,1 OR MANY OE US WITH YEARS OE EXPERIENCE ON THE TRAILS, WE , l STILL HAVE A HARD TIME DETERMINING WHAT KIND OE AXLE Is , 1 UNDER THE MAJORITY OF RIGs. WITH AXLEs EEING ONE OF THE MOST MODIFIED PARTS ON FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES TODAY, BEING ABLE TO DECIPHER WHAT Is BEST FOR YOUR PROJECT CAN MAKE OR EREAK YOUR NEXT WEEKEND ESCAPE. QUESTIONS ABOUND: FROM THAT REAREND HAS A lo-BOLT PATTERN, SO IT HAS TO BE GM, RIGHT?" To "MY FRIEND Is USING AN AXLE WITH No BOLTS SHOWING ON THE BACK, WHAT IS IT?" CONSIDERING ALL THE QUESTIONS WE RECEIVE EROM OUR READERS, WE THOUGHT A LITTLE AXLE EDUCATION WAS IN ORDER. THERE WILL BE A TEST. The AMC 20 sports 12 bolts and a WWI helmet- shaped cover. Its ring-and-pinion is 3.8 inches larger than the Dana 44, but it uses smaller shalts (the CJ version came with weaker two- piece shafts) and smaller axle tubes, which tend to tlex more and lead to breakage. Two versions, narrow track and wide track, were available tor .leep CJs, Wagoneers, and lullsize Cherokees. Applications: 7086 Jeep CJ/Scrarnbler .......... front/rear 79-86 Jeep Wagoneer . . . .tront '80-86 Jeep J10 ........ . . .tront Hing gear diameter: 8,875 in Pinion gear diameter/splines: 1.625 in/29 Splines Available gearsets: 2,73, 3.07, 3.31. 3.54, 3.73, 4.10, 4.56 Available lockers: ARB Air Locker. Auburn Gear limited-slip, Detroit Locker, Detroit EZ Looker, 0X Locker, Detrort, Eleotrac BY JORDAN MAY PHOTOGRAPHV. CHRlSTlAN LEE t/rrr Detenhjning: Difffehtials This semi-tloating rear axle featured a 1n-bolt cover and appeared in various Jeep XJs and Us as early as 1991. It has also been used as an alternative to the Dana 350 when those units were not available, and the cover design is so similar that its dilticult to distinguish between the two. Applications: 90-00 Dodge Dakota ........ rear 72961/27ton 2WD and 4WD Dodge trucks ................ rear 927present Cherokees rear Sorne Grand Cherokees .. rear Ring gear diameter: 8.25 in Pinion gear diameter/splines: 1 626 rn/27 splines Available gearsets: 2.71, 2.94, 3.21, 3.55, 3.90, 4.10, 4 56 Available lockers: Auburn Gear limitedslip Dana Tran-Lock, Detrort Locker L Available lockers: ARB Arr Locker, Dana Powerr Although these three axles share the same structural design and the most common Dana 10- bolt cover ever, each is quite different lrorn the other. with the 25 and 27 more closely related than the 30. Both the 25 and 27 use 1U-spline axleshatts that were ottered with Garden-Cross U- ioints and similar gear ratios. The 25 appeared primarily in Willys wagons and trucks, early (MS, and military Jeeps trom 41-65. The 27 had a much shorter run, showing up trom '66-73 in (Ms, Wagoneers, the Jeepster Commando, and the M38A1. Some units were altered with a Power- Loktrom the factory, and Lock-Right units are said to lit the 25. The biggest ditterence between these early axles and the Dana 30 is that the 25 and 27 are closed-knuckle, whereas the 30 is open. Also, the 25 is designed solely lor tront axle applications. Though the Dana 30 has been in use tor 25 years or more, numerous variations exist, such as brakes, hubs, ditterential orientation, wheel bolt patterns, and width. As a result, many of these units are not compatible. Additional year- to-year discrepancies include normal and reverse-cut designs and dill case ottset, which went to the passenger side in the early models and to the driver side in later models. (The tollowing listing applies to the Dana 30 only). Applications: '67-77 Bronco ...................... front '67-'68 Jeep CJ-5/CD-7 .front '72'8B Jeep CJ . , . . .tront 6688 Jeep J10 .. .... .tront 67988 Jeep Wagoneer .. . . .tront 86- 95 Jeep Cherokee . .front/rear =37. 96 Jeep Wrangler .. .tront/rear 97rpresent Jeep Wrangler . .tront 67377 Scout . .......... . from Some Jeep Commando models . ...... tront Ring gear diameter: 7.20 in Pinion gear diameter/splines: 1,376 rn/26 splines Available gearsets: Standard: 3.07, 3.31, 3.50, 3.54 3.55, 373, 4.10, 427, 4.56, 4.88 5.38; Reverse: 3.07, 3.31. 3.55, 3.73, 4.10, 4.56 Lok, Detroit EZ Locker. DetrortTruetrac, 0X Locker, TeraFlex TrLocker