danas

[jimbo]

I replied to the classifieds about 410 gears for a 30 to swap out mine cause I have stock gears in my neverending cj5 project which I have 38s on. The commen reply was my axels are to small..... I agree!!!!  I would love some input on how too and where too get some BIG danas....
          Thankful for any help, Jimbo
P.S  Happy Hollidays

[Guest]

ebay and craigs list.... try CL first.  Check NY, MA, and PA

[gCracker]

just a little pet peeve of mine.. THEY ARE NOT CALLED DANA\'S!!


They are axles!  That are made by the Dana Corporation.  Sorry seen this same question in quite a few places and wanted to set a newby straight.

[jimbo]

OUCH....anyway Im not realy sure what I should be looking for.
Thanx for your help.  JIMBO

[gCracker]

sorry I was a bit grumpy last night.  

If you plan to do any offroading, you should plan to replace both front and rear complete axles with atleast Dana 44\'s or larger(I am not an axle guru so I am not sure if 44\'s will hold up to 38\'s).  That will give you stronger components (axle shafts, gears, joints) and then you should look for lower(higher number) gears, instead of putting money into your stock axles.

[MrMindless]

Running 38s I\'d go with D60s.  Under the lightweight Jeep a 44 may be okay but if you\'re gonna swap, the 35 and 44 have the same ujoint anyway, you\'ve got to step up to a 60 front before you really get stronger shafts (practically speaking)

[smichaelR22]

Running 38\"s on a CJ5, personally id probably go 60 / 44 but i guess it depends on how you wheel, what you wheel, and how your geared.

just speaking from my searching experience, it will be alot cheaper and easier to find a set of 4:10\'s for 500$ or less that just need brake work as usual...

there was a scout for 350$ on craigs list 44/44 that would be an awesome project....

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/pts/513719806.html

wish i had the room, or it would already be in my garage....

[ericautopart]

Just call me if you\'d like and we\'ll talk.  Maybe we can swap an 8.8 or D60 for you fairly cheap.

[jimbo]

WOW!  Great info, thanks!  My CJ has been a 10 yr project and has never seen dirt or mud.....talk about a newbie???  At this point I just want to be able to go down the road and maybe come to some of your events.  I\'ve been building Harley\'s for many years.  12 years ago I hurt my back & missed the wind in my face so I bought a Jeep and drove it for a couple years till my back healed & of course I tore it apart & it\'s been off the road since \'95.  Time to get back on the road and just be able to bomb around! Scored the tires & rims from an old wheeler & the rest is history!  I don\'t claim to be a master mechanic but can do just about anything with some guidance. Thanks for the input & keep it coming.  
Jimbo

[MrMindless]

jimbo wrote:
wshuu...That makes me feel better,Thanx
  What should I be looking for?

Depends on what you want to do.....

YourCJ has a passenger side drop, so you want old Dodge, old Jeep or any Chevy axles, all Fords, newer Jeeps & Dodges have driver\'s side drop.

If you want to go full width the usual suspects are a D60 front and 14 bolt rear from around a \'75-\'85 Chevy 1 ton.  I\'m not too good on the years since my Dodge is a drivers side drop so I\'ve got Ford axles under it.

If you want to stay narrower, Wagoneer axles are a bit skinner than the fullsize trucks, I think, but they are D44 front and rear (again, if I recall right) and with 38s if you\'re going to actually wheel it that may not be enough axle - but they can be beefed up...

Like I said it all has to be based on what you want to do with it.

[smichaelR22]

how much money are you looking to spend, and how much fabrication are you capable off.... these are things to consider weather you want a bolt on pair and bleed your brakes, or something more like im going to doing a little mig work and fabrication on full widths with the scrambler.

[jimbo]

Well there you go...Thanx  Im stoked by all the help you give me!! I need to get my butt to one of your meetings and meet face to face with you all and soak in some of your knowledge.  
                                           Jimbo

[jimbo]

OK...Emailed craigslist as per smichael22 and the scout with the dana 44s is  still available. Is this what I should get and is 350.00$ a ok price.   Jimbo

[smichaelR22]

ask him what gears are in them, and if any of the brake components are useable....  or maybe get a spring perch to perch measurement to see what kind of fabrication you might be getting into... i dont know if its a bolt on swap, do some research or maybe someone else can offer up.

might be a steal for the axles, but after complete brakes, gear swaps and some welding.... might add up quick and be not worth it..

if i didnt have my current CJ8 project, that front dana44 would already be under my CJ5   :-D

for the whole truck i think its a descent price, you might beable to part out some of it, i would probably fall in love with it, get it home, and not want to tear it up, and end up rebuilding it    :bawl:

[meangreen]

with the scout you will have to outboard your front spring perches and reposition the rear mounts .But your front dana 30 knuckles out will bolt to it. that way if you need to replace the entire spindle/ brake assy and you have already did the breaks on the 30 you can just swap them over. YES IT DOSE MAKE IT A LITTLE WEEKER but you wont have to go out and spend700-1000 just on front parts. This is the swap that I did 4 years ago. I am running 36\" irocks andI have yet to breake anything in my axles and I do rocks and mud.