Newbie looking for help.

I have an 08 Wrangler X, was hit in front driver side tire, so I got it salvaged and am trying to repair. Bent front axle housing so I had to swap the whole front axle out. I swapped the 2008 Dana 30 stock axle to a 2018 Dana 30.

I bolted it all up fine, all looked good, then went to reconnect front driveshaft. The stock front driveshaft was about an inch short.

I swapped out the pinion flange from the old axle instead of the yoke that was on the 2018 since the existing axle is a flange. Even with the flange barely torqued on it is about an inch short.

Curious if there is a difference in dimension from 2008 to 2018 Dana 30? How do I make up this difference? A spacer? Replace driveshaft?

Also, does the 2018 have a crush sleeve? Can I simply torque down the pinion nut and check preload in in-lb?

Thanks for the help.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

2008 uses a different engine and trans than the 2018 (3.8 vs. 3.6), and it is possible there is a length difference in the shafts due to this. Could also be an issue of manual vs. auto trans.

Best solution is to find a shaft from one with the same drivetrain as yours. If you still have the old one, is the part number still visible? That could help you pin down which years and drivetrain combos will be compatible.