twarne01

I have looked through a couple threads on here about this topic and now I am struggling even more about this topic. Here is my problem. I am really wanting a Dana 44 for the front, but I don't want to pay for a brand new one. I have been searching everywhere and can't seem to find just the front. The best thing I have found are people selling the front and rear as a combo, which even those are hard to come by.

I am really wanting/needing to regear (5:13), but I dont want to waste my money doing it to my D30 if it is going to be my weak link. From the info I have gathered on here, the pinion is very small when you go down to 5:13. I know I can gusset/sleave my 30, but I have no experience doing this and would probably have to pay somebody to weld it up.

I want to know what your opinions are on what I need to do to my D30 to make it stronger and a ballpark to how much it is going to cost. If you can break it down even more between part cost and labor cost that would be even better. Even if I find a D44 I am still going to have to regear it unless one falls into my lap that has already been done.

I'm rolling on 35's too, but plan on moving to 37's when these tires wear out so keep that in mind also. If you know where I can get a D44 point me in that direction too. No offense but I want to hear from people that know what they are talking about and not what your buddy's uncle or friends brother did. Thanks guys...I appreciate the help

BlackNorthernJK

what are you planning to wheel in primarily? lots of rocks? or ?

HOGGSTATUS

Here's where I'm starting and getting evo gussets... Kit comes with gussets but double shouldn't hurt

twarne01

I am not going to be taking any hard lines through any rockbeds, but I do encounter trails that have multiple rocks, tree roots, mud, and ruts. So I need to have something that can absorb the shock when I go from loose dirt to a rock transition.

wayoflife

for the love of god, i am so sick and tired of all the hype surrounding axle sleeves AS IF they are somehow needed to run bigger tires. so that it's real clear, even if you were to bend your axle tube doing monsterous jumps in your jeep, there would be nothing preventing you from driving home. however, IF YOU BREAK AN AXLE SHAFT, you're pretty much screwed unless you have the tools and the knowhow to get you mobile again. please, if anything, save your money and invest it in a set of chromoly axle shafts instead of axle sleeve. if you can afford sleeves too, there's nothing wrong with having them - they just aren't necessary in order to run larger tires.

having said all that, so long as you're easy on the gas, you should be just fine running 5.13's in your d30. likewise, so long as you're easy on the gas, you should be fine running 35's even with factory shafts. if you lock up and play a little harder, i would highly recommend chromoly shafts. if you plan on running 37's, definitely upgrade your shafts to chromoly and just go easy on.... yes, the gas and you should be okay.

if you're determined to go 44, i wouldn't waste your money in buying a used one off of a JK. instead, i would save up and get a dynatrac prorock 44. yeah, it would be more expensive for sure but, you get what you pay for. your factory rear will be just fine.

twarne01

thank you...thank you...thank you, thats exactly what I wanted to know

eljon928

good info!!!

Piginajeep

the guy I gave you the number for welded my C-gussets on as well

HOGGSTATUS

So what your saying is, I'd be more likely to break a axle that bend the housing... No jumps for me so I'm was going off what I've heard from the NorCal folks...Rompin Roger, David, Mike. So if you had a grand to spend you would go chromoly?

wayoflife

what i'm saying is that even if you could bend the housing - SO WHAT? sure, you would have camber on your wheels but that will not prevent you from getting home. running bigger tires will significantly increase your odds of breaking an axle shaft and that is a real problem. even if you have the tools and know how to pull the shaft, you'll no longer have 4WD and depending on where you are on the trail, this could make your exit back to pavement a lot harder.

let me put it to you this way. since the JK came out, i have only heard of maybe 5 front axles housing shattering and witnessed one of them with my own eyes. i have checked and verified that all these breaks were on early 2007 model rubicon 44 front axles. i have not heard of any new breaks since on any newer model rubicons or on ANY dana 30's for that matter - NONE. and i should add that the one axle i saw break, everyone in the industry i know that i showed pics of it to all agreed that this was probably a defect in the metal as it seemed to be brittle. bending axle tubes can and does happend under the right conditions but shattering like this is not something you should see. fortunately, the axle i saw break was covered under warranty for this.

having said all that, i have personally had and have seen countless axles with bent c's. for this, gussets are good to have. i have also seen plenty of broken axle shafts and have personally replaced several myself. these are the facts or, at least based on what i have seen and experienced over the past few years. again, while sleeves aren't bad to have, they simply aren't necessary and all the hype suggesting that they are is just that - hype.