Koyo carrier and pinion bearings, races, shims, pinion seal and crush sleeve to rebuild a standard-rotation Dana 30 front differential.
Regearing a 1997-2006 Wrangler TJ after a lift and bigger tires, or chasing a front-end howl that shows up when the transfer case is in 4WD on a TJ or a 1997-2004 Grand Cherokee, almost always ends with the Dana 30 front differential on the bench. Motive Gear R30LRAMK is the Koyo master bearing kit for that standard-rotation Dana 30 front. It replaces all four tapered bearings with their races and adds the shims, crush sleeves, seal, nut and hardware you need to set the gears correctly, so a new ring and pinion is not installed on tired bearings.
In the standard-rotation (low-pinion) Dana 30, the pinion enters below the axle centerline and is supported by a large inner bearing and a smaller outer bearing, loaded against each other by a crush sleeve. Pinion depth is set by a shim behind the inner race, and carrier position and backlash are set by shims behind the two side bearings, which is why the housing is usually spread slightly to get the carrier in and out. In a part-time 4WD Jeep the front gears and bearings spin with the driveshaft even in 2WD on many setups, so a worn bearing can make noise all the time, not only when the front axle is engaged.
Jack up the front, unbolt the front driveshaft and rock the yoke by hand. In-and-out movement or a gritty feel when turning it confirms a pinion bearing problem. Spin each front tire with the hubs or axle disconnected and listen at the housing to separate hub bearing noise from differential noise. Our Dana 30 front axle problems guide walks through the common TJ and Grand Cherokee failures, and carrier bearing noise symptoms explains how that noise differs from a pinion bearing.
Motive Gear lists the R30LRA master kit for the standard Dana 30 front in the 1997-2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ and the 1997-2004 Grand Cherokee, and some catalogs also add the 2000-2001 Cherokee. The TJ Rubicon is excluded because it uses a Dana 44 front. It is not for the reverse-rotation (high-pinion) Dana 30 used in the JK and many lifted swaps, and it does not include a ring and pinion, carrier, spider gears or axle seals. Dana 30 bearing sizes changed over the years, so match the numbers on your old bearings and races to the kit or send us your year and VIN before ordering.
The usual partner for this kit is a short-pinion TJ gear set such as the Dana 30 4.88 ring and pinion for the TJ or the Yukon Dana 30 short pinion 4.11 set. If the front is coming apart for gears anyway, it is also the cheapest time to add traction with a 27-spline Dana 30 front limited slip.
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Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
No. It is for the standard-rotation (low-pinion) Dana 30 front, such as the 1997-2006 TJ non-Rubicon and 1997-2004 Grand Cherokee. The JK and high-pinion Dana 30 use different bearings and kits.
No. The Rubicon has a Dana 44 front axle, so it needs a Dana 44 kit.
Usually you can start with the original shim stacks, but new bearings rarely measure exactly like the old ones, so check pinion depth, preload and backlash again. The kit includes 15 shims to correct any difference.
Revolution Gear's chart lists 12-15 in-lb of rotating preload with new bearings for the Dana 30. Tighten the pinion nut slowly; if you overshoot, install a new crush sleeve.
75W-90 gear oil, filled to the bottom of the fill hole. Add friction modifier only if a clutch-type limited slip is installed.
This Koyo kit includes the pinion seal, but plan on inner axle seals separately if you pull the shafts, and replace them with a proper installer.
