The Rookie

Alright let’s hear it, pros? Cons? Experience with this setup? I’ve got my JKU in the garage and starting to tear her apart. MetalCloak 4.5 going on, 37’s going on. My dilemma is this. I’ve heard a lot of people say don’t build the Dana 30. Drive it till it breaks and then upgrade to a better axle. How durable is the Dana 30? I don’t want to be stranded on the trail in the instance of a failure. The Dynatrac ProRock looks nice, but ain’t cheap. Thoughts? Comments, suggestions? Thanks in advance!

resharp001

Save yourself a ton of headache and buy the PR or a Fusion 4x4 axle. Don't bother with trying to salvage factory axles. Get the additional caster built in, thick tubes so you're not jacking around with gussets and trusses, thicker bracketry all around and just do it right from the start. If you ever scrap the jeep, swap axles and move that PR on to the next person. If you're going to wheel the heck out of that thing, get the RCVs, add hydro and brakes and you'll be most of the way there.

nthinuf

I have been running a PR44 since shortly after it was released (before all of the other aftermarket 44's were available.) For my needs, it has been a great axle, and definitely more robust than the bent and broken D30 it replaced. That said, there are other big name options to compare against now. (the last I looked, the Dana Ultimate and the G2 Core 44's were quite a bit less expensive than the PR, worth shopping around at least). Nothing at all against Dynatrac, but if I were in the market now, I would be looking at Fusion. And I certainly wouldn't mind wider axles, rather than stock width, to get away from the need for the low backspace.

resharp001

Just to add a little more context to my comment above. I started with a Sport and D30, swapped to Rubi axles, then built that rubi axle (gussets, truss, new 1/4" control arm and shock brackets, DT ball joints). I didn't do all that at once....there were several headaches along the way like bent shock brackets and this or that. In the end, I had a rubi locker crap out on me which was pretty frustrating. I'm not on PR44 unlimited front with RCVs and a free spin conversion and a PR60 full float rear. I know 7 years ago I said the same thing about cost of an aftermarket axle, but it really is just the right thing to do if you are going to get your use out of it. If you're just driving to the local stores then not so much. I think I've done my last axle swap. This last one was a real doozie. I'm getting too old for swapping axles in the garage.

TheDirtman

If you go aftermarket get at least a 68" wide axle and you will be good with 4.5" of bs on your wheels and get it caster corrected for the size of your lift. Better scrub radius, less wear and tear on the ball joints and unit bearings. If you are thinking about adding hubs or a big brake kit just bite the bullet and get a front dana 60. Its kinda silly to throw $6-7k on a dana 44 when a 60 only cost a little more.

jordy

If there ever was a case of pay once, cry once, it would be in the axle department. Chances are when they let go it ins't going to be in your driveway. My buddy tried to run a D30 with his 37's and found that out the hard way as it broke when we were out in the middle of a run. He limped it home and stepped up to the PR44, and was looking hard at the 60's.

Orazi

Dana 30s. I upgraded to ProRock44s.

Sv_dude

Got stance? Haha.

Did you hit something? I would think your housing would be stronger than the rest of the d30 stuff inside.

karls10jk

What's odd yet consistent is that they all seem to break at that point. I've seen them break there with a truss on as well. I've contemplated adding a small semi- sleeve across that area to (hopefully) prevent the break or at least give me another 5 minutes to make it closer to the road. We're all curious on the circumstances though.

nthinuf

Don't see it nearly as much these days, but this has been an ongoing issue with the stock front housings. They always break at that same spot, though internal sleeves will move the break to the end of the sleeve instead of right there at the passenger side mounts. A few folks in this long thread indicated that the sleeves helped keep it together long enough to get off the trail or even to drive for a while on the freeway before they actually noticed the problem.
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...ousing-137074/