5150cliff

I've seen the gussets and sleeves for the dana 30 but am wondering if an exterior 'sleeve' could be fabricated to go on the outside of the axle tube? The tube could be just a slight amount larger to fit over the existing tube and then cut in half lengthwise and placed over the axle and then welded up to stiffen it up. Does this sound feasable to anyone because it does to me.

wayoflife

there are companies that already make outer sleeves but really, they are totally unnecessary and unless you have the know how to weld it to the cast diff housing, they aren't gonna do you much good. honestly, rather than throwing money like this at your d30, i would save up for a dynatrac prorock 44 and, in the mean time, run what you have till it breaks.

nthinuf

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...ghlight=sleeve

Harbourone

Treks makes a big truss. It's a sweet looking piece. And rock slide engineering makes outer sleeves. Then and c gussets and you will have a stout d30 housing.

vandegrift

I X2 that advice, and I am still saving for mine.

wayoflife

no matter how tough you bulid up your housing, it'll still be just a dana 30 with weak axles and with a pinion that gets smaller and smaller the higher ratio you go. you are more likely to break a dana 30 axle shaft WAY BEFORE you could bend or break a housing and at 5.13, where you'd want to be if you're running 35's or larger, the pinion is so small that you practically have only one tooth mating with the ring gear. even if you replaced your shafts with chomoly and/or with cv joints, your r&p would still be the weakest link. the benefits of going with a dana 44 has more to do with the stronger axle shafts and larger r&p you will be running than housing strength.

mjolnir

Exterior sleeves are common, guys have been doing them forever. If you are able to weld mild steel to cast, or know someone who can, then it shouldn't be too hard or expensive.

As for the Pro-Rock 44, yes it's a nice axle and if you are doing sleeves/gussets and gears and a locker on your stock 30 it might be wise to take a look at what the PR44 costs in comparison. They are lots of $$$ though..... lots of $$$

Vincent

What about 33's and 4.88's?

wayoflife

yes, they are a lot of $$$ but, if you do the math, building up a 30 is a lot of $$$ too and, you'll still have weak axle shafts and a small r&p. why everyone makes such a big deal about axle "housing" strength is a mystery to me. while it is nice to have a strong axle that won't bend or break, you are WAY more likely to break an axle or r&p and it happens all the time.

you should be just fine with this setup on a dana 30. getting c-gussets is a good idea as the c's are weak and will bend. if you wheel really hard, inner sleeves are good insurance to have as well.

mjolnir

so exactly what I said then, price it out and compare