Modded Dana 30 vs Stock Dana 44
#11
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.
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.
#12
JK Super Freak
WOL is right one the money. One thing I would add is when you are doing any axle mods keep the weak link principle in mind. If you beef up one part then sure that stronger part is less likely to break, but the next weakest part of the axle will break instead. One example would be a Built D30. If you put RCV shafts in and an ARB locker and regear to 5.38. The week link is the teeth on the R&P. Break a few teeth off the R&P and you have a problem that will be a bear to fix on the trail and expensive to repair when back to the shop. If your weak link is something easy to get to, cheap to replace, and easy to fix on the trail you are much better off.
#13
JK-Forum Founder
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WOL is right one the money. One thing I would add is when you are doing any axle mods keep the weak link principle in mind. If you beef up one part then sure that stronger part is less likely to break, but the next weakest part of the axle will break instead. One example would be a Built D30. If you put RCV shafts in and an ARB locker and regear to 5.38. The week link is the teeth on the R&P. Break a few teeth off the R&P and you have a problem that will be a bear to fix on the trail and expensive to repair when back to the shop. If your weak link is something easy to get to, cheap to replace, and easy to fix on the trail you are much better off.
#14
JK Enthusiast
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Thats good to know....I haven't called him yet, I was still trying to figure out what route I wanted to go. From this info I got, I think I am just going to regear the D30 and get the chromoly axles. I guess its time to start ordering parts
#15
JK Super Freak
So WOL, would you get chromo inners and outers, and leave the u-joint as the weak link?
#16
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So I am a pretty mild wheeler. Yes I am locking up and putting 5.13s in my D30...but like I said I am very conservative on the skinny. I don't like to push things hard. If I keep my stock axle shafts for the time being...that would be my weakest link correct? Or by upgrading the axle shafts is that going to make the ujoint the weakest link? My apologies for my ignorance just trying to understand what's going on with all this
#17
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on a side note, if you can only afford to get one chromo axle shaft, get one for the driver side. in my experience, they are the only ones to ever go.
#20
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This is the best thread i have found on this topic. Kudos, WOL. I have been banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to run 37s effectively on my D30 while regearing and adding lockers. Here's what I now have come up with:
5.13s
ARB lockers
ARB stainless airlines
Cromo front axle shafts
Riddler covers
New driveshafts
I already have the Evo gussets and LCA skids on. Am I missing anything?
I don't see the point in sleeves for the wheeling I do, never do stupid jumps or anything crazy enough to bend an axle housing. I've only ever seen it happen in person once in my life.
5.13s
ARB lockers
ARB stainless airlines
Cromo front axle shafts
Riddler covers
New driveshafts
I already have the Evo gussets and LCA skids on. Am I missing anything?
I don't see the point in sleeves for the wheeling I do, never do stupid jumps or anything crazy enough to bend an axle housing. I've only ever seen it happen in person once in my life.