My project 91 Explorer

[91ROKKRAWLER]

can i get some guys with 30's or people that have had them either on jeeps or sas'd onto an rbv to chime in here?

 

[410Fortune]

91 explorer 4 door is HEAVY PIG
dana 30 is a toothpick

2 door? maybe

Ranger? maybe
BII? Maybe

skip the dana 30, not only would you need to dump a ton of $$$ into it just to get it rebuilt and then under your truck, now on a couple years you will have to rip it out and go with a 44 because you are tired of breaking stuff

Dana 30 can and has been done, worth it? Not likely, not in a 4 door ex
I would keep the subs

not sure of 1 dana 30 SAS on this forum that is still dana 30, except for a BII (James Marcy)
Also explorer rear leafs are not the best choice for up front

 

[Four0Sport]

i agree.. although i dont plan on a SAS anytime soon.. if youre gonna do it, then do it right the first time so you dont have to go back in there tearing into things.

 

[Tbars4]

as for an update...

i had a dana 30 from an xj, traded it for a dana 44/9" combo, and i'm trading those axles for a 5.5" superlift lift kit with extended arms and confer shackles.

since those pics i've taken the molding off the sides, and bed lined it from the bodyline down.

my lift comes this weekend.

i'm gonna take my radius arms that are on my truck and rebuild them. make them a foot longer, and angle them a bit, then put heim joints on them as well. these arms will soon outflex my coils...

...It sounds like you are right back where you started...

 

[Four0Sport]

you already have the TTB lift why not just run it? cause if youre not ill buy it for you dirt cheap, or trade you something i dont need for it : )

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

ted, i am right back where i started and i'm confused. like i said it'd be a street queen and only ran offroad very seldom. i drive street most of the time.

i'm eventually gonna "restore" it to new, new paint, interior, that type thing but till then i wanna get suspension and stuff figured out. :exp:

i have the ttb lift but its so rusty and the main bracket for the driver beam has been broken and rewelded more then once...

oh and the 30 is out of a xj that has very few miles on it, it was a rollover victim about a month ago so it still is very good as far as internals. the guy said the fluid and stuff was changed right before he rolled it. it has factory 3.55s so it'd match my gearset. i got the spare leafs so i have pretty much what i need to do it...

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

oh and 410, i'm thinkin of doing the 63" chevy springs front and rear for the extra articulation along with a shock hoop in front

 

[Four0Sport]

like i said it'd be a street queen and only ran offroad very seldom. i drive street most of the time.

then why put all the effort into a SAS swap it youre not gonna be in any situaion to use it? get the drop bracket plated, throw the ttb lift on and call it done.

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

i decided i'm gonna go ahead with tthe 30 sas because it'll do what i need it to and the simple fact that my whole offroad club is pretty much comprised of jeeps so i see the 30s in every situation you can think of. ice, snow, mud, rocks, fallen trees, uphill and downhill climbs and they hardly ever break anything. also the ring is only .3" smaller, the pinion only .03" smaller.

 

[Burns]

I really wish you could find a D44. I really think you will regret and be searching for a D44 soon.

The r&p will not be the weak spot for you on the D30. Its going to be the ujoints.

 

[Willard]

And an explorer isn't a jeep. Heavier than a jeep, and in some cases more torque as well.

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

well i plan on sellin the lift kit and getting higher strength u-joints (760s) and axle shafts. i wish i could find a D44 that wasn't 300 bucks before the rebuild, but i can't. the reason i got rid of the one i had is the fact that i wanna do leaf spring, not coils. the 44 i had had the cast in wedges, couldn't do leafs with it. this 30 i am gettin will be ground down like before, and ran leaf spring over.

oh and would a lift kit for a 2wd chevy with the leafs front and rear work for my truck if i extended the leaf mounts? it'd come with lifted leafs, shocks, and hardware

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

well that deal fell through so i get to keep my subs. the search is back on i guess or i get the parts to finish my lift. i don't really wanna lift the ttb so i'll continue the search for an early 44 with leaf springs or maybe a 60?

 

[Dannyboy]

Good Lord! You are changing your mind so much I can't keep up with this thread and it's only 2 pages long.

Couple of things to point out even though you have already made up your mind (several times).

Your Dana 35 TTB is stronger than a Dana 30 is several aspects.

If you are a street queen your user name really is confusing (just kidding)

With a Dana 30 and the weight of your Explorer you will break more often, u-joints for starters.

With your Dana 35 TTB if you break a shaft you can unlock your hubs and run your truck in 2wd until you find a spare shaft and can afford to fix it. With a Dana 30 you will need to change it right there on the trail or you will risk ripping your ball joints apart and losing a wheel right there on the trail.

The TTB is not trash, some lift kits make it not handle all that well and 35" tires are tough on it, but I can assure you a Dana 30 on a Jeep will break on 35" tires as well, let alone an Explorer. I happen to be very happy with my TTB and have owned a solid axled Explorer done right in the past.

If you want to do a solid axle project prepare to spend some money. Just buying all the grade 8 hardware, nuts, bolts, washers, lockwashers, etc will easily cost you $100 bucks. I've never seen somebody complete a solid axle project that said "I can do it for $400" but plenty of guys have posted their well running $3,000-10,000 solid axle projects up here.

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

well i need to get a mod and let me restart... lol

but i know i wanna go leaf spring solid axle. i was gonna use a 30 because i was gonna trade a $50 sub box setup for the axle. it fell through so now i'm on the search for a 44 or heavier leaf sprung axle. anythin i can get my hands on will work.

kind of a blessing that the D30 fell through.

oh and the reason i change my mind is that i search the forums. its a no no. some people say it work, some say it doesn't. i see d30s runnin trails and everything but i don't think about it that my truck weighs about 5Gs.

CAN I GET A MODERATOR TO CONTACT ME? I THINK I WANNA DELETE THIS THREAD AND THE OTHER ONE I MADE AND JUST START OVER WITH ONE THAT EVERYONE CAN ACTUALLY TRACK (lol)...

 

[Four0Sport]

i have a headache now

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

me too... wait, i am the headache.

 

[Four0Sport]

haha

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

i'm sure everyone is pointing and laughing by now...:bsnicker:

the truth is i'm dying of a disease called, iambrokewithbigdreams. its taking me quick....

 

[Four0Sport]

hey man.. i suffer from imtoolazytogetabetterjobthatpaysmore-itis. its ok