DEAL OR DUD?

10 things to watch out for when buying a used front axle

- Christian Hazel

No matter where you find them or from whom you’re buying, like everything else these days used 4x4 axles have really gone up in price. In the past you could roll the dice that the 1970s Jeep Dana 30 you bought for $150 to upgrade the Dana 25 in your early CJ would wind up being usable. But nowadays with prices climbing three, four, or even five times higher than that for “good when running” parts, coming to the purchasing table with some knowledge and abilities to tell what is good and what is bad is something every used axle shopper should know. We didn’t purchase the Dana 30 axle shown in the lead image, but it did come already installed in an old Jeep CJ that we bought. While working on the Jeep to get it roadworthy, we noticed a few red flags with the axle, so we pulled it for a mechanical inspection. As it turns out, just about no part of it was usable, so it’s a perfect candidate to show you most everything that may be wrong with most common Dana or GM corporate-type beam front axles.

1 Wheel Mounting Surfaces and Hardware