requires specialty tools and a lot of patience.  If you're only doing one axle, it's cheaper to have a shop do it than to buy the tools.

 

Any shop that does the install will have a good source for parts.

[Johnboy]

Thanks Derf. I don’t plan on doing this one myself. I’m getting the parts and having a friend who is a mechanic and has done a lot of diff work do the ring and pinion. I’ll take a look at east Coast gears.

[89 MJ]

If your friend has done a lot of diff work, it might be in your best interest to see who he uses for gear suppliers.

[derf]

7 minutes ago, Johnboy said:

Thanks Derf. I don’t plan on doing this one myself. I’m getting the parts and having a friend who is a mechanic and has done a lot of diff work do the ring and pinion. I’ll take a look at east Coast gears.

Sounds like a good plan.

 

You will need the ring and pinion, as well as a master install kit.

 

I would replace the axle seals because you have to fully disassemble the axle to get to them and it will be apart while doing the gears.

 

Same with ball joints.  The disassembly labor is being done already.  No reason not to do that too.

 

Same with the axle shaft u-joints and unit bearings.

 

If you have the smaller axle shaf u-joints, it's easy to upgrade while you have it apart.

[llhat]

many MJ stock with 3.54 gearing,  what is your present front gearing?
 

[Htchevyii]

https://www.quickperformance.com/Dana-30-Standard-Rotation-Ring-Pinion-Gear-Set-_p_23188.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20752793421&gbraid=0AAAAADsQU7l49V0aWCeDPyzfBT1-nMBbc&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhtvMBhDBARIsAL26pjFTULYCL5HEYP0Du2ho--pPgtl1vJwBZ8U5dTG8UL75Ji3H78RaHSQaAjXYEALw_wcB

[Johnboy]

My current Dana 30 has 3.07 ratio high pinion reverse cut. I had no idea that not all Dana 30s are configured the same. I was able to find 3.54 ring and pinion through East Coast Gear supply. Derf was right, they are a great company to work with. Doing a little research with a 3.55 rear and 3.54 front there should be no problem as the difference is about 3%. 
Thank you all for the help.