66 NOVEMBER 20194-WHEEL & OFF-ROAD 4WHEELOFFROAD.COM
GO-TO GUYS
30-SPLINE CJ DANA 44 REAR
FOUND IN: ’70½-’71 CJ (offset); ’72-’75 CJ, Jeepster/Commando
(centered)
WIDTH BETWEEN WHEEL MOUNT SURFACES: 51 inches
SHAFT DIAMETER/SPLINE: 1.31-inch, 30-spline
Common gearing: 3.73, 4.27, 4.88
BOLT PATTERN: 5-on-5½
PROS: The CJ versions are a bolt-in solution to virtually any ’75-earlier
Jeep CJ that gets you one-piece, flanged 30-spline shafts inside
a decent housing that’ll stand up to street driving and moderate
off-roading. It’s a great find for street-driven restorations or vintage
wheeling builds.
CONS: So m e n o n - C J/fl atfen d er m o d el s may n eed a xle pa ds m oved. T h e
’70½-’71 offset models are becoming exceedingly rare and pricey. The
narrow 51-inch width doesn’t make it a great choice for a hardcore build.DISC-BRAKE CJ DANA 30
FOUND IN: ’76 -’81 J eep C J (na rrow -t rack); ’81½-’86 C J (w id e -t rack)
WIDTH BETWEEN WHEEL MOUNT SURFACES: 51 in ch es (na rrow -t rack);
56 inches (wide-track)
SHAFT DIAMETER/SPLINE: 1.16-inch, 27-spline
COMMON GEARING: 2.73, 3.54, 3.73, 4.09
BOLT PATTERN: 5-on-5½
PROS: With some slight work to accommodate the 2-inch-wide spring
pads and steering, the open-knuckle, disc brake Dana 30 is a bolt-in
upgrade for lightweight 4x4s or any ’41-’76 drum-brake CJ or Universal.
They’re good for tires of roughly 33 inches in stock trim, but can be
upgraded with larger chromoly 30-spline aftermarket shafts to bump
that up a bit.
CONS: Despite the potential for better-than-Dana 44 shaft strength,
the low-pinion gearset will remain the weak point, so gnarly off-road
builds with big tires aren’t for this axle. The narrow-track versions are
best kept off the extreme rigs as well. Also, the later five-bolt external-
body hubs require periodic bolt maintenance to ensure survivability.31-SPLI N E FORD 8.8
FOUND IN: ’95-and-up Ford Explorers
WIDTH BETWEEN WHEEL MOUNT SURFACES: 58¼ inches
SHAFT DIAMETER/SPLINE: 1.32-inch, 31-spline
COMMON GEARING: 3.73
BOLT PATTERN: 5-on-4½
PROS: They’re commonly found in junkyards and the ’95-and-up
models have disc brakes, 31-spline shafts, and many have Trac-Lok
differentials. The axletubes are beefy 3¼-inch suckers and the bolt
pattern matches the YJ/TJ/XJ vehicles in which they’re normally
swapped in as a Dana 35 replacement.
CONS: The axle is about^5 ⁄ 8 inch narrower per side on a Jeep, so wheel
spacers are commonly needed to even things out front-to-back. The
pinio n yo ke m ust b e cha n g ed o ut o r a c o nver sio n yo ke/U - joint used to
work with the Jeep driveshaft. New E-brake cables are also required,
as are new brackets. Most came with 3.73 gears, so a ring-and-pinion
swap is often required. By the time you’re done adding it all up, it
becomes a very costly junkyard swap.HIGH-PINION DANA 30
FOUND IN: ’95½-’00 Cherokee
WIDTH BETWEEN WHEEL MOUNT SURFACES: 60½ inches
SHAFT DIAMETER/SPLINE: 1.16-inch, 27-spline
COMMON GEARING: 3.55, 4.10
BOLT PATTERN: 5-on-4½
PROS: The ’95½ Cherokees got upgraded axleshaft U-joints from 260X
to Dana 44-size 760X. That, coupled with a high-pinion design makes
it a great bolt-in upgrade for the TJ Wrangler low-pinion or older
Cherokee low-pinion or CAD front axles, or solid-axle conversions
on compact and midsize pickups and SUVs. You can also cut off the
brackets and weld on spring perches without too much hassle.
CONS: The axletubes are somewhat weak, so you’ll want to at least
bolster them with a set of EVO Sleeves from Off Road Evolution or build
a truss to help survivability in heavy off-road use.