Dana 30 Build or Not?

[4PLAYZJ]

At the point where I am going to sink some $$ into my diffs for lockers. I have an 8.8 in the rear so I think that will hold up o.k.  Wondering if building the dana 30 is even worth it.  I dont want to dump a bunch of money into it and still have to upgrade to a 44. Right now I am on 35's but in the future I will be running 37's.

If a 44 is the way to go, is there one that will bolt right up to my ZJ other than the Rubicon 44s?

[BlackYJ]

If you have a HP D30 it is actually pretty strong.  Then if you add chromo shafts and go to a super 30 kit with a truss it would probably hold up to 37s.  Now I have wheeled with a few guys that are running their stock LP D30 in their TJs on 35" boggers and have never had a problem and they wheel hard.  However, I think 37s are getting to the limit of the D30.  Swampsinger here is running 37" pitbulls on his D30 with no issues thus far.

As for a D44 replacement, I believe the only one that would be a bolt-in would be the rubi D44.  If you want a real D44 then get a waggy front diff, but then the bolt patterns are different.

[cLAY]

By the time you spend that much money building up a Dana Turdy you will be 3/4 of the way to building a D44.

For me it was cheaper to build the D44 as I have a welder and already had tons of D44 stuff lying around. I ddin't even consider building up the D30 as I wanted to run gears lower than 4.88 and D30s don't support gears lower than 4.88s. With 37s you should be thinking about 5.38s. Even with 5.38s I could have used more lower gears, especially with the automatic.

[FiEND]

well if you do go with something else, and you do have a HP 30 lemme know and i might want to buy it.

[Bnine]

An hp 30 front is a perfect match to an 8.8 rear.

If you build a hp44 for the front, your 8.8 rear would be a bit undersized.

37's is the upper limit of any of those axles. 30, 8.8, or 44.

30's run the same ujoint as 44's and is the weak link problem on both axles.

30's with big tires are subject to more unit bearing, and balljoint maintenance, but so are rubi 44's.

Fullsize or waggy 44's are subject to more hub, bearing, and spindle maintenance due to all the water and mud around here.

For what you are going to do, I would recommend you stick with a 30, chromo shafts, and locker of your choice.

If you run a super 30, you can use stock rubicon shafts as spares.

Gearing options of a lp44 up front is irrelevant. The deepest your 8.8 will go is 4.88 anyways.

[SwampSinger]

30's with big tires are subject to more unit bearing, and balljoint maintenance, but so are rubi 44's.

 

Very true.... it eats the cheap unit bearings

[BlackYJ]

Gearing options of a lp44 up front is irrelevant. The deepest your 8.8 will go is 4.88 anyways.

Actually I just found a website for 6.14s for the 8.8, http://nationaldrivetrain.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page30.html.  Granted they might not be the strongest

[Toyman]

This is the age old question.   Stick with the turdy, or swap.  Once you factor in a 4340 axle shafts, locker, which ideally should be selectable for a front axle, you might as well go with the D44.  Simular prices for D30 and 44 selectable lockers, 4340 shafts and higher strength u-joints.   You'll save $$$ without having to buy the D30 hub bearings with bigger tires on a D44 w/ manual hubs....   Now factor in a rear axle swap to match the 5 0n 5.5 bolt pattern of the D44 or get wheel spacer/adapters for 5 on 4.5".... much info to influence decision.

Personally, I think I have  made the decision to "polish the turd"....for know.  I'm getting a front Aussie Locker, Yukon 4340 axle shafts, Spicer 5-760X u-joints, diff cover and truss it.  I'm going to stick w/ 35's on this set up and I think I'll be OK....for the 2 times a year  I actually get to wheel..... :'(

Ideally, the bigger the better.  But this decision comes about once you decide if you are happy with your current set up, how hard you wheel, how many parts you break, and how many times you actually get out there...  Good luck, let us know what route you go.

[imbezol]

I'm in the exact same situation as you. I already have my RE 5.5 Long Arm lift and was thinking of adding a 1.25" JKS body lift along with a 1" M.O.R.E. MML to run 37s. I'd really like to get 37" IROKs. They're 1" narrower than the 36s while being almost the same height, and they'd run great aired down on my 8" rims. They seem to be a great all round tire as I still daily drive my Jeep, and I can't afford to buy TSL Bias Ply again since the ones I have only lasted 6 months. One of the guys in our club up here in Edmonton (some of you probably know him, Trapper) has run them for a year and they're still in great shape. Anyways, I'm caught on whether to go to 4.88s, 30 spline chromoly axles, and an ARB in the front. Or maybe I could just stick with 27 spline and throw in an Aussie locker. Or should I just say screw putting money into regearing, strengthening, and locking the 30. And the 4.88 limit is troublesome too, nevermind the weak u-joints. I've been pulling my hair out on this one for a couple months.
 

[BlackYJ]

nevermind the weak u-joints.

The D30s are running the same u-joints as the D44s.

Also on a side note, I have thought about upgrading my D30 to 30 spline shafts but did not want to go through the cost of another ARB.  In talking to ARB, with newer model D30 ARBs you can swap out the side gears for 30 spline ones  for a couple hundred in parts + assembly.

Imbezol, don't forget that Trapper also has the D44 up front to run those 37s

[4PLAYZJ]

Do the old Waggy Dana 44's have the same u-joint as the 30?

[imbezol]

Imbezol, don't forget that Trapper also has the D44 up front to run those 37s

Like you said though.. the D30 and D44 use the same U-joints. And they have the same tube thickness. And same axle shafts as the 30 spline D30s. The only real benefit to the 44 is the ring gear is taller making it a bit stronger and able to run taller gears. If I do upgrade, it'll be to a real 44, probably HP. I wouldn't waste my money going to a Rubi 44 for negligible gains.

[cLAY]

For me the biggest factors were, in order:

-ditching the unit bearings
-gears lower than 4.88
-bigger brakes
-more bolt pattern options to give a better selection on choosing a rear diff

Because I had a lot of D44 stuff lying around and have a welder and can fab, it was actually cheaper for me to build a D44 than it was able to do the 44 for cheaper than building a 30. I would suggest if you want to build your own to get a pre-made bracket kit. Will save lots of work and probably look better too.

If you cann't weld/fab then bolting stuff onto the 30 will be far cheaper.

In regard to LP vs HP, I choose a LP. It gives a bit more room to clear the exhaust and is way cheaper and easier to find. Everyone wants premium dollar for a HP D44 without cast in wedges. Also the Waggy D44 I used perfectly matched my rear D60's wms of 65". A Ford HP would have had to been narrowed.

[imbezol]

How easy is it to come by a Wagoneer 44 for the front? And what did you get a 65" WMS 60 out of? Or was it shortened?

[cLAY]

The rear axle(D60) was out of an '86 Dodge 3/4ton. It was almost a direct bolt in to my XJ. The spring perches lined up so I just had to fab shock mounts, the stock Dodge brake line was even still on it and was the right length for my 8" lift. E-brake cables were a lost cause though. I did have to move the axle back about 1.5" to enable me to use my stock driveshaft. Yes I had 8" of lift with a stock shaft and no vibes. BUT, I had a 1" t-case drop, the pinion was rotated up with tapered blocks and longer shackles and the snout on the D60 is way longer than a D35 so I actually had to move the axle back as the driveshaft was too long. Worked out good though as it more centered the wheels in the wheel wells.

 The Waggy axle was from a "wide track"  early '80s full size Cherokee. Its a few inches wider than a standard Waggy axle. Combined with the Dodge 8 bolt outers(they added about 2" total) it came out to 65". Perfect!
I think that standard width of a Waggy D44 with the stock outers is 61"-62"?  And if I remember correctly the D30 WMS is about 58". Maybe someone can confirm this, I'm going off of memory and hate giving out bad info.