Best narrow track Dana 30 iteration questions

Nick,
I hate to confuse things but all my drum type D-30 spindles were machined on the inside just like the disk type.
So I really don't know what up with that.
If I ever figure that out, then I'll let you know.
The D-30 drum spindle part numbers never changed until they went to disk type spindles.
Thanks for posting the pics .....

 

I find it interesting too. Unfortunately I've run into more than a few discrepancies of different types. This one is why I'm thinking they made a running/transitional change as Jeep ramped up to disc brakes.

 

ok, so who wants to sell me a carrier /case with 5.38 gears?

 

Randy's Ring and Pinion will

 

So, why shouldn't I buy the dana set thats almost 100 bucks cheaper than the yukon?

 

Because Dana never made 5.38's for a Dana 30.

 

http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-16588297-dana-30-5-38-gears-dana-oe.html

 

So I must wonder ...
How can they sell new Dana Spicer gear sets considering that Dana Spicer is no longer in business ?
The part number shown (D30-538-OE) does not look anything like a Dana Spicer part number.

I was previously told that Dana Spicer never even made 5.38 gear sets to fit the D-30.
4.89 was the lowest ratio available from Dana Spicer.
I have a set of NOS Dana Spicer model 30 @ 4.89 myself.

Anyone else have contrary info ?

 

Info on the gears I have matches yours Oldtime.

 

Are those some sort of chinese knock off then?

 

Dana's are under every JK that rolls off the assembly lines today. Non-Rubicon models get Dana 30's in the front. Check out Dana.com and spicerparts.com. Plenty of justification that says they're still in business and made in USA.

 

I'm certainly no expert on Dana Spicer history but....
Yes I fully agree that the Dana Corporation name lives on.
In fact I just bought a Dana Victor Reinz gasket set for a Dauntless.
They are currently based in Maumee Ohio, not far from where they started in Toledo.
I'll ask Greg Roe what's up.
He knows the history details since he was actually working there in Toledo.

We used to have a Dana Spicer Corporation drivetrain shop here in the St Louis area.
Back in the 1990's (if I recall correctly) the Dana Spicer shops all went out of business.
I was told then that Dana Spicer was bought up by one of the big international automotive firms.
I find no recorded history of that purported "buy out" but I certainly did see the local Dana Spicer Drivetrain shop go under.

 

Did a little digging and found in 2006 Dana holding company filed for bankruptcy but are still in business. I'm not sure if it's under a different umbrella or what, but if so, that would explain different part numbering system, especially on never before offered products. They are now offering Ford 9" carrier assemblies too which they NEVER did in the past. I'm hoping the quality of their gears and whatnot are still as good as before. I know the quality of their ball joints took a nose dive for quite a while.

 

your best bet would be to ask the seller where those gears are made and who the actual manufacturer is. If they don't know the answer to those two questions I'd buy the Yukon gears. A hundred bucks might seem like a lot of savings, unless you end up tossing those gears later and buying the Yukons anyway. Just my .02

 

Like all of todays big international companies I just figure they are contracting out the parts manufacture overseas or wherever happens to be cheapest.
AFAIK all of the big long time US companies are now doing that.

I recently bought a new set Dana Spicer ball joints for a D30 so how could I tell if they are junkers before I install them ?
Besides hardness tests ..... Any simple ideas on that ?
Maybe I should have bought some Moogs ?

 

My real issue is setup. I don't want to dicker for a week trying to get my gears set right because they are junk. I agree that 100 bucks is nothing if the gears are junk. I'm just trying to see what the experience is here. I have bought inexpensive parts by "American" brand named companies only to see china on the label and turn out to be total trash and unusable. I have seen the opposite on a couple occasions as well, but thats very infrequent. A couple weeks ago I had to replace a cherry microswitch. They are now made in china. Brand new it was faulty. Had to install an air regulator, China. Broke in 3 days. like cracked the housing broke, for no reason. Chinese drill bits that bend, no kidding, bent drill bits! I have no doubt that chinese manufacturers can make great quality products and do on a regular basis. Isn't Motive a dana brand? Isn't that their chinese low cost alternative?

 

You really can't tell but if you recently purchased them and they haven't been on the shelf for a long time they will probably be fine. The last batches seem to be fine. Check and make sure the upper spanner nut is correct though. I've found they've been putting the wrong ones in a lot of the boxes. To a point I had to reuse the old spanner nuts. That's the notched one that goes on the top ball joint and sets the pre-load. It threads into the upper portion of the "C" on the housing and requires the special socket.

 

Good advice right there.

 

I emailed the seller and he verified made in America.

 

Ordered Dana case and spider gears, master rebuild kit and Dana 5.38 gear set for 477.00 shipped to me. Best price I could find. They are also having a 10% off sale until monday at midnight. I am now committed to a dana 30 under my 2A.