Work in Progress - JK

I do not have a Rubi so my '09 has a 30 up front. I was wondering if anyone has replaced it with the new ProRock 44 from Dynatrac and could share their experiences with me. It seems to be a good set up for my wheelin'.

Any input would be helpful.

interceptor_1972

I haven't done this yet, but I'd be interested in knowing what all was needed and what the general feedback has been from those that've done this. I imagine the PR44 would be a great upgrade. Subscribed

BLK08JK

subscribed...

pcmasten

I guess a question here is how many people are wheeling with the Dana 30 up front and how's it working for them.

KiokenJK

+1, i would like to know too

interceptor_1972

I have a D30 up front, with gussets and 4.10 LS, running 35s. No problems yet. And it's been on several wheeling trips. Long debated beefing up the D30 with RCV Axles and regearing to 5.13s with ARB lockers, but the more I think of it, the more I lean towards the PR44.

HeatTreater

I wheeled two years on my 30 with 37's with no problems I stepped up to 40's and are about to install my prorock 44 as soon as the weather turns nice.

Dynatrac

You'll be happy with the swap. While this housing will allow you to use heavier internal parts, the external parts of the ProRock 44 housing are also a huge improvement over stock. The PR44 has brackets that are 50% thicker than stock and don't need reinforcing. Since you have a 3" lifted Jeep, you'll want to use the 'Unlimited' housing option. The Unlimited housing has a corrected pinion angle to allow you to go back to stock caster and get get a better, no vibration, driveshaft angle. All ProRock 44s have 3" diameter axle tubes. The standard 3" tubes are over twice as strong as the factory 2-1/2" tube and the Unlimited uses an even stronger 1/2" wall tube (nearly 3 times stronger than stock). We have our own unique end forgings (the 'C') and they are massive(check the pic). The PR44 also provides better ground clearance.

OK, enough of the features and benefits. To make the swap with a D30, you'll need to reuse your steering knuckles and brakes. You can also re-use your outer axle shafts but many customers are changing to RCVs when they do a PR44 upgrade. The housings come with ball joints installed and you can choose either the OEM ball joint or our Heavy Duty Dynatrac ball joints.

There are 2 basic housing versions for you to consider: conventional diff or factory Tru-Loc electric. The conventional housing will allow you to use any standard 44 style differential such as a 30 sp ARB or a Detroit Locker. The Tru-Loc housing will only accept the factory electric locker (called a Tru-Loc) or the 35 spline ARB replacement. If you use the electric locker you can use factory Rubicon axle shafts. If you use the 35 sp ARB you'll need to use the 35 sp RCV shafts. Keep in mind that the 35 spline axle shaft is only the larger 1.5" 35 spline diameter for the last 5" of the shaft and offers no improvement in strength over a 30 spline shaft.

You may need to get your driveshaft shortened but that depends on your lift and other mods you may have made.

Torrin

I am running a D30 upfront and I wheel pretty hard. I am running 33's and I am planning on moving to 35's this month. I have gusseted and replaced the factory axles (preemptively). I have had no issues with the D30.

If I was straight stock and had to do it again, I would probably go the same route, it allowed me to put RCV's in for less than a D44 would cost.

Work in Progress - JK

I also wheel on the hard side, but not extreme and so far my D30 has done the job - I am moving into the "will need lockers" type of wheelin' and don't want to lock the D30 and need to upgrade in a year or so to a D44.

Anyone using a D44 that can comment? maybe they are too new?

BTW thanks Dynatrac for the info on strength - and if you need a "test dummy" for an extended time I would be happy to have you install your D44 on my Jeep for testing.