Narrow Track Dana 30?

I'm looking at a Dana 30 on Craigslist. It is some distance from me so I don't want to get there and find it wont work. Seller claims the front axle is a from an 83 cj5 with 3.73 gearing. He believes that it is a narrow track axle. Seller says that his rough measurment of the WMS to WMS on the front is 51 1/2". I can see that it does have 6 bolt hubs on it and Disc brakes. Does this appear to be a narrow track Dana 30? The listing is for a set and includes an AMC 20 that he claims is from the same rig. I know that the 20 is not worth its weight in scrap.

 

I thought cj5's never came with wide track axle.

 

Check this out Jeep Axle: Dana 30

 

Looks like the NT. I would question the 3.73 gearing though. Pull the cover and confirm the ratio before laying out your cash.

 

Narrow track Dana 30 is about 54" WMS to WMS. Wide is about 57" The above referenced page has them as being 53 and 56. Rear end would be about 51" The best ones to find are from a 4 cylinder Jeep that came with 4.10s.

 

It looks like this is probably a narrow track.
I'm currently running 4.27 gears so I figure that whatever Dana 30 I get will most likely need to be re geared. I plan on adding a trutrac or similar diff when I build it as well.
The guy only wants $100 so I think that it seems pretty fair.

 

That's a good price, I'd jump on that. 3.73 seems to be the most common ratio for the narrow track D30's. Nothing unusual about that one being 3.73

 

It looks to me like there might be shock mounts on the back of that axle which could indicate that it is a wide track. I do not think wide tracks ever had six bolt locking hubs unless the hubs were switched. Also I do not think 3.73 was available after 1975, possibly 3.54 or 2.73? For $100 dollars it would certainly be worth buying. If it is indeed a wide track axle I think you could still use it for parts to convert a drum brake narrow track 30 to disk brakes.

 

I have one out of a 79 CJ7 in my 2A and it was 3.73.

 

I guess i was wrong about that then. I have a narrow track 30 with 6 bolt hubs (locking hubs) 2 bolt calipers 3.54 ratio - I believe its from 1980 or 81. I also have wide track 30 with 5 bolt hubs (locking hubs) 2 bolt calipers and the highly not so desirable 2.73 ratio - still in a 1986 cj7. The narrow track has the shocks mounted to the spring plate while the wide track has the shocks mounted to the rear of the axle tube.

 

In the drum brake 30's, 3.73 were the most common, but until 1980 I didn't think there were any options other than 3.54 or the seemingly ultra-rare 4.09 for the disc brake axles. CJ-7's were the only ones available in wide track as mentioned above and I thought starting in '81 they went to 5 bolt hubs.

 

Maybe I'm just used to looking at flat fender stuff, but does that driveshaft look a little too long to be out of a CJ5?

Here is the short side of a narrow 30 for comparison. The axle tube would be ~1 1/2" longer on a wide-track, right? Hard to compare from that angled CL pic and my spring perch, but interesting debate nonetheless.

 

You do have a point there. The Axle I'm looking at does appear to be much longer.

 

Or is it an illusion? The driver's side looks short to me. (Between the spring perch and inner C.)

 

I have one on the side of the house waiting for funds. I'll get a pic, disc brakes 5 lug. probably late today or tomorrow afternoon.

 

Well crap. The guy called and asked if I could come pick it up today. Of course I couldn't so he sold it to the guy standing in front of him. I dont blame him for not wanting to sit on it till the weekend.
The search continues.....

 

if it's an '80's 30 it should have the 5 bolt lock outs and the 2 bolt caliper mounts and 3:54 would have been the standard with 3:73 being the option. because 3:73 is the case break for the 30. unless someone changed out the axle.

 

Mine has 6 bolt hubs and discs. Can't remember the mounts off the top of my head. Got it for $25. The guy has it on c-list for so long he was going to scrap it til I called. Man, that's been 6 years ago now.