Is anybody working on a Cast Iron Dana 30 replacement for the aluminum setup and if so are they changing the ring and pinion style to that of the earlier cj and wranglers with a shorter pinion. Or possibly any other type of dircet replacement for the stock 30 axle in the liberty's

Good question !!! !!

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Custom, Comfortable & Capable.......just the way it should be

Doubtful. I'm not aware of anyone that has even tried to retrofit another existing IFS diff (Jeepin Al was thinking about it?) let alone design a new one. The cost of designing a new diff would far exceed the potential profits. There just isn't a market for it and business owners who take an objective look at the situation recognize that. Let's face it, the aluminum diff is just fine for your average everyday commuter. There are maybe 2,000 KJ owners who wheel their Jeeps to the point where a failure could occur. Thus far, (and I'm taking a conservatively high guess) there have been only 50 blown diffs. I'm sure I'd be next in line for a beefier front diff IF mine ever blows, but that day may or may not come...not exactly the kind of reassurance that a potential fabricator is looking for.

That said, the market for a new diff could increase as we see higher lifts come on the market and folks want to run bigger tires. However, why would you want to stick with a D30 at that point? Even a regular D30 is really only good to 33" tires without some additional work. At that point the demand would be for something even beefier...I'd say our best bet is for a kit that allows you to retrofit an existing IFS diff.

I havent had any problems on my CJ with the 30 and its locked up under 35s I also know quite a few guys with the 30 behind some pretty healthy small blocks. But I am curious if theres a possibility to cut down a 30 out of one of the other jeeps and modify where the knuckles would go for use on the liberty.

I'm sure tons of guys have tires bigger than 33" on their D30...I'm just talking in terms of conventional wisdom. There's nothing wrong with the D30, but you'd probably agree that there are other axles out there that are better suited for that type of setup.

Doubtful that the manufacturers will make it. There will need to be a stock vehicle that will come with it. Otherwise they won't have the sale of thousands of them to cover the cost and trouble of designing and making them. I think trying to adapt a stronger IFS from something else would be the way to go. Probably not very easy, or we would have heard of a bunch of people doing already.

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June 2001 Liberty Limited 4X4
Frankenlift II Premium, Al's Upper Arms, 245/75R16 C Silent Armors on Moabs, RL Skink Super Sliders, Rear DTT, Riddler Diff Cover, Fastman Throttle Body, Profinish-Proglass Hood, Borla Dual Outlet Exhaust, TransGo Reprogramming Kit, APS Stall Converter, 4.10 Gears, B&G Chrysler PCM, Lots of Line-X, etc...

I suspect it is an economic decision on the part of DC to stay with the aluminum. It would cost them a lot of money to recreate the front diff in cast iron. It is cheaper for DC to replace a few failed diff's under warranty than it would be to redesign.

BTW, every picture I have seen of a split diff had the split in the same place. I still think a steel collar around the housing where the pinion seal is located would prevent the split

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Bill Tolle
04 Liberty Sport 4WD
05 Dodge Dakota 4DR, 4WD
06 Grand Cherokee 2WD (wife's SUV)!
04 Kubota 4WD Tractor
LOST KJ Lifetime Member 96. btolle - BT052304

Check out this thread for a front diff collar.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=9691&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=collar&start=180

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June 2001 Liberty Limited 4X4
Frankenlift II Premium, Al's Upper Arms, 245/75R16 C Silent Armors on Moabs, RL Skink Super Sliders, Rear DTT, Riddler Diff Cover, Fastman Throttle Body, Profinish-Proglass Hood, Borla Dual Outlet Exhaust, TransGo Reprogramming Kit, APS Stall Converter, 4.10 Gears, B&G Chrysler PCM, Lots of Line-X, etc...

If you really wanted to go down the "Preventative Maintenance" modifiers route (like my theory!) You could always take your front diff out and give it to an Alloy Welder to beef it up. You could put a fair amount of extra reinforcing into the casing and a whole lot of alloy welding & support pieces would be stronger than a simple add on collar.

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Custom, Comfortable & Capable.......just the way it should be

just a note from the ford ranger/explorer camp
when I had my '98 ranger ,first year for the true IFS, it was found that the V8 explorer came with a steel 8.8 IFS not the alum dana35 that comes in the V6 model I also know that the new explorers have an 8.8 IRS and I would bet the same front for the V8
I dont know if or how but I do know that guys have no fear of locking and running 35's or bigger on an 8.8
so could the 8.8 IFS be fitted to the KJ front end?

I have also wandered about a "retube" on a D30 so that it could use the "guts" out of the IFS 30
by "retube" I mean coud new end be made so that a standard 30 could be cut down and the CV shafts from the currant 30 be used? [/i]

the only problem with that is the IFS 30 has a different pinion that is longer than a cj or wrangler 30 but to have one cut down and used in place of the original would be a huge upgrade but what is the spline count on the ifs 30. the stock cj is 27 but you can get replacement 30 spline which is the size of a 44 axle

from what I can tell you are concerned about gearing?
and how it will mate up this is all a nonissue the bigger problem will be getting it to fit in the rig
the lenght of the pinion is of no conerne as the DS can be made longer

I guess what I was getting at was that the cast Iron 30 is the same size except for the length of the pinion, and the benefits of being able to go a larger axle size, Yes your right the stock mounting areas are very important and the only issue I think should be wether a high pinion axle or standard, and the cut down should be the same width as the original.