What's Involved In Going From A Dana 27 To A Nt 30?

The more I read the more confused I get. I have a 67 CJ5 with a Dana 27 front differential. I picked up a NT Dana 30 for $75. On the ends the 30 only has spindles. I know I need to regear and get a new differential because of the gear break. My CJ has 11" drums and I'm good with running them. Can I swap them from the 27 to the 30? Are there any more suprises that I may be in for?

 

Super simple swap, pretty much bolt in. I had to change the pinion yoke to match my driveshaft u-joint size and I had to move my shock mounts. I used a yoke off a D18. I regeared mine to 3:73 with a new carrier that fit those gears. Not sure about the drum swap tho, the D30 I bought had discs on it. My swap is in my build thread here Muzikp's Sometimes Driveable Build

 

I happened to find the same axle with a two hole steering arm. Am going to put it into a 48. The best in my opinion.

 

I believe discs where optional in 76 and standard in 77.

 

The one in my ‘57 had two bolt discs but were very crusty. I redid them. Stopping power is impressive.

I converted to crossover saginaw steering at the same time.

My Jeep had a F134 so I did not have to swap yokes

I will need to swap out my front driveshaft unless I lift it. It fit ok with my new springs but after they settled I lost most of my slip.

I used stock springs, plates, ubolts and shocks.

 

Oh I should add the PO did do a Saginaw steering conversion and he did include a box of new disc brake parts. I guess I will have to see what will work.

 

'72 through '76 came with 11"x2" Bendix drum brakes, front and rear. The first year for disc brakes from the factory in a CJ was 1977, and they were optional. Not sure when the disc brakes became standard, but all Jeeps came with discs front and drums rear by 1979. All these Jeeps have an open knuckle Dana 30 front axle.

Does the NT 30 have a tag? If so, post it up. I understand you can also tell the build date from codes on the housing, or look at the date on the edge of the ring gear. From what I've read, the drum brake spindles are different from the disk brake spindles. According to the parts book, there are two CJ front hubs - the first with two 1 5/8" bearing IDs, and another with one 1 5/8" and one 1 3/4" ID. I presume that the early drum brake hub is the former. Not sure if your Dana 27 hubs will fit on the Dana 30 drum brake spindles ... maybe.

 

The 30 you got, was it set up for disc brakes or drum brakes?

Just getting done putting a 30 in my Jeep. If it had disc brakes, there where 2 ways the caliper mount attached to the housing. It is either a 6 bolt or 2 bolt mount. If it is a 6 bolt mount, the Chevy K-10 disc brake stuff can be used. Cheaper and more available than the Ford stuff

 

Unfortunately no tag. There are spindles only and they are set up for two 1 5/8" ID bearings. There is a #303 cast in the housing and the passenger side knuckle is double drilled. I don't have the cover off yet.

 

It should have a Dana BOM stamped into the housing tube, you can use that to find what it came in.

 

I will have to clean up the tubes to find it. I did find another cast number in the housing. It is G36345.

 

Take a file and clean off the axle tube, usually on the upper side, to find the BOM numbers. I have a Spicer 30 catalog that decodes the numbers. If your axle was originally drum brake, the D30 spindles should work for your D27 brakes. The disc brake spindles had a larger diameter inner bearing. If the knuckles don't have tabs for calipers, the almost certainly it was a drum brake axle with the smaller bearing spindles.
-Donny

 

Thanks I will check it out tomorrow.

 

I didn't find any numbers stamped on the axle tubes only the letter A. I did find a number stamped on the differential cover gasket surface. It is OE3202.

 

I have a "free" Dana 30 that cost me over $1,500 to get it updated and installed and I did all the work myself. I did change gears and added an ARB I found on Craigslist. I lucked out and it was a disc brake version to begin with. I have a parts list and thread on here somewhere.

 

I did not see any numbers on the tube. However I did find the number OE3202 stamped on the gasket surface of the housing. Does this look like it's anything you can look up?

 

I realize the original post is old, but wondering if you could help me figure something out? I just completed a swap to a NT Dana 30 and also noticed the front shocks need relocated. To compound the issue, the guy I bought the axle from had added these enormous steering tie rods. Would you happen to have any pictures of where you relocated your shocks to?

 

Just a suggestion - you are allowed to post a new thread with your question. I'd use a descriptive title like "Dana 30 swap - relocating shocks?" Adding a picture of your new axle would also help.

 

I relocated my shocks at the top frame mount only. That gave me plenty of clearance.