dana 30 Spartan grabbing and popping when not in 4wd

Charles Smith

Charles Smith

smitty1371
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Location
ellerbe nc
got a yj dana 30 chromo and tj long side shaft I leave the front drive shaft out when not wheeling because it's not balanced my problem is that in parking lots and stuff it's catching and locking the front then popping and letting go makes me feel like the diff is gonna blow lol I assembled it by the instructions it also spins and ratchets when you lift the tire off the ground and spin it just like the instructions say my question is is this just how it is and I gotta deal with it or is something wrong and I'm damaging my locker
 
I’m pretty sure that’s just the Spartan MO. Mine do it too. Sometimes pops so loud you’d swear it just grenaded. There’s a certain finesse to keep it from popping.
 
It's pretty standard. Next oil change in that put in the heavier weight diff oil. 85W-140 I believe. Might help you a little if it concerns you. I would only be concerned if it popped and made noise going strait down the road.
 
Had a similar situation with a waggy 44 front w/ a Spartan. My problem was the outter u joints were going bad so when you would turn the axle shaft they were binding and the inner shaft was getting pushed into the axle causing the Spartan to engage. This shouldn’t be an issue with yours cause the axle but should be holding the axle assembly towards the outside. A Spartan will grab and pop in an axle that doesn’t have lockouts from time to time though. It shouldn’t do it all the time though. If it is then something isn’t right as I understand it.
 
thanks for the help y'all I've got 80-90 in it now might go thicker and see if it helps do some checking while I got the diff cover off make sure I don't have any crazy wear
 
I have one in a TJ front diff. You can hear it clicking on tight turns, but that's it. So long as the jeep is in 2hi, you really can't tell its there.
 
I also had one in my old TJ and one in my current XJ. As Shawn said, slight clicking and nothing more. Couldn't tell it was there in 2wd.
 
85-140 fixed my lock rite from doing this same thing
 
Interesting. Apparently the gear oil weight makes all the difference.
 
yeah I was a little sceptical but I can't argue with the results I guess the thicker oil leaves a thicker film in the teeth that keeps them from grabbing as easily
 
I think the thicker oil muffles the sound. I've got gremlins in my rear 44 and they pop off teeth all the time.No damage...just sounds like hell once in a while. Checked my Spartan twice and it's all good.
 
This is good info. Thanks for sharing. I have a spartan in my TJ front D30. It hasnt seen alot of road time yet, but I was coasting thru a U-turn the other day and felt it grab and pop briefly. I was def coasting and in theory, since its in the front, no drive torque applied so it shouldnt be grabbing. I suppose there is some applied torque due to rotational momentum of the driveline, but I wouldnt figure this would be enough to engage it.
 
my driveshaft was totally removed because it vibrates and needs balanced and still popped I tried tire pressure I thought it might be uneven braking force I chased all those leads and it grabbed and popped whether off or on the brakes and nomater the tire pressure the oil thickness is the only thing that I could get to make a difference
 
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