irons43

Thanks for the post. Very good info, though a lot to digest. Have to do some more research.

squiggans23

I'm really confused by what you mean here. Are you saying leave the D30 bare and just replace axle shafts when needed? Or are you saying upgrade the axle with truss, guss, locks, etc before buying RCVs?


Would the same apply to the 44?
Sorry if this is simple, just new to this still and trying to figure this out.

TheDirtman

I would not upgrade a dana 30 and would not run a dana 30 with tires larger then 35"

mds22

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY TRYING TO "IMPROVE" or "BUILD UP" A D30!! you are just throwing money away. Just save for a better axle. Run it the way it is until it breaks, then replace it. The bigger tire you run = faster it will break. Pretty simple. if a regear is a must until it breaks, leave the front D30 open. my 2 cents...

jeepinkc

Have yet to find an answer for this from anyone other than Teraflex (who of course would try to sell me stuff) so figured I'd post in here:

Have a 2014 JK 2 door that came with the Teraflex 1.5" performance leveling kit (the one that comes with 2" springs in front, 1" in rear and front sway bar links) and RS9000XLs meant for 0-2" of lift.
It also came with a Barricade Trail Force HD bumper with a winch, and 4.5" BS wheels with 33's.

Bought Teraflex 1" lift spacers to run all the way around to add a little bit more lift.
Want just enough lift to run 35's for looks and want a bit more ground clearance.
Don't care about off-roading, 4 wheeling, flex, etc.
Just has to look good and get me to work in the snow and ice in the winter.

I asked Teraflex customer support if I would need brake line brackets, trackbar brackets, etc, and they said I would need all of that stuff, and possibly adjustable control arms.

But...with the bumper/winch combo in front, and a hard top/35 on the back, do I really?

Should I just add the spacers and see how it rides and if I need any of that stuff add it later?

TheDirtman

its a personal preference install what you have now and see how you like the drive. With the weight on the front it would make sense that you would have lost some of the lift gained by the leveling kit. Rear not so much and you may not even need it back there.

Rednroll

I just wanted to say thanks to Dirtman for the OP!!! I've been on this forum for years reading posts, trying to figure out what all the components did and what each were needed for and being a newbie to all this, often felt intimidated to ask since with a lot of this information, tends to come an overload of ego as well from many. I was going to start a similar post years ago called "lifts and tires for dummies" to try to dig into a lot of these basics, but Dirtman seems to have that covered now.

I haven't put a lift on my JK because I want to make sure I do it right and understand the basics of why I'm doing it. Alls I gathered so far was that I likely wanted to be able to put 35" tires on it for my off-road needs but in doing so, understood that will impact everything else such as steering, transmission, gearing, braking, etc, etc......the foot bone is connected to the shin bone.

I was just looking at the Mopar 4" lift, because it looks like Mopar has put together a kit that covers all the essentials that are needed, and going into it my original thinking was "higher is always better" but due to Dirtman's informative post, I'm now reconsidering and looking more at the Mopar 2" lift. Thanks for dumming it down for us dummies dirtman!!!

Squeak

Thanks for all the great info! Just had a quick question for you guys in reference to aftermarket control arm joints vs stock joints. Are aftermarket that far superior to stock control arm joints? I am only running 1.5" lift and really don't need the length adjustability aspect of aftermarket control arms. Just trying to get the most articulation out of my current setup. Just trying to decide if I can really justify spending upwards $1000 for something that might only minimally help articulation is actually worth it.

BeachJK

The Heim joints in most after market CA will greatly add flex over stock. Stock is stationary fix rubber bushing. Heim joints swivel.

nthinuf

The shock and bumpstop lengths are your limiting factors, not the arms. Unless you are planning on doing a whole lot of tweaking, I think that the stock ca joints should be working just fine for you. It's not like you are relocating mounts and running super long coils and shocks or anything.