How nothing is ever easy....

[beaker]

SO...

There I was, trying to pull the carrier from the Dana 30 to get the broken axle shaft stub out. And I tapped the back (ie, the bolts) of the carrier with a hammer.



And a ring gear tooth fell off the the ring gear onto the floor.


So, who's pillow do I put this tooth under, and what's the going rate? And will it cover a new R&P? Or should I splurge & go big?


-mike

[johnsxj]

I feel your pain!!!!!!!!

[ZAEDOCK]

[ZAEDOCK]

Dang. Didn't realize how big that pic would be.





Also congrats on finding your limit to the LP30. Time to upgrade.

[ChrisD]

Do you plan on upgrading to 35's?

[beaker]

I was kinda thinking jumping to 37s. I did spot a pair of Rubi 44's freshly rebuild with 5.13s & the Rubi air locker, new brackets for a RockKrawler lift (looks like a 4 link), Cro-mo shafts etc for $3k in exchange for a set of rolling axles. I could give him a D35 and my broken D30 with a pair of outer stub shafts bolted to keep the unit bearings together. That would leave me to sell my 8.8 w/ 4.56 & a Aussie locker.

-mike

[johnsxj]

For that $$$ you could probably get a custom built high pinion 44 which would be much better with 37s. The Rubi 44 front axle is low pinion running in reverse (on the coast side) which makes it about equal to the XJ high pinion D30. Plus the axle tubes, unit bearings, ball joints, etc... are all the same size as the D30 (not very 37" friendly).

Also, the 8.8 is stronger than the Rubi rear 44!!!!!!! Bigger tubes, and 31 spline shafts that I have yet to personally see break!!!!!

[ZAEDOCK]

Build a Waggy 44 with a TNT truss. Cheap to acquire and much stronger than HP30 or LP Rubi 44 (IMO). I don't believe the HP30 is equal in strength to a LP 44 front. Despite driving on the coast side, you are comparing a 7.2" ring gear to an 8.5" ring gear. Here is a pic of a 44 vs a Dana 35 -> and the 35 is slightly bigger than a 30 at 7.56".





The Waggy 44 ball joints (upper & lower) are both load bearing (as opposed to just the bottom on a unit bearing HP 30 or Rubi 44) and the knuckles are much beefier. You also get serviceable wheel bearings with the option of locking hubs.

[nostaw]

So, who's pillow do I put this tooth under, and what's the going rate?

I was talking to Dan Bergeron last week... Martin (Dan's son) has just lost a tooth and was telling me about... I asked Martin what he expected to get for it when he left it for the Tooth Fairy and he answered $1000! Maybe you should get Martin to leave it under his pillow...

JW