Axle Swaps

I'm finding some reasonably priced complete axles with upgraded brakes ...

1. A D27 w/ 11" drums that appears to have been setup for a Saginaw w/ 1 piece tierod ... can I just use my 2 piece tierod from my D25 on the 27 and my existing Ross?

2. A D30 w/discs ... were they most all setup for a Saggy and is it possible/easy to use with my Ross?

 

Good idea. I thought I looked at it and thought it wouldn't work the way it was setup. Assuming you're inferring that it should work, I'll check it more thoroughly night. Thanks.

No idea on the 30?

 

Not in the near future, I don't think. I must just be really lucky or something, I just don't have any complaints about the Ross, though I'm not driving at 75 either.
I had a Ross in my '52 Ford PU in HS and college and some years after and it worked perfectly fine too.

 

30s all came with Saginaw and a 1-piece tie rod. I don't see any reason why you couldn't use a 30 with Ross steering, especially if you got rid of the 2-piece tie rods and used a 1-piece tie rod with a single connecting rod.

The one-piece upgrade was common for a 27 in the day. We used to sell a kit. I think that Herm or somebody still does.

IIRC you can do the 1-piece on the 27 with the Jeepster rod end (which has a hole for the connecting rod) or with a Wagoneer 27 or J-Truck 44 right knuckle with two holes. If the 27 is already set up for Saginaw, it should have a hole for the connecting link. In the day you'd use the right hand hole on the bellcrank for the connecting rod and leave the left one empty.

 

Thanks Tim, I have the 27 but just found an ad for the 30, but have not seen it.

The 27 has a 1pc tierod and a connecting rod that has been spliced twice and is too long, but upon looking at it again seems to be configured correctly. I can re-cut and re-weld it. Just seemed easier to pop the joints and use my 2pc. (re-thinking that)

It sounds that I MAY only have to splice the connecting rod on the 30 to fit my bell crank, ie, the ball joint studs and tapers are the same as my 25 and, either the pinion yoke is the same as my 25 or, the pinion shaft diameter and spline count on the 30 would accomodate my 25 yoke (?)

My bell crank only has one [connecting rod] hole ... probably I'm not following you ...

 

Thanks Mike. As happens more often than I care, I don't know what we're talking about now. There are no "2 hole" anythings on the 25 or 27 that I have and, I don't know what the big prob is with the 2pc tierod. ... but, I am trying to learn.

 

I'm swaping a 30 into my cj6, and having trouble with shocks, and a bunch of other little things. I think I'll stick with my 27 on the cj5, and keep the ross I did switch to a single tie rod set up on my 3b and think it helps with bump steer a little.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm mostly lazy and am just looking for an easy solution to braking if I find the need to "go to town" with my 'A1

 

What problem with shock? I might be able to help here.

 

No prob with shock, would appreciate any comments on my questions though

 

For me personally the dana 30 is a no brainer. I fiddled with my dana 27 for years, it always started leaking about 8-10 months after a rebuild. The dana 30 turns sharper, is slightly wider on stance, has open knuckles, helps with a saginaw swap and doesn't pee oil on my drive way.

The dana 30 has larger axle tubes than the dana 27 or 25 so the stock spring plates technically don't fit. They can be made to fit but it weakens them some. The aftermarket seems to forget that Jeeps prior to 1972 had there shock in front of the axle instead of behind like later. No one actually makes spring plates for the dana 30 with this in mind. I actually made my spring plates from scratch to fit properly and have the shocks mount in front like there suppose to.

 

Thank you, that was very helpful ! With Windyhills and McRruffs comments, I will pass on the 30 for now, not looking for a project yet, just an easy swap

 

I thought there were two holes in the bellcrank end, one for each tie rod... I must be thinking of a different vehicle.

 

Since the ends of the tie rods move up and down independently as the springs compress (the two knuckle ends vs. the two bellcrank ends), the angle of the tie rods with level changes and their effective length changes. This causes "bump steer," mostly due to the toe-in changing as the springs compress. Your Jeep will be easier to control with a one-piece tie rod.

 

The special tierod is at the top on a cj, its what bolts to the bellcrank.