# 2003 jeep lockers or axles



## Jrwiley (Jun 21, 2012)

Ok I have a 2003 jeep sport with I believe to be Dana 30 front axle and Dana 35 rear axle. I want lockers but don't know the best way to go about it.


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## mhooper (Dec 10, 2012)

I would get a locker for the Dana 30 front, but the Dana 35 is a piece and will get destroyed if you do enough offroading especially on rock or hard surfaces. For the money you will spend on the d35 locker I would look for a Dana 44 for the rear and add a locker to it later. There is a lot in selecting a locker. Are you planning on rock crawling. Do you want full time, selectable, or auto lockers.


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## Jrwiley (Jun 21, 2012)

Don't rock climb just deer hunt but I get tired every time I flex out I'm stuck. Do you know where to find a Dana 44?


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

craigslist find some classic bronco axles....dana 44 front and ford 9" rear similar in width to jeep....I wouldnt spend a dime on those little dana's....they will never live and they will never pay off to get your money back...my .02


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## Jrwiley (Jun 21, 2012)

What year bronco?


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

66-77 ford bronco had narrow axles
Some of the early years had dana 30 until they wisely upgraded to dana 44


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

jeep cherokee and wagoneer etc had good dana 44's also. a little digging and you can get a great axle already set up with lockers etc. I paid $1000 each all set up with gears, ARB lockers and chromo axle shafts with brakes etc....


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## UTRay (Mar 18, 2011)

Another common swap is the ford 8.8 out of an explorer. Width is very close to the stock tj and lug pattern is same. Also, they can be found with disc brakes, a limited slip and are usually cheap.


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## pokyswift2 (Nov 14, 2012)

if your not rock climbing with them i would go lockers, cheapest way would be a limited slip in the rear and an aussie for the front. if your not running big tires (35's or bigger) you should have no problem even if you want to try some rocks out.


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## Jrwiley (Jun 21, 2012)

Just have 31 12.50 on my jeep right now biggest ill go is 33" don't climb just mud at the lease.


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## jtrux (Oct 28, 2010)

Even mud can break a D35, if you get the wheels spinning and then they grab you could have trouble. Don't swap axles. People will say it's cheap or cost effective but it's not at all. Keep the front and do what was mentioned already, an Aussie locker or Lockright (does the same thing, just buy the one you get the cheapest and super easy to install). For the rear, unless you stumble across a D44 from a TJ cheap (not impossible but not too likely) then you should consider the Super 35 kit. It upgrades the C-clips and gives you better shafts, etc. Several buddies run this kit on their Jeeps that they rock crawl with 35's with zero issues.

http://www.4ws.com/super-35-30-spli...product-feed&gclid=CKHxzP658rUCFW2oPAodkmMAeg

Installing the locker up front and doing the Super 35 kit would be the route I would take and it will save you money and time rather than swapping axles and so forth.


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## doped304 (Apr 8, 2011)

I have a Cherokee with a d30 up front with a spartan locker. Same as an Aussie but it comes with a hardened pin. It was under 300 bucks and I put it in in my garage. Might as well replace your axle seals while you are there. Made a world of difference of road and has pretty good street manners, a little noisy. Will a crystler 8.25 fit under a wrangler? Its just as strong as a Dana 44.


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## banditbasser (Dec 12, 2011)

*axles*

I agree on the 35 being a weak point but not on looking for bronco axles. I have messed with them before, they are old, generally crusty and will likely need totally rebuilt, they have different wheel bolt patterns (5x5.5 vs 5x4.5), totally different bracketry that needs replaced, stock gearing was high and the early models had drum brakes, etc. Width is close but not right and the 9" pinion is quite low. Way too much money to make them work on a TJ.

Some jeep TJ wranglers came with the dana 44 rear from the factory, find one of those with a matching gear ratio and make life easy. The 8.8 for the explorer is nice because if you search you can find it with disc brakes and 4.11 gears but it will still need bracketry and is a tad narrower than the 35. Make sure your front and rear gears match (do you have a 4 or 6 cyl? check to see if there is a ratio tag on the axle) You can find a dana 30 front out of a cherokee at scap yards that is almost a direct bolt in as well but with a higher pinion (good for driveline angles with a lift) and the slightly stronger reverse cut gears.

I had the upgraded dana 30 front and dana 44 rear with a disc brake swap and 4.56 gears with front and rear detroit lockers 4" lift and 35" mud tires on my last TJ. It performed great. If I was driving it everyday I would have gone with a selectable locker and kept the tire size to 33".

Lots of options but for what you do I would try and keep it simple. Lots of good reading on various jeep boards. Also try car-part.com and search for a rear axle without leaving your computer. I have purchased a few I found on there. Good luck.


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## pokyswift2 (Nov 14, 2012)

lockers would be the best way to go for the money


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