I am starting the process of swapping the axles in my YJ.
I am swapping my open Dana 30 HP 3.07 front axle to another Dana 30 HP already geared at 4.10 plus I will be installing a Lock-Right.
I am swapping my open Dana 35 3.07 rear axle to an open Ford 8.8 geared at 4.10.
While I am addressing various aspects of my JY axles like brake rotors and pads I am also pricing my various drive shaft options. I will consolidate my final decision here, but for now I am tracking the various options here.
HP Dana 30 ($267):
Solid axle shafts from a TJ or XJ ($100)
Brake rotors ($27×2 = $54)
Check pads (good)
Rebuild calipers if necessary (good)
Extended brake lines ($85)
TRE flip
Sway bar bushings and disconnects
XJ drive shaft 1j4ff68s3xl590831 ($35)
Lock-Right locker w/ hardened pin ($296)
YAW39147-KIT Warn Vacuum disconnect block off ($40)
Ford 8.8 1fmyu24e0xub73816 w/ flange adapter ($214):
SYE ($175)
XJ drive shaft 1j4ff48s5yl174236 ($35+$93 = $128)
Replace brake pads ($27)
Check e-brake shoes (good)
Brake rotors ($31×2 = $62)
Hard brake lines ($8)
Extended brake line (Included above)
Weld Tubes ($25)
E-brake connection
Mounting kit ($118)
MORE Shock Mount Extensions ($103)
33″ Trailcutter MT ($661)
Hits: 21
Work 3/7:
Hung 8.8. Seems a bit to one side, by about 1/8″. Suspension hasn’t settled yet, so everything could settle in just right.
The new axle did lower the rear end about 1″. I’m sure I can use a little larger shackles if need me. Or I could just mount a winch on the front to the level everything out.
Measured the new rear drive shaft at 17.5″.
Work 4/8:
Didn’t get much accomplished today.
The plan had been to remove the front hubs along with the axles to get ready for the locker and one-piece shaft install.
Try as I might, the hubs would not come loose.
I tried:
The steering trick
A little bit of heat (not much though)
Soft head hammer
I guess it’s either a slide hammer or take it to Merrill Axle.
Work 3/14:
Accomplished some tear down on the axles tonight.
On the 8.8 I got the discs, brakelines and e-brake cabled removed.
Tomorrow I am cutting off the ford mounts and cleaning up the areas Frontier 4×4 will be welding on.
On HP30 I got rotors removed, the draglink off. After looking at the HP30 closely I’ve decided to swap it in directly without changing much on it. It’s actually in really good shape. Just gonna clean it up, slap a coat of paint on it and mount it up. Oh, and new brakes all the way around.
Work 3/15:
Everything removed from the HP30. Once brakes are back on and the locker installed, it’s ready to be installed.
The 8.8 has all brackets removed. I need to clean up the old welds and clean the various areas for welding.
I did get into the tube a bit with the grinder on one side. Jedi, the guy whose write up I am following, had the same issue and filled it in with weld. Hopefully that worked out for him and I can do the same.
Work 3/18:
Luke at Frontier 4×4 welded the tubes to the pig. Excellent beads.
Inspected the rotors and it looks like I’ll need to replace all four.
Work 3/22:
Started disassembly of the HP30. I don’t have the option of doing the steering pop to remove the axle shafts so I am currently soaking the mating surface with PB.
I inspected the ring gear and I cannot get the pin out without removing the carrier so that I can remove the ring gear. I am unsure if I will need a spreader to re-install it once I am done. If so, hopefully I can get one from O’Reilly’s on the loaner program.
Work 3/29:
Removed the TC drop.
Removed the original HP30.
The new HP30 is placed but I need to get new u-bolts. The old ones must have spread while mounted and it’s all but impossible to get them safely into the spring plates. Maybe a C clamp will work to compress them a bit and bring them to where they will get into the holes.
There are also items to be removed from the original like the steering stabilizer.
Ford 8.8 was cleaned up and painted. The new brakes are mounted.
Work 3/31:
Attached the front axle permanently.
Started up the Jeep to charge the battery.
I need to find the bushing that goes at the top of the front shock.
Passenger side was pulled through all the way.
Work 4/1:
Tried to measure for my front drive shaft but depending on which yoke ears (always the same orientation) it varied by a half inch. I’ll wait until Saturday when I have the support of someone that’s done this before.
I removed the stock soft brake lines and installed, but did not tighten, my new crown extended brake lines. I should have taken pictures, but I still need to figure out how to situate them.
Hung the brake calipers on the front discs just to keep everything where it ought to be.
Mocked up the hard brake line on the 8.8.
Work 4/3:
Disconnected rear shocks.
Disconnected rear brakes (the hard way).
Loosened rear shackles.
Removed rear drive shaft (had a bad u-joint).
Inspected the front yoke for viability when I convert to a front XJ shaft.
Looks like I may need to get a front yoke from an XJ.
Swept the shop so leaves don’t catch fire when welding today.
Work 4/4:
Installed SYE.
Welded spring perches on the 8.8.
Still to do:
Rear:
Weld shock tabs
Fix rear brakes
E-brake hookup
Custom drive shaft
Front:
Install locker
Install solid axles
Install block off kit
Custom drive shaft
New transfer case yoke
New motor, transmission and torque arm mounts
Torque:
Torque Arm and Transmission mounts
Rear u-bolts
Rear shackles
Rear flange adapter
Front u-bolts
Front shackles
Front axle ears
Front ring gear and bearings
Both differential covers
Fluids:
Rear differential
Front differential
Transfer case
Brakes
Finishing touches:
Hook up vent tubes
Connect shocks
Bleed brakes
Work 4/10:
Took wheels to get 33 MT’s mounted.
FINALLY got the hubs removed and old axle shafts pulled.
Used a product called CRC Freeze Off. This stuff really works!
I also got the carrier out to install the Lock Right.
Work 4/12:
Today;
Locker installed
Axle seals
Carrier re-installed
Tube seals installed
XJ axles installed
Hubs re-installed
Re-installed rotors and calipers
Block-off kit installed
Had some dodgy threads on one of the hubs, so I pulled one from the original axle.
Before installing the hubs, I cleaned up the mating surfaces and coated them with hi-temp anti-seize.
The passenger inner axle seal was a bit tricky. Since this axle assembly was a vacuum actuated it didn’t have an inner seal at the differential. During the installation of that, I had to tap the seal in a bit and test fit the axle a few times. This was to ensure the seal road on the machined surface. After that was done, I used a bit of RTV around the edge.
When it was all said and done, I realized I installed the brake dust shields bass-ackwards, so the whole thing had to disassembled again.
Fixed my air impact too!
Pics
Work 4/13:
Too cold to do much since the thermostat in the shop is broke but I did get the new shoes put on the YJ.
Work 4/14:
Today was a lot warmer.
Front shocks connected
Spring main eye and shackles torqued
Hubs torqued
Axle nuts torqued and keepers installed
Steering stabilizer installed
Steering linkage installed
U-bolts torqued
Diff cover installed
Gear oil in front diff
Brake lines attached to frame and installed on calipers
Torqued caliper bolts
Put the old front output yoke on until I find a XJ yoke
PB’d front alignment hardware
Work 4/15:
Ran the HP30 vent
Filled TC with Dextron III
Ran the 8.8 vent
tightened transmission and torque arm mounts
Re-torqued rear shackles and maineyes
Pressed the flange on the rear drive shaft
Cut out bad brake line for replacement
4/16:
Ran the HP30 vent
Filled TC with Dextron III
Ran the 8.8 vent
tightened transmission and torque arm mounts
Re-torqued rear shackles and maineyes
Pressed the flange on the rear drive shaft
Cut out bad brake line for replacement
Work 4/17:
front axle is all hooked up, filled up and torqued.
TC is full.
rear drive shaft is on
brakes are all connected but having a bit of a pressure issue (see my post in tech questions) probably just air
rear diff full, need to torque u-bolts to proper specs still
she moved under her own power in the driveway last night.
Work 4/18:
Chris burned in the rear shock tabs and shock mount extensions
Bleeding of the brakes began in earnest.
By the end of the day we’d increased pressure and the Jeep was stopping better but they still aren’t stopping as well as I’d like.
I did replace better than half the brake lines so I think I just got air trapped in a T or bend some where. More bleeding on Sunday.
Work 4/19:
Finished bleeding the brakes and got it on the road.
Sound like one of the rear dust shields is making a bit of contact. Nothing major, will take a look later today.
I am still going to have the brakes power-bled at a shop. I think there is still some air in the lines and will take too long to manually bleed them.
More Work 4/19:
I guess I couldn’t leave it alone.
I found the metal to metal dragging sound. One of the rear dust shields was tweaked and making contact with a rotor.
I also did a front alignment:
Front of the tire: 61 1/8 – 61 3/16″
Rear of the tire: 61 5/16″
According to my source, just over 1/8″ but less than 3/16″ toe-in is where I should be.
Work 4/20:
Swapped out one of the calipers. I had pulled the wrong one from my pile of parts and installed it upside down.
Finished bleeding the brakes and now they’re 5 by 5.
Work 5/1 and 5/2:
Had some trouble with over torquing the front drive shaft straps.
I was able to drill out the broken bolt and run a tap through to cut/clean the threads. It torqued to factory spec and then some so it should hold at least until I get my new yoke ordered with u-bolts instead of the straps.
All in all, I think the axle swap is complete minus some clean up and paint here and there.
Driving:
Been driving it since the 20th without any real issues.
Stuff I need to check:
Lube
Fluids
Torque
TC Leak
Finish Front Drive Shaft
Brake Line Protection at certain points
Inspect welds
Seal behind shock mount extensions
At 500 miles:
Diff service
Check Fluids
Check Torque
Trim U-bolts
Finally:
A little Ford blue peaking out the back of my YJ.
SYE and XJ drive shaft to the 8.8.
Not much to tell about the front since I just swapped in a HP30 with the gears I wanted. Only real upgrades were XJ solid axle shafts, Lock Right locker and another XJ drive shaft for the front.