wecf

If you have the $ and don't plan on selling your jeep, go big.

dahreno

If you can find a Rubi. take off , truss it and use it . Then when you start doing harder stuff , you can then get a Dynatrac axle housing only , and put your internals in it for a lot cheaper .

nthinuf

So why are you considering it? Go with minimal investment into the 30 to get you by until you have the funds for a decent upgrade.



Doesn't make a lot of sense to dump thousands into a 30 you know you are replacing. Now some will say "well, you can just sell the built up 30!!!". For what? .25cents on the dollar invested? Less? People are looking for built up rubi 44's take-offs, not 30's. That's just throwing money away.

And for buying a rubi take-off instead of a PR. It's the same housing as the 30 you're getting rid of, remember? So figure the total cost of the new(used) Axle + all of the same strength upgrades you are already considering. Unless you can talk a friend into doing the welding and gear setup, a PR/Tera seems like a much better route. (a rubi44 that is already built up and geared to whatever ratio you are looking for is another story, of course. IF you can find one.)

Flyer

I just sleeved and put c-gussets (EVO) on my 2012 Rubi. Will chromoly axles now fit under those sleeves? Not sure what to do if I break my axle, and am trying to figure out what to do if that happens.

bob-o

Chromo shafts will fit as long as they're 30 spline. If u ever change out the e-locker and you won't be able to put in an ARB locker cuz they use 35 spline shafts. 35 spline shafts will not fit in the EVO sleeves.

I sleeved mine too, but I got rcv axles shafts

Flyer

Are there any sleeves that fit 35 spline shafts? Are the 35s a lot stronger than the 30s? I guess that is one option- put different sleeves in eventually. I wish my installer had explained some of this to me.

Whiskey Bravo

All of these comments is why I tried to angle the discussion on wheeling habits. I'm aware of investment value and whatnot, but whether i have the money or not, i won't piss it away for no reason. There are a bunch of threads arguing "go big" or "spend little". What needs to be said is WHY. I'm all in for spending 6k now to save later. What I am not in for is spending 6k now for no reason.

What kind of wheeling requires that serious PR44 upgrade? Is it only "pro" wheelers that need it or is it a wise precaution for every gutsy amateur (like me)?

CDN-JK

Ive seen Dynatrac say that a PR44 will handle 37s confidently but for 40s a 60 is best.

When I get a PR44 i will be running 37s but would feel confident with 40s on it as I wheel with a few guys running the PR44/40s combo and it works fine.

Tooadvanced

I think what ppl are trying to say is to many variables of unknowns here. We don't know you and your driving styles. We don't know your wheeling location etc etc etc. Some pple seem to be able to make stock dana 30's last with 40 inch tires while other will blow with stock 31-32. I would say if your hitting obstacles that you are routinely have to twist or power through yoyr chances of gernading you 30 is higher but that said for most ppl who run 35 inch tires with the above mentioned upgrades you'll be fine just remember that's your greatest weakness and prob 99% of time you come on just fine. That 1% you'll wish you had a pr44 :-D

Christarp

After reading this board a lot, you would think the D30 is like glass, but I found that to not be the case so much. Sure the gears are tiny (and that's why I still have my 4.10's), but the housing isn't half bad. I was always led to believe the PR44 was the way to go, and sure, it's one hell of a housing, but after taking my stock D30 onto the dunes and going over some whoops fast enough to bottom out each time and thrash us around, I can say that the D30 holds up pretty well.

I was very concerned about bent c's on my D30, but I went faster than I even felt comfortable going over some huge whoops in the sand and was catching air left and right bottoming out quite hard, and yet my c's are still in perfect alignment, and the hosing has no damage at all. This is a totally stock D30, without gussets at all. Now, do I want a PR44? Of course, it looks magnificent and I'd probably feel more comfortable doing the driving I was doing on my D30, but I can say without a doubt that the D30 housing can take a beating. I do have 35's, and if you had bigger tires I'd suggest probably leaning towards a different housing simply because of the gears in a D30.

I have yet to run 5.13's in a D30 housing, so I can't be certain of the strength of the gears themselves, but the housing itself is pretty stout. If you're playing on huge rocks with a lot of leverage and torque then I would probably suggest upgrading to a bigger housing that can handle bigger gears, but for playing on the sand and dirt roads, it's really not bad.