XJ HP Dana 30, and a question on gears

[hear]

Will an XJ high pinion Dana 30 bolt directly into my TJ?

And then from a gearing standpoint, the Dana 30 in a JK is a high pinion, so will JK gears from a Dana 30 work in this axle?

I have a line on a cheap HP 30, and I’m already in possession of NEW reverse cut gears for a JK Dana 30.

 

[afusco1222]

Yes it will bolt in.

No the gears will not work. There’s a lot different about the gears and bearing that would make it not work.

 

[tworley]

1. Yes.
2. No. The ring gear/carrier is bigger in a jk.

 

[LJGreg]

Look for a 1992 or later XJ. The earlier models had a vacuum disconnect which you don't want.

The Jeep Cherokee XJ models from 1990 and earlier, and some early 1991 models, were equipped with a vacuum disconnect front axle. Specifically, this was a Dana 30 high-pinion front axle with a vacuum-actuated disconnect mechanism. This mechanism disengaged the front axle shaft on the passenger side when not needed for four-wheel drive, improving fuel efficiency. Later XJ models, particularly those with the NP242 transfer case, did not have the vacuum disconnect.

 

[mrblaine]

Will an XJ high pinion Dana 30 bolt directly into my TJ?

What problem are you trying to solve?

 

[hear]

What problem are you trying to solve?

The high pinion 30 seems to be the preferred choice when given the option between low & high pinion, so when I saw a HP 30 on marketplace I thought it might be worth the swap.

The gear ratio matched what I have in my rear already so it would be a direct bolt in, but I'm also going to regear in the next month or two. For no good reason, I'm in possession of Dana 30 gears in the ratio I want, except they are for a JK, so they are reverse cut, which (to my understanding) means they would only work on a high pinion axle.

So I guess the problem I was trying to solve was how/if I can make use of the new-in-box gear set I have, while at the same time moving to the "preferred" style of Dana 30 axle. But maybe you're about to tell me the folly of moving to a high pinion?

Look for a 1992 or later XJ. The earlier models had a vacuum disconnect which you don't want.

The donor vechicle is a 98-2001 (owner is unsure), but vacuum disconnect will be easy enough to ID, if I get that far.

 

[PurpleTJAZ]

I just replaced my low pinion with a high pinion. My main objective was to get my yoke and front driveshaft up as high as possible. I spend a lot of time in the big rocks and have bent more than one front drive shaft. the HP will bolt in but in my case I was doing my mid-arm and had to modify mine heavily to meet my needs.

 

[hear]

I guess big rocks is subjective, but we see plenty of rocks in Oklahoma & Arkansas. Seems like the HP is what the doctor ordered here, but I'm sure I don't have the full story.

 

[mrblaine]

I guess big rocks is subjective, but we see plenty of rocks in Oklahoma & Arkansas. Seems like the HP is what the doctor ordered here, but I'm sure I don't have the full story.

Big rocks are not subjective in this case. If you play in rocks big enough to damage your front driveshaft more than is prudent, then the swap to a HP front axle is a solution to the problem. That said, if your subjective big rocks were in fact big enough to have damaged your front shaft a few times, you wouldn't be asking if this was a good idea, you'd already be telling us you're weary of buying front shafts. Or at least it doesn't take most of us long to get tired of that nonsense.

As for it being the "preferred" option, same as always, folks saw us swapping them in on a pretty continual basis. Since we were doing it for a very solid reason, they perverted that into it being "preferred" while fully overlooking most of them did not have the same reasons for doing it we did. That and we've pretty much stopped doing it because our success screwed us over and what used to be a 300 dollar disposable housing turned into 800 dollars plus once everyone started buying them up regardless of whether or not they needed the HP. No HP 30 empty housing is worth that much.