Dana 30 on a '56 CJ5?

I have a Dana 30 front axle that I plan to glom the 11" brakes off of (believed to be from a 1972 CJ5), but I was wondering.....can this axle be put on my '56 CJ5? Any benefit to it? Can it be geared to 5:38? Is it the same width? Pros/cons?

So many questions from such a little mind.....

Thanks! Otherwise I'm taking the brakes and giving the rest of it away (has no hubs).

 

I suppose I should mention this is an open knuckle axle. No idea what the ratio is yet. Just wondering if this is worthy to consider as an upgrade, since I have it. Oh, and I has fotos....it was on an M38 frame when I got it.

 

I'd stay with your dana27, lots of little things in this "bolt on" and the cost of swapping gears etc. Dana 27 will hold up just fine, grab the 11" drums.

 

No brainer absolutely swap the dana 30. Even with doing a gear change(yes they make 5.38s for the 30) you will be way better off in the long run with the 30. Parts availability, ease of maintenance, doesn't leak as much. Bolt on discs with no mods. Will turn circles inside a 25/27.

 

Absolutely right!

 

Just for reference, that isn't an '82, should be a 72-75.
The '82 would have disc brakes and 2" wide spring pads and IIRC 5 bolt hubs.
The 72-75 is going to have 6 bolt hubs, 1.75" spring pads and drums from the factory, making this almost a direct bolt in.

And I would swap it in.
But remember it's going to be 3" (1.5 per side) wider. This normally wouldn't be a big deal but wheel spacers will help with the rear to match width if wanted.

 

You're absolutely correct, it's a '72. It was late and I was tired. 6 bolt hubs? Didn't think of that. That's a deal-killer right there. I'm using stock rims, ain't gonna mess with an extra hole. The extra width doesn't thrill me either. I'm going to be running narrow shelf roads with it. Stock appearance is more my style, a wider stance ain't in the plans.

Looks like there's gonna be a free Dana 30 axle for grabs in Parker, Colorado soon. Anybody want it? No hubs or brakes.

 

Mine is a 25.

 

Hold on a minute. That is 5 bolts for the wheel and 6 bolts for the locking hub. As far as the xtra width you won't notice it. You don't need spacers on the rear as the 72-75 Jeep and almost all other 4x4's with straight axles were wider in the front than the rear. The centered dana 44 is the same width as the offset 44 on the early cj's rear.
As far as a worthy upgrade it is so much better than the 25 or 27 axle its pitiful.

Pros for the dana 30
1 - More parts available
2 - No leaky knuckles
3 - more locker choices
4 - Bettter turning radius
5 - Disk brakes are a direct bolt on
6 - Stronger all around
7 - Ever so slightly wider

Cons for the dana 30 swap
1 - A little money
2 - Not stock on an early jeep

In this pic do you really notice any width difference?
I run a 77 dana 30 with disk brakes and Aussie locker.

 

I think he meant six bolts for the locking hubs.

 

Well, perhaps this bears more consideration.....

 

Six bolt hubs not wheels. A '72 won't be any wider pretty much the same as the 25's and 27's

 

It will be 2 1/2" -3" wider than the dana 25 or 27.

 

If you have it now, use it. If you have to buy and regear it, Hmmmm. It's a slippery slope Ron, and this would be the first step. 'Taint stock, 'Taint original . Your call..............

 

If I had to do my dana 30 swap on my cj2a again I would have not let it set in my garage fo 2 years before doing it, should have done it as soon as I got it. The better disk braskes, the steering (turn radius), stronger axle. The extra width 2 inches overall, 1inch each side not even noticable. A little extra money to regear it 5:38 gears but well worth it

 

Sorry, didn't mean to confuse anyone, YES, 6 bolt locking hubs.
The wheel bolt pattern is still 5 x 5.5.

 

I would do it in a heart beat if I had a 30 setting in my garage!!!!