Dana 300 rebuild
- Thread starter almostcj7
- Start date
Depends on the type of wheeling you do.
A lot of the rubi's and 4.1 lo equip vehicles are great in rocks and trail riding, but suck in mud and snow, they don't generate enough wheel spin. so if you wheel a lot of rocks and trails, do it, if you like mud and snow, don't waste your $$
A lot of the rubi's and 4.1 lo equip vehicles are great in rocks and trail riding, but suck in mud and snow, they don't generate enough wheel spin. so if you wheel a lot of rocks and trails, do it, if you like mud and snow, don't waste your $$
GaryMB
New member
Instead of a gear swap...in the axles? I would get some good gears in the axles that match your tires before I touched the t-case. I would, however, do the 4:1 over swapping in really low axle gears though if you still want to lower your crawl ratio after gearing the axles...I did the t-case rebuild last winter, it does take some special tools and alot of patience but isn't too bad. The 4:1 isn't something I would do, mostly b/c my stock low range lets me do pretty much everything I want to, but I gotta admit that 4:1 would be sweet in the rocks.
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Utah_jeepster
Super Moderator
A 4:1 "Tera-Low" isn't a bad choice if you do any type of rock crawling. But it doesn't help your fuel mileage nor daily drive ability. Re-gearing your axles is actually the first step you should take after going to bigger tires. This will place your gearing back to near factory settings, and give you 70-80% of the gas mileage back. You will loose some due to the rolling resistance of the bigger tires.
If you find yourself doing a lot more rock crawling than say mudding and your finding yourself needing that extra torque out of your motor the 1200$ 4:1 kit isn't a bad investment. Now if you never taken your transfer case apart, and or afraid of grinding on to open some clearances for the bigger gears then find a local shop and have them do it. Since changing the out-put shaft also requires that you do a SYE a new rear CV type of drive shaft is required.
If you find yourself doing a lot more rock crawling than say mudding and your finding yourself needing that extra torque out of your motor the 1200$ 4:1 kit isn't a bad investment. Now if you never taken your transfer case apart, and or afraid of grinding on to open some clearances for the bigger gears then find a local shop and have them do it. Since changing the out-put shaft also requires that you do a SYE a new rear CV type of drive shaft is required.
Shop around. I got mine shipped to my door for 750.00. It only took me and a friend about 3-4 hrs to completly r/r it.
almostcj7
New member
My Jeep dosent see the road except to get gas or beer runs from camp. It gets trailered to the trails, and my driving is 95% rock crawling. Did the crusher @ browns camp last weekend, and my gears are a little too tall(4:10). Changing the gears, new cases and lockers would be just as expensive, especially ith a D-70 out back.
redrooster
New member
What engine, trans and size tires are you running?
IMO, 4.10's should be a decent axle ratio if you are running the T176 and straight six. You probably don't win any races, but high range gearing should be decent.
I would suggest looking at the link below. It's the Jb Conversions Lo Max 4:1 kit for the Dana 300. I ride with the guys in the pictures and have never known them to break the transfer case. Jb also offers a rear output upgrade, but I would break the original before upgrading. Some guys wheel them forever without breaking.
Wheel spin should not be an issue with the 4.2 and manual trans with the 4:1 kit. Crawl in 1st and spin the tires in 2nd.
http://www.jbconversions.com/pages/products/lomax/index.html
IMO, 4.10's should be a decent axle ratio if you are running the T176 and straight six. You probably don't win any races, but high range gearing should be decent.
I would suggest looking at the link below. It's the Jb Conversions Lo Max 4:1 kit for the Dana 300. I ride with the guys in the pictures and have never known them to break the transfer case. Jb also offers a rear output upgrade, but I would break the original before upgrading. Some guys wheel them forever without breaking.
Wheel spin should not be an issue with the 4.2 and manual trans with the 4:1 kit. Crawl in 1st and spin the tires in 2nd.
http://www.jbconversions.com/pages/products/lomax/index.html
redrooster
New member
The Dana 300 doesn't have a slip yoke. It is a fixed yoke. He would be able to re-use his driveshafts as all mods would be internal.
Also consider adding a twin stick shifter to the Dana 300 so you can shift the front and rear independently. It basically gives you the option of running 2Lo and also engaging the front tires only. Twin sticks can be found many places including E-bay for reasonable prices.
GaryMB
New member
My vote is go for the 4:1...a Klune-V extreme underdrive would be ideal, but that would be a tight fit for a CJ and pretty darn expensive...
redrooster
New member
Get the 4:1. The Lo Max kit sells for $600 direct, less on E-bay.
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