Thinking of a Dana 30 swap

[2010_Ranger]

another depends. first thing to buy is a winch.



trutrac definitely better than open diff or traklok.



the cost of regearing and differentials is very high. very very high.



when at this dollar level....i prefer selectable lockers. definitely for the front.

but a 4.0 with 33 in tires and 355 gears is fine. 373 or 410 definitely better but for sure 355 is livable.

if i read you right you do in fact have 410 gears.

so dropping a lunchbox in the rear and living with that is the most cost effective option. many find them to be too harsh. but they are usually less than 300 bux...about the same cost as a traveler or harbor freight winch.

Definitely appreciate the help. I haven't looked too much into the regearing so I don't know what's the cost.
I do know the truetrac will run about 600-700 dollars which is pretty spendy in itself. and the coilover conversion will be around 1500 total.
Can you recommend a locker for the front? I've tried looking for the torsen differential but they're hard to find and looks like production will resume in 2026 sometime (according to the website)
I have the 4.0 sohc[/QUOTE]

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Personally, I’d change out the torsion bar keys and give the T-bars a crank for a start. Supposedly 98-07 Rangers had the torsion bar keys clocked slightly differently because the 08-11 Rangers sat lower than the older ones.

If you’re going to drop $6-700 on a locker, you might as well consider just doing an e-locker and whatever gears you intend to run long term. Unless you are capable of doing your own gear install.

An e-locker in the front is the ideal. An air locker will work, but the e-locker is nice. The thing with a locker in the front is it causes funny handling sometimes and it will fight and bind on hard turns. Being able to choose when it locks in means you can leave it off and working as an open diff until you need it. Less wear, less fighting you.

Rear will tolerate a locker. Again, ideal is an e-locker there too, but I’ve had a Lock-Right “lunchbox” locker in my F-150 for like 15 years now and I haven’t babied that truck at all. It scrubs tires and makes noise but when I put my foot in it, both back tires dig. That makes a lot of difference off pavement. If you’re not aware, my vintage of F-150 has an 8.8” rear…

My Choptop Bronco II is getting a Lock-Right in the 8.8 I swapped in there last year. I picked up the locker a couple months ago, I want a new diff cover before I put the locker in though so it should be happening in the near future.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would leave the front alone, the rear seems to "do more"

Also it kinda messes with the steering and is much harder on your front driveline (aka cv shafts)

Rear is more common to find as well. IMO start there and work your way to the front if needed.

 

[sgtsandman]

Tosens are made in batches for the front differetial. You need to contact torsen and get put on the contact list for when they do the next run. They are aupposed to be doing a run now or very soon. From what I understand, there is a supply issue they are dealing with for making them.

As far as needing limited slips or lockers, you can get very far without them, if you know what you are doing. I've been able to keep up with those who have a factory rear locker without any problems so far in the off roading adventures we have done together.

That being said, I do plan on putting a torsen in the front to minimize the steering issues mentioned and an air locker in the rear. I already have the air locker, and old, out of production ARB. I'm just waiting on Torsen so when I do the regear and install the differentials, I can do it all in one shot since the process is a miserable job. Getting the spacing right for the pinion and ring gear right so the the tooth engagement and back lash correct is a miserable instal, test, remove, reset, and repeat process.

For most off roading, you will rarely need something in the front axle. If anything is needed, it is the rear axle and even then, unless you are getting into more than moderate off roading, most of the time, you won't even be using the rear locker. The last excusion we did in Kentucky with my 2019, I only had the locker on once in order to keep the rear end from kicking out in the mud. The rest of the time was with the axle left open and 4X4 was only used when needed becasue your turning radius increases when 4X4 is engaged.

All that being said, I would only put a limited slip in the front, if anything. Power trax makes a lunchbox one (or a similar make in another brand). And of you go with a locker, get a selectable one because of the steering on and off road.

The rear is more flexible and you could go with an auto locker like the one you are looking at or a lunch box locker. There will be a learning curve because of how they engage but they are drivable on and off road with minimal issues.

As far as the torsion bar keys that were mentioned, the ones made for 2007 and earlier are forged differently and will give you about 1.5" - 2" of lift without any other modifications other than installing rear axle blocks from the same era. Or you could just install the keys to level the truck.

 

[Shran]

If you had a TTB D35 or a solid axle swap already done I would suggest that you do a front locker first and leave the rear alone but in this particular situation I would agree that a rear locker would be more appropriate. I have front lockers in two rigs that have only limited slips in the rear and I am very happy with that setup... but... neither of them are in IFS equipped trucks.

IMO you are getting way ahead of yourself here, there are two theories of successful offroad builds and you aren't falling into either of them-
#1 is upgrading things you've already broken
#2 is building from scratch because you know what parts you need based on things you've broken in the past on other rigs

I would spend your money on a winch, rear locker, tires, skid plates, bumpers, lift, etc and go wheel it. THEN if you are breaking front end parts... consider a SAS.

 

[bobbywalter]

yeah. start with a winch so you can learn the limits.





there is a way to put a selectable up front. it has been done....there are two versions of the setup...a 30 and 35. one has 10 bolts the other 12. and it is not consistent. you have to check. the rangers were pretty solid with the d35 from 99ish to 2009 or so when they went to the tractions control stuff and disk rears.

i dont remember the exact combo, but you can have the receiver groove for the circlip cut, though that is not always necessary. depending on what setup there is other light machine work. iirc you could use the 30 from the explorer to run the jk locker in the front..


this is why i say lift can dictate whether the sas 30 is good. you can lock and install a sas cheaper than most sla lifts with the locker limitations.


as mentioned so notably, leave the front locker off the table till you get some experience.

 

[2010_Ranger]

Personally, I’d change out the torsion bar keys and give the T-bars a crank for a start. Supposedly 98-07 Rangers had the torsion bar keys clocked slightly differently because the 08-11 Rangers sat lower than the older ones.

If you’re going to drop $6-700 on a locker, you might as well consider just doing an e-locker and whatever gears you intend to run long term. Unless you are capable of doing your own gear install.

An e-locker in the front is the ideal. An air locker will work, but the e-locker is nice. The thing with a locker in the front is it causes funny handling sometimes and it will fight and bind on hard turns. Being able to choose when it locks in means you can leave it off and working as an open diff until you need it. Less wear, less fighting you.

Rear will tolerate a locker. Again, ideal is an e-locker there too, but I’ve had a Lock-Right “lunchbox” locker in my F-150 for like 15 years now and I haven’t babied that truck at all. It scrubs tires and makes noise but when I put my foot in it, both back tires dig. That makes a lot of difference off pavement. If you’re not aware, my vintage of F-150 has an 8.8” rear…

My Choptop Bronco II is getting a Lock-Right in the 8.8 I swapped in there last year. I picked up the locker a couple months ago, I want a new diff cover before I put the locker in though so it should be happening in the near future.

Yeah I definitely am leaning towards an elocker. I do like the fact that I can engage both wheels on demand. In your f150 do you have a v8? And what gears are you running with your lunchbox?
I'll look into a torsion crank.

 

[2010_Ranger]

I would leave the front alone, the rear seems to "do more"

Also it kinda messes with the steering and is much harder on your front driveline (aka cv shafts)

Rear is more common to find as well. IMO start there and work your way to the front if needed.

Okay that sounds very good at the moment. I can definitely get by for now with the rear locker. If I do baby steps I'll be able to get a better understanding.
Thank you for the advice.

 

[2010_Ranger]

Tosens are made in batches for the front differetial. You need to contact torsen and get put on the contact list for when they do the next run. They are aupposed to be doing a run now or very soon. From what I understand, there is a supply issue they are dealing with for making them.

As far as needing limited slips or lockers, you can get very far without them, if you know what you are doing. I've been able to keep up with those who have a factory rear locker without any problems so far in the off roading adventures we have done together.

That being said, I do plan on putting a torsen in the front to minimize the steering issues mentioned and an air locker in the rear. I already have the air locker, and old, out of production ARB. I'm just waiting on Torsen so when I do the regear and install the differentials, I can do it all in one shot since the process is a miserable job. Getting the spacing right for the pinion and ring gear right so the the tooth engagement and back lash correct is a miserable instal, test, remove, reset, and repeat process.

For most off roading, you will rarely need something in the front axle. If anything is needed, it is the rear axle and even then, unless you are getting into more than moderate off roading, most of the time, you won't even be using the rear locker. The last excusion we did in Kentucky with my 2019, I only had the locker on once in order to keep the rear end from kicking out in the mud. The rest of the time was with the axle left open and 4X4 was only used when needed becasue your turning radius increases when 4X4 is engaged.

All that being said, I would only put a limited slip in the front, if anything. Power trax makes a lunchbox one (or a similar make in another brand). And of you go with a locker, get a selectable one because of the steering on and off road.

The rear is more flexible and you could go with an auto locker like the one you are looking at or a lunch box locker. There will be a learning curve because of how they engage but they are drivable on and off road with minimal issues.

As far as the torsion bar keys that were mentioned, the ones made for 2007 and earlier are forged differently and will give you about 1.5" - 2" of lift without any other modifications other than installing rear axle blocks from the same era. Or you could just install the keys to level the truck.

Aw ok I didn't know that torsen had a list. I'll look into that. Like you mentioned I might not need it for moderate off-road but a mod worth looking into.
As of now my truck has 295s on 17s with a 3" body lift. I haven't had many obstacles it couldn't tackle but it could use a rear locker I think and the coilovers.
Mainly the back doesn't have nearly as much weight as the front. So that could very well convince me to get a front locker. Most the off-roading near me doesn't have solid winch points like trees to help it's steep grades of dirt and sagebrush. So I'm actually still think of going for a torsen in the front
I've heard the power Trax is fine as long as you change the grease cause they leave shavings in the gear case. Not too sure if everyone has that issue but one guy claims it did and it got too hot even for a magnet.

 

[2010_Ranger]

If you had a TTB D35 or a solid axle swap already done I would suggest that you do a front locker first and leave the rear alone but in this particular situation I would agree that a rear locker would be more appropriate. I have front lockers in two rigs that have only limited slips in the rear and I am very happy with that setup... but... neither of them are in IFS equipped trucks.

IMO you are getting way ahead of yourself here, there are two theories of successful offroad builds and you aren't falling into either of them-
#1 is upgrading things you've already broken
#2 is building from scratch because you know what parts you need based on things you've broken in the past on other rigs

I would spend your money on a winch, rear locker, tires, skid plates, bumpers, lift, etc and go wheel it. THEN if you are breaking front end parts... consider a SAS.

Yeah that's a good point. I'm on board with it too. I do have a winch, bumper, led lights, tires, wheels, but I don't have skid plates and have overlooked them. Some of the roads I run are VERY washed out and the skid plates would be dope to have.
The main reason I was thinking of a Dana 30 because they only have 130k on them and wasn't going to cost me an awful lot. So I was thinking if it's worth the upgrade or swap then I should go for it.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah I definitely am leaning towards an elocker. I do like the fact that I can engage both wheels on demand. In your f150 do you have a v8? And what gears are you running with your lunchbox?
I'll look into a torsion crank.

I have the mighty 4.9l also known as the 300 straight six, inline 6 cylinder. I’ve blown driveshaft U-joints to pieces a few times with it, so it doesn’t lack for power. I put a stage 2 or 3 clutch in it and a ZF5 manual transmission. So I have a torque beast of a motor and used essentially an on/off switch to connect to a transmission rated for 26k lbs towing. It will find the weak link. 3.55 gears.

My red 92 Ranger (4.0, auto) I did some transmission work and ran it stock other than that with 30” mud tires. 3.73 gears, factory rear limited slip.

My green Ranger is currently lowered 5.0 V-8 AWD with 3.73 gears. I’m going down from 31” tires to 29” soon. That is limited slip 8.8 in the rear that I packed an extra clutch disk on each side to help it lock harder. It will bomb down a dirt road.

My Choptop has 4.10 gears with a 4.0 and manual trans with 35” tires. It could use more gear. 4.56 or 4.88. It is tolerable as is, but it would be nicer with more gear. That had a packed limited slip rear for years and a D-28 with a Lock Right. After detonating a few front shafts I switched to a D-35 front. No locker in that currently in the front and I did detonate a D-35 shaft but the problem there appears to be the axle is located incorrectly with the lift brackets. I did, however, go a surprising amount of places off-road at the 20th anniversary ride on just the rear axle with it.

 

[bobbywalter]

For Dana D30,Front 27 Spline - 10383 Spartan Helical LSD Worm Gear Limited Slip | eBay

Note: For Front 27 Spline, For 3.73-Up Ratio, For Dana 30. Dana 30 Front, Standard Rotation. Dana 30 Front, Crush Sleeve Design, Grand Cherokee. Dana 30 Front, Crush Sleeve Design, TJ Wrangler. Dana 30 Front, JK Non Rubicon.

www.ebay.com

damn.

 

[sgtsandman]

For Dana D30,Front 27 Spline - 10383 Spartan Helical LSD Worm Gear Limited Slip | eBay

Note: For Front 27 Spline, For 3.73-Up Ratio, For Dana 30. Dana 30 Front, Standard Rotation. Dana 30 Front, Crush Sleeve Design, Grand Cherokee. Dana 30 Front, Crush Sleeve Design, TJ Wrangler. Dana 30 Front, JK Non Rubicon.

www.ebay.com

damn.

Nice find at a fantastic price if you have a Dana 30.

 

[sgtsandman]

Aw ok I didn't know that torsen had a list. I'll look into that. Like you mentioned I might not need it for moderate off-road but a mod worth looking into.
As of now my truck has 295s on 17s with a 3" body lift. I haven't had many obstacles it couldn't tackle but it could use a rear locker I think and the coilovers.
Mainly the back doesn't have nearly as much weight as the front. So that could very well convince me to get a front locker. Most the off-roading near me doesn't have solid winch points like trees to help it's steep grades of dirt and sagebrush. So I'm actually still think of going for a torsen in the front
I've heard the power Trax is fine as long as you change the grease cause they leave shavings in the gear case. Not too sure if everyone has that issue but one guy claims it did and it got too hot even for a magnet.

It can't hurt and they are generally transparent in operation from what I understand. They will make themselves known from time to time but not very often, from what I understand.

 

[Lil Bronco]

Wow!! Lots to digest.
First off, these guys have forgotten more that I’ll ever know.

short version

My opinion…. Independent behaves so much better on the road, solids so much better on rocks.

I’m not a fan of “lunch box” lockers (had one, 1 no more) like limited slip, prefer selectable lockers. Air or electric, both have benefits.

If you’re leaning towards SAS, bigger is better. The 44 is generally bulletproof.

Final word….. I’m going to take some time to digest what these guys said, I’d recommend you do as well. Lotta good stuff there.