Dana 30a...

[yellocoyote]

"... and another one bites the dust." eek2.gif






Went wheeling with a great group of local LOST members to Cliffs. Had a really good time - the park offers a nice variety of hills, rocks, mud, water, etc... had a really great day!

Last obstacle before calling it quits for the day, I'm the last one in the line of Jeeps, trying to get up and over some mud-covered rocks... too much of the spinning tires and too little momentum... and finally the front tires grab... :025:

Yep. Cracked the housing on my front differential. (banghead) We heard it (both Aaron and I... and even the rest of our group up at the top of the hill), and I asked Aaron what that was. But I knew before I asked the question. And the smell of gear oil a few seconds later confirmed it. We looked at each other, and the first word out of Aaron's mouth was "upgrade!" lol3.gif

Some guys in Toyotas who were behind us helped to get me winched over the obstacle that defeated me, and then callaway pulled me the rest of the way up the steeper portion of the hill. Once back to the main road, I drove it back down to the parking lot where it sat until AAA came to take us home.

So now the KJ is home in the driveway. Will be pulling the CV's and front driveshaft today, and possible the front differential. Steel JBA housing may be in my future - we'll see.

Pictures as they become available.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

******!
Although our front diff is fine, I have a feeling it too will go boom in the near future!
I am thinking of getting a steel diff and then stuffing the new gears, locker, and all other
new parts into it rather than having to install it twice!
Hell, it's only money...

 

[LibertyTC]

Look like Jayme will be getting the camera out and snapping a few photos of the carnage.
Sorry to hear about the front diff.
Ya upgrade or find another stock aluminum? JBA's steel aint cheap, but it wont crack either

 

[yellocoyote]

Leaning towards the JBA right now...

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Man you can't get a break....but it shows that you're a true Jeeper by not giving up!

 

[LibertyTC]

This May Help...

Leaning towards the JBA right now...

Maybe this may push ya..a bit better !!!! (literally) :whip:
40870[/ATTACH]"]

You must be registered for see images attach

I will be bookmarking this thread with great interest..especially if you do go steel! I know Ryan wants one too !arty52:
And for all that is good ..there is MasterCard!
Link to Good Video: http://youtu.be/rNQRfBAzSzo

 

[Ry' N Jen]

I just talked it over with Jen...
Looks like we'll be buying a steel diff later this year/ early next year!
The money it would cost get towed out of the back country with a F:favorites68:ed diff would be more than the cost of a replacement steel differential!

 

[tommudd]

Why would you have to pay to be towed out? Pull the CVs, front driveshaft and drive it home, if you're way back someone will drag you to the main road.
JBAs steel front is cool and all but
remember anything can be broken even it.

 

[LibertyTC]

Tom who has installed one of the D30a Steel JBA's? link to a thread?...
I suppose re gearing should be done with the install as well, and then do rear.
found Bugnout has done it! With air-locker! oh.....nice! Yummy!!
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44951

 

[eyehatetofu]

That *****. Didn't you just get your junk up and running? If it ain't one thing it's something else; isn't that how the saying goes? Sorry to hear.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

That *****. Didn't you just get your junk up and running? If it ain't one thing it's something else; isn't that how the saying goes? Sorry to hear.

That's what we say on the LR3 forums. But the difference Jayme knows the problem, and knows the solution.....with an LR, a ****** fault is caused by a non LR brake bulb (seriously!) :happy175:

I just looked up a stock housing, it's $485. JBA is like $1500, so really it's not a huge change. Once you factor if it happens again, you're at a grand at least, out more repair time and labor...so going stock might be more $$$ in the long run...not to mention a major let down if you are on vacation.

 

[LibertyTC]

I hear ya HJ but.....the case is the beginning!
It can get real expensive on what you decide to put in the case.
Re-gear,Air locker or?
I know bugnout spent about $3200 for his set up built by JBA custom with air line installed.
Just PM'd him to get an update on how his is holding up, he never updated after install....

 

[Dave]

Just got back and came on to see what I missed and oh crap, sorry to hear about the busted diff. You just got the KJ back running too......dam.

Dave

 

[yellocoyote]

Why would you have to pay to be towed out? Pull the CVs, front driveshaft and drive it home, if you're way back someone will drag you to the main road.
JBAs steel front is cool and all but
remember anything can be broken even it.

We would have done this yesterday if not for a couple of key tools that were here at home and not in the toolbox with us. p: Nothing is indestructible - I get it.

found Bugnout has done it! With air-locker! oh.....nice! Yummy!!

Yep - he lives just a couple of miles away too. It's a great set-up. He's gone through a lot of stuff that could have left him stranded as well (ie: Moab), and has done quite well with the steel setup.

We've also toyed with the air locker idea as well.

That *****. Didn't you just get your junk up and running?

Just recovered from the engine/valve seat fiasco 4 weeks ago... but at least this won't leave me immobile like that did. I'll be on the go again, in 2wd.

I just looked up a stock housing, it's $485. JBA is like $1500, so really it's not a huge change. Once you factor if it happens again, you're at a grand at least, out more repair time and labor...so going stock might be more $$$ in the long run...not to mention a major let down if you are on vacation.

I hear ya HJ but.....the case is the beginning!
It can get real expensive on what you decide to put in the case.
Re-gear,Air locker or?
I know bugnout spent about $3200 for his set up built by JBA custom with air line installed.
Just PM'd him to get an update on how his is holding up, he never updated after install....

Here's the thing. The logic is that any time something breaks or we need to repair, we upgrade to something better than what's existing (if possible). So if we're going to pull the old differential out anyway, it would only make sense to put something known to be stronger in its place. I already have 4.10's in place, and since I did very minimal driving once the housing broke, we're hoping to salvage the gears.

I'll say again, nothing is indestructible. But between the steel diff and possibly an air locker... we'll be doing okay. Certainly a fair bit better than the aluminum housing. I've talked to Scott (bugnout) about his experiences with his, and to date, he's have nothing but good things to say.

 

[tjkj2002]

Yeah the steel D30 will be stronger case-wise,just moves the weak point somewhere else is all,which with a 27 spline D30 is the axles(for the KJ would be output stub shafts) and the ring gear.


My D30A lived but mostly due to my driving style and the DTT inside of it,blew a CV joint apart and the diff still was fine.It's still good as it's under JL's CRD(and has been for 3 some years) and I know it's been wheeled pretty hard in his CRD.The D30A can live,even if pushed hard but everything will fail sometime.

 

[OneOneNiner]

Wow Jaym, that *****. Sorry to have you back in the club.

 

[yellocoyote]

Wow Jaym, that *****. Sorry to have you back in the club.

Unofficially in the club. Just until we get the CV's/front DS pulled. Then I'm in the 2wd only club. :disgust:

Having a difficult time getting the suspension apart this time. The last person to work on it was the guy who installed the new gears back in March... and it seems that he over-torqued EVERYTHING. A project that should have taken a couple hours at the most, is now running into day 2. p:

 

[LibertyTC]

Try to do that on trail without air tools.
He probably just used air tools to install the whole thing and never used a torque wrench.
This is why when ever I take it in I give them the torque specs for each bolt etc and tell them upfront that I expect a torque wrench to be used.
If they got a problem with that I take it elsewhere.

 

[Jo6pak]

First of all, that ***** thatyour KJ is lame again, Jayme. One of the reasons that I don't do much serious wheeling is that I can't afford to fix stuff that I may break.

And now it's time to interject some ignorance into this conversation.p:

How did you break the diff? Doesn't your front skid protect it from bouncing off of stuff?

 

[bugnout]

jo6pak -- diff is pretty well tucked up, possible but improbable to break it by coming down ******* something. Beside, Jayme has full skids. known issue with any vehicle with aluminium diff. H3's and chevy 4x4 pickups have the same issue.

When the front diff is open, you can get different rates of wheel spin at each wheel. When they both catch, the pinion trys to walk up the ring gear and because the case is weak it breaks, splits just about right under the pinion at the output shaft

IMHO:
A locked aluminum D30 is better than an unlocked aluminum D30
A steel D30 is better than a locked Aluminum D30. (maybe yes, maybe no)
A locked steel D30 is better than a Steel D30 alone.

So Jayme, Doesn't Esteban still have a D30a with an air locker all ready to bolt up? Don't think he has installed it yet.