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ok guys...its about that time for new gears...3.45s are no longer cutting it especially with the new 33s. i have a 8" out back (destroyed the 7.5) and the D28 up front....i have a Dana30 i was planning on making into radias arm and swaping in but when i look at gears i notice the Dana30 and 8" dont share the same gears..closest gears are 4.10(d30) 4.11(8"). others include like 4.56(d30) 4.62(8"). i have a dana44 outside but its a passenger drop. i have looked into it and they make "reverse gears" for it which are about $129 new and they come in a 4.11....would it be possible to buy the reverse gears and run ford knuckles/hubs on it to replace the jeep knuckles and AWD hubs? or maybe some of you could direct me to a bunch of new/used gear sites and i can pick through and see what i can find.

bump

just a note on your close gears 4.10 and 4.11 should be fine just dont engage on pavement ford usually makes a front end 4.11 and the rear 4.10 so the front pulls slightly so if on mud the rear cant end up spinning you sideways

actualy you can be a little off. I think the tolerance is 1-2% which would be up to around .08 or .09......check my math that number might be a little off. now if you try to run 3.50's with a 3.73 that is where you will run into issues. if go the used rought then you need to make sure the numbers on the gears match.

84bronco2 wrote:ok guys...its about that time for new gears...3.45s are no longer cutting it especially with the new 33s. i have a 8" out back (destroyed the 7.5) and the D28 up front....i have a Dana30 i was planning on making into radias arm and swaping in but when i look at gears i notice the Dana30 and 8" dont share the same gears..closest gears are 4.10(d30) 4.11(8"). others include like 4.56(d30) 4.62(8"). i have a dana44 outside but its a passenger drop. i have looked into it and they make "reverse gears" for it which are about $129 new and they come in a 4.11....would it be possible to buy the reverse gears and run ford knuckles/hubs on it to replace the jeep knuckles and AWD hubs? or maybe some of you could direct me to a bunch of new/used gear sites and i can pick through and see what i can find.

Your ratios can be a little off. 4.10 & 4.11 would be fine. You could even get away with 3.50 & 3.55, but I wouldn't go any more than that.

4.10's and 4.56's are available for the ford 8.8 and Dana 30.

Get the "reverse gears" out of your head. It's just slang for reverse cut, nothing actually spins in a reverse direction. High pinion axles are the only applications for reverse cut gears. The teeth on the gears need to be cut a different angle because the pinion is above the axle centerline. High pinion 44's are only found in some fords.

As for interchanging knuckles, yes you can. A dana 44 is a dana 44. It's not required, but you'll probably want to change the stub axles at the same time. Ford and chevy are slightly differently length, which prevents the c-clip from being used.

Ebay and the various bulletin boards around the net are your best bet for used gears. Junkyards are good for finding factory ratios.

ok i now understand what they are...and now knowing the diff. this axle actually is a high pinion. looks just like the one under the 77 shortbox.....now as for making it work for my B2 i assume i could swap the axle tubes around? i have no problems welding them back in because im a real good arc welder but as for getting them out i have no idea...i suppose id have to cut them but even then there is still part of the tube in there....how would i go about doing this, i got the axle free and its just laying around so if i mess it up, no big deal. its worth a try right?

You can cut the weld at the knuckle and then pound it off. Thats what I did. Here is a website I used for help. http://www.torc4x4.com/techpage.html

84bronco2 wrote:ok i now understand what they are...and now knowing the diff. this axle actually is a high pinion. looks just like the one under the 77 shortbox.....

If it's a passenger side diff, it's NOT a high pinion.

As for getting the tubes out, it can be done, but it's almost impossible. You have to blow out the spot welds with a torch, but that's not a very clean way to do it. You won't be able to drill them. Also, the insides of the tubes are machined for the axle seal.

You need to find yourself a ford axle. You can probably sell the one you have for a few bucks.

hmm ok then. well ive tried to sell it before but no luck, kinda hard to sell a passenger drop when you are only on B2.org and TRS.com i need to try again though i guess...i can get a Dana30 easy enough for only $86 hub to hub. i could get a D44 for that but i doubt ill find any D44 rigs in the pull and save. i kind of dont want to roll with a D30 under me because id probably break it as easy as i broke my 7.5 and D28 but i may be forced to, i can probably find a D30 HO with the 297x but i still wont be able to lock it or bye bye to my axle shafts. not sure what im gonna do, what you think nobody?

Sorry I didnt catch the pass drop.... If you had a fullsized HP you can cut it down to b2(eb) size.

If you're going to go to the trouble of a solid axle swap, you'll be time and money ahead to go with a dana 44....but you already know that.

Dana 44's are not uncommon. They pass through our pull-a-parts pretty frequently. Does your 44 have disc brakes? If so, you'll want to keep those. What gears does it have? Might be easier to part it out and sell the shafts and what not.

Hold out for the ford dana 44 and do it right.

well i do have a Dana44 but its a 61....its not a very good axle to swap. this Dana30 is a high output. reverse rotation high pinion with 297x. without a locker i think ill be fine on my 34s...only thing im going to do is ditch the 4link and weld on wedges..i think ill probably do a wristed arm like you have also. im also trying to sell my 1980 9". 31spline BB outters so if you know anyone lookin let me know..it'll surely help me with my swap

So.... tell me about the high output Dana 30.....that's funny. Is that the one with the vacuum disconnect ? ........didn't we already discuss reverse rotation?

If you have your heart set on a dana 30, go for it. I guarantee you'll be wishing you had locking hubs.

this Dana30 is a driver drop. it is reverse rotation high pinion. it runs 297x. and as far as locking hubs, it runs flanges and for $97 they make a manual cable actuator for them.

As Nobody has told you twice now there is no such thing as reverse rotation gears or axles-what would they do make you tire go backwards when in drive and forwards in reverse. They are reverse CUT, meaning the teeth are cut are a different angle because the pinion is above the center-line of the ring gear-hence the name High Pinion. As for the Dana 30 I wouldn't do it unless it was absolutely free. You can do a Dana 44 for cheap and if you want indestructable I'd throw in a Dana 60. Just get wedges and weld on and you can use radius arms on anything. Your ratios can be a little off too, but I'm sure you can find matching ones for almost any axle combo with all the aftermarket stuff out.