Low Pinion Dana 30 Yoke Upgrade

Wade H

Wade H

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Supporting Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
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62
Location
Central Texas
99 TJ 4.0
Rear Lunchbox Locker
Open Front
Dana 30 / 35 stock with 3:73 gears
2.5 inch lift with 32x11.50 tires

Had a conversation with the local Jeep Builder Shop about upgrading the drive line on my ride.
His recommendation was to NOT install a selectable locker on the front due to the possibility of breaking the driveshaft yoke.
Is this a common issue? Recommended yoke upgrades?

(I'm going to install upgraded axle shafts front and rear)
 
hahaha, that's news to me. There are thousands of locked D30s and I have not heard of anyone upgrading their yoke nor have I heard of broken yokes being an issue.
 
He sounds pretty dumb...

I switched to U-bolt yokes after helping a few people that sheared the bolts/straps of theirs.
 
whitrzac said:
He sounds pretty dumb...

I switched to U-bolt yokes after helping a few people that sheared the bolts/straps of theirs.
Click to expand...

No need to replace yokes for that, it's a simple mod. Drill the 4 holes out and install u-bolts, but since there is so little torque placed on those straps I find it unnecessary.
 
Agreed, pay zero attention to that local builder shop... they don't know what they're talking about.

What they should have told you is your Dana 35 is now a ticking time bomb, axleshaft-wise, with that lunchbox locker installed. A stock Dana 35's axle shafts are NOT strong enough for a locker with oversize tires.

This is a friend's broken Dana 35 axle shaft after she broke it on a trail we were on. It took us a while to get her off the trail and back to camp. Then a friend had to make a 150 mile trip to get a replacement shaft so she could drive home. I would NOT wheel any stock Dana 35 axle with any kind of a locker in it. Especially a lunchbox locker since the stock OE Dana 35 carrier is not strong enough. You have two possible breakages due to that lunchbox locker... your carrier and/or an axle shaft.

She wasn't smiling before we got her Jeep fixed.

Marianne640x480.jpg
 
Wade H said:
was to NOT install a selectable locker on the front due to the possibility of breaking the driveshaft yoke.
Is this a common issue? Recommended yoke upgrades?
Click to expand...
The shop owner probably meant axle shaft yoke. If you put a locker in the Dana 30 you are much more likely to break the axle shaft yoke. The upgrade is better axle shafts. There was probably just a little miss-communication somewhere along the line.
 
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pagrey said:
The shop owner probably meant axle shaft yoke. If you put a locker in the Dana 30 you are much more likely to break the axle shaft yoke. The upgrade is better axle shafts. There was probably just a little miss-communication somewhere along the line.
Click to expand...

The only upgrades I did to the Dana 30 was removing the axles and used a dremel to cut a groove in the ears of the yokes to install full circle clips into the yokes so that the U joint cups would not rock under load.
A year later I installed an ARB selectable locker; the full circle clips kept the U joint cups intact when using the ARB.
Many years later I won alloy axles at a Desert event that also had full circle clips. I installed the alloy axles and used the stock axles that I modified as spares.
 
CodaMan said:
No need to replace yokes for that, it's a simple mod. Drill the 4 holes out and install u-bolts, but since there is so little torque placed on those straps I find it unnecessary.
Click to expand...


Need, no.. But they are designed slightly different.

I didn't think it was necissary until I spent the better part of 2 wheeling days helping others after the bolts sheared off. $140 for both was cheap insurance.
 
Thank you all. I’m going to upgrade the axles and perform these mods.
Then the locker will be installed.
 
Interesting.....
Guess it depends upon how aggressive you are with the skinny pedal.
I wheeled my '98 XJ 4.0L AX-15 for 15 years in Moab, the Anza Desert and the mountains of Big Bear before replacing the clamps with U bolts.
When I replaced the driveshaft U joints at the carrier end; I would apply blue loctite to the bolt threads.
Never had a problem with the clamps or the bolts coming loose.
 
Wade H said:
99 TJ 4.0
Rear Lunchbox Locker
Open Front
Dana 30 / 35 stock with 3:73 gears
2.5 inch lift with 32x11.50 tires

Had a conversation with the local Jeep Builder Shop about upgrading the drive line on my ride.
His recommendation was to NOT install a selectable locker on the front due to the possibility of breaking the driveshaft yoke.
Is this a common issue? Recommended yoke upgrades?

(I'm going to install upgraded axle shafts front and rear)
Click to expand...
Find another shop.
 
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