tj axles in a cj

tj axles in a cj
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tmkyle

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Location
Arvada, CO
Vehicle(s)
73 cj-5 304, t14a, dana20, dana30, dana44,
Has anyone ever done a 4 link using tj axles. I just picked up a Dana 30 and a 35 with all the steering, suspension and brake parts and i am trying to decide whether or not to use them. Originally i wanted the front for the brakes but halfway home i remembered that the knuckles are probably different and then it occured to me that a 4 link with coils would probably flex and ride better than my current leaf spring setup. any thoughts that you guys have good or bad would be appreciated.
 
junk the dana 35 its a weak pos, you could do just the tj suspension up front set it up like a xj with leafs in the rear and save you a little trouble. although i'm not sure what all is involved with the front brackets and spring buckets you need, and you would have to clock your Transfer Case because the tj axles are drivers side drop. i think you would save yourself a lot of time and money if you just bought yourself a good lift with yj springs
 
But anything is possable, just depends on what you want.
 

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I never really thought about leaving the rear alone and i thought about the diff being on the other side about two minutes after i asked. However i have been thinking about using the engine Transmission and Transfer Case from a dodge dakota or something like that if it wont be too long. Or maybe my ambition is getting ahead of my good judgement that happens sometimes
 
I'll bet you can weld spring perches on and use your leaf springs if you don't want the hassle of mounting the 4 link.
 
It will be simple, first you have to box the frame so it will take the abuse the mounts for the connecting rods will give
next make some custom shock towers that will take internal bump stops
then mount up all the connecting arm mounts using the TJ as a guide for where and how far from axle center
next, get a decent rear axle, the D35 will break on you'
then go get a different Transfer Case , the one you have will not work as IT IS REVERSED FROM WHAT YOU WANT
then new drive shafts.
I figure to do it right, you will put about 4 grand into it.
As far as using the front axle with the current rear, sure if you want the wheels in front being about 7 inches wider than the rear, it will look really strange.
 
sure, I am doing that, I stretched the frame to fit my CJ6 , got all the parts I needed to do the transfer. I will next trial fit the drivetrain while trial fitting the body to decide where to fab the new engine mounts and body mounts. I will have to custom make all mounts for any engine department item from radoator to battery box all will have to be hand fabbed.
Cut the rear of the body where it needs to be cut to fit the wider framd under there and do the custom body work it takes to redo the body. I figure I will have that body off 3 or more times to get tht right. and I already own the Transfer Case that is aligned to the drivers side unlike any CJ Transfer Case , I do not need $1000 dollars in adapters as I already have the tranny and engine to match. Plus I am a good welder so modding the frame was easy for me. Keeping it square and all.
I figure to take a year doing the conversion and have no issues as it all is something I am confident in. Some one who does not have the experience to do such, I figure they will mess with it for a year and decide to sell the entire thing as a project jeep gone wrong for a grand just to recover about 25% of the money they have in it.
 
is there any advantages to doing any of this. all i got these axles for was the disc brakes since the guy was almost giving them away. Im not completely set on this idea just wondering if its worth the hassle
 
You have two big problems with those axles you bought. If you want to 4 link you will need to buy all new towers for them, as the old ones need to be cut off and new ones put on modded to fit the new angles that will be different from the difference in frame widths, then you need a new Transfer Case , plus you need new driveshafts and need to improve the cj frame that will never put up with a 4 link suspension with out folding on itself.
the other problem you have is you got a rear axle that sucks, I hope you did not pay much.
I do have some advice, next time before going out to buy something like that, find out before hand if they will work.
the axles are about 7 to 8 inches wider than your old ones and if you use the front 1 it will really look and handle strange.
you need now to find a modern rear axle to match the front, cut off all 4 link towers and weld on spring perches and go with the CJ suspension on TJ axles, that way you only need a new Transfer Case and adapter fo fit your tranny. plus new driveshafts.
I am not trying to be hard on you, just trying to save you a lot of money.
the cheapest way to go is new spring perches and cutting off the 4 link towers.
 
They were cheap i can get rid of them fairly easy which is the way the plan is going. and i think that a better idea is a good 2.5 to 3in leaf spring lift kit and bigger tires a little simpler and a lot less money. Thanks for all your advice
 
I just thought of something
if you have a local Jeep shop, call them up and see if the knuckles from a TJ Dana 30 will fir your CJ Dana 30 .
If they do you can swap out the knuckles and gain the front disk brakes, all you will have to do then is modify your MC and brake lines for Disc.
remember to use the old hub from your CJ as the wheel bolt pattern is different from a Wrangler to a CJ
then put your old knuckles on the TJ axle, take off all the brake stuff, and sell them.
that option will probably cost under 300 dollars to do.
 
tmkyle said:
is there any advantages to doing any of this. all i got these axles for was the disc brakes since the guy was almost giving them away. Im not completely set on this idea just wondering if its worth the hassle
Click to expand...
he was offing them for good reason, the D35 you can not give away.
they are so bad that the Junk Yards do not even want them as they are full of them.
the guys building TJs are swapping out the D30s for Dana 44 front axles.
The Dana 30 is a great axle up to 33 inch tires, after that they start to get pushed and at 37 they are going to break sooner or later.

We have a lot of Jeep experience on this board, some of these guys blow me away and make me feel like a beginner.
Ask any question you want and you will get an answer. No question is a dumb question as not asking before doing something can cost you a lot of money or time. Not all the answers are ones you want, but I guarantee we will not steer you wrong. Unlike a lot of forums that are full of guys that get all their advice from reading the latest rag. and remember all those articles in those rags are designed to get you to spend money with the advertisers, all the advice you will get here is from experience and knowledge from messing with jeeps for decades.
 
That was exactly my thought when i got them but i didnt have much time to research it inexpensive jeep parts go pretty quick around here so i figured that if they didnt work i could turn around and pass the deal on to someone else. I wasnt concerned about the process i can do the work im just trying to figure out if there is enough benefit to justify it.
 
tmkyle said:
That was exactly my thought when i got them but i didnt have much time to research it inexpensive jeep parts go pretty quick around here so i figured that if they didnt work i could turn around and pass the deal on to someone else. I wasnt concerned about the process i can do the work im just trying to figure out if there is enough benefit to justify it.
Click to expand...
read my post about the steering knuckles, if it works, and you are under 650 dollars for the entire mod finished, then it was worth it.
 
Thanks for all the advice ill see if the knuckles will work and if not ill pass them on and you are right about the people on this board you all are very friendly and knowledgeable thanks again
 
BajaEdition said:
I just thought of something
if you have a local Jeep shop, call them up and see if the knuckles from a TJ Dana 30 will fir your CJ Dana 30 .
If they do you can swap out the knuckles and gain the front disk brakes, all you will have to do then is modify your MC and brake lines for Disc.
remember to use the old hub from your CJ as the wheel bolt pattern is different from a Wrangler to a CJ
then put your old knuckles on the TJ axle, take off all the brake stuff, and sell them.
that option will probably cost under 300 dollars to do.
Click to expand...



i just found this Jeep Tech article about this. I didn't think they were interchangable, but the expalins it all.

Jeep Axle: Dana 30
 
Lets start: You have a AMC 304 good ,T-14 bad (replace with T-18 or T19)
Dana 44 rear Good, Dana 30 front with drums bad. I would find a later model with disc's Even wide trac and then run wheel spacers in the back.
 
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