Dana 30 and 4bt a good idea?

1760 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by jaydubnavy, 2 mo ago

IHR110

Discussion Starter · Sep 21, 2017

I need a new axle for my truck as the 65 year 2wd front axle his become a possible driving hazard. My plan was to put a Dana 44 high pinion in and go until I can get the 4x4 zf5. But upon measuring the 44 is way to wide! Dang! So I measured my neighbors jeep Cherokee Dana 30 and it's the exactly the same size as my stock axle! Yay! But will it hold to the 4bt with a slightly turned pump and hx30w turbo? I was thinking I could truss the axle. I don't plan mudding with it or anything like that, its just a everyday driver/farm truck, I would to be to have 4x4 for driving in snow, a wet field, or pull a tree or something, you all know what I mean.

Or is there any other axles with a diff on the drivers side at 58-60 inches?

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eggman918

· #2 · Sep 21, 2017

I would "think" the balljoints and wheel bearings would live a VERY SHORT life under the weight.............$.02

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char1355

· #3 · Sep 21, 2017

What '65 model truck do you have? I believe some of the Cherokees came with a Dana 44 front. Don't know if they were driver's side drops though. As Steve pointed out, the Dana 30 won't live very long. Between the weight of that engine and it's abundance of low end torque, it will suffer a quick demise. Even a Dana 44 can't stand too much abuse. We have members who have broken those.

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IHR110

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 21, 2017

Truck is 65 years old... It's a 1955 International r110 pickup. I figured a Dana 44 would be perfectly fine I know two people that have them in f250s with 5.9s crank 450hp the have survived. Problem is I can wait and search for a axle I kind of need one here pretty quick.

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\/\/0J0

· #5 · Sep 21, 2017

I've been running a d30 up front in my TJ with no ill consequence *so far*. It's only engaged when wheeling or stumping though. Recently replaced stock ball joints with synergys while trying to sort out the wobble that persists and found nothing wrong with the stockers. The 4bt is only about 200 lbs heavier that the engine that was intended to go in the vehicle.. So not much, really. The high pinion D30s were a bit stronger than the LP version
If you're looking for more beef, maybe try a d44 out of a TJ Rubicon? That would be driver side drop and narrower track.

Sent from my mobile look-at device

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char1355

· #6 · Sep 22, 2017

From the spec I find, the track on the older IH trucks was 60.5". Basically the same as the older Fords and GM's. A newer Ford truck from the '70's was a tad over 64". That would be about 2" per side wider. You body is 76" wide and newer trucks were around 80". Again that 4". Would it be possible to use a slightly different offset wheel to cover some of the difference. I guess a lot depends on how big the tires are going to be. With a narrow tire you might get by with 2" per side wider. I believe the Jeeps Dana 44 is 61.9" track so it's only .7" wider per side than the OEM IH. You'd probably never notice that.

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jaydubnavy

· #7 · 2 mo ago

IHR110 said:
Truck is 65 years old... It's a 1955 International r110 pickup. I figured a Dana 44 would be perfectly fine I know two people that have them in f250s with 5.9s crank 450hp the have survived. Problem is I can wait and search for a axle I kind of need one here pretty quick.

I'd love to hear more about how this truck is doing. I have a distant cousin that is gifting me an old rusted out '55 IHC R110, and I'm trying to decide what to do with it. Wondering how difficult / expensive it would be for me to add 4x4 and/or do a 4BT swap.

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