i wanted to hear from people running 37's on a dana 30
i plan on doing gussets and axel sleeves to beaf up the front and rear axal
but how will it hold up

 

I believe mkjeep is running 37s on a front D30. Maybe he'll chime in.

 

chromo shafts i think would be a must.

 

Subscribed. I need to hear about how this can be done successfully on a Jeep that wheels...

So yea, those running 37 on the D30, please chime in.

 

ran 37 on a cherokee and had problems of snapping the 30 axles ended up stepping back down to a 35 for off road purposes,and to save some money and time on the trail repairs.

 

The weakest part of a beefed up D30 will be the Ring and Pinion (R&P). There are several folks on the forum that have reported R&P failures with 37s and a D30.

 

And there are others that have destroyed alloy shafts and had the R&P unharmed. Roll the dice to see which component breaks first...

 

d-30, 5.13 gears, lockright auto locker, C-gussets no issues yet. I do have some spare stock axles on hand if one snaps. Thing is, where I live, there are no rocks, muddy trails is 90 percent of my wheeling, I may get to go once or twice a year to somewhere with rocks. Wheeled it with 35's on rocks, no prob. Haven't hit the rocks with 37's though. I had the 37's on and wheeled it a couple weeks later. I hammered on it pretty well on the trails. Not sayin I was trying to break anything, just push it in spots that I coulda went easier. I figured if I broke something quickly on these trails then I'd be better off just upgrading to a d-60 sooner. Nothing broke, stock axles and locked. I might just be lucky though. To add to this, I usually am very easy on the gas and give it just enough to get over or through an obstacle, I will not sit there and bounce a jeep or needlessly spin the tires when your stuck.

 

X2.

Haven't had a problem yet (knock on wood).

 

So rocks are pretty much the main issue then with this set up? If I stay away from the rocks, which I usually do anyway, with 5.13s, an ARB , gussets, LCA skids, and inner sleeves, it would arguably be a pretty solid D30 set up? Unless of course I mash on the pedal and go balls to the wall? Which I usually try to avoid...

And as far as the R&P...I have been following another thread discussing 4.88s. With the teeth so small on the 5.13s, is there really any difference between them and the 4.88s? I am leaning more toward the 5.13s since I do intend to go to 37s eventually, but am still curious about the 4.88s since that has been my plan all along. And I do have a 6 speed, so I am always able to downshift if necessary. That being said, after reading through some other posts...the 5.13s are more akin to where I want to be.

So if people on here could discuss the D30 with 37s and 5.13s, that would be awesome. Especially mkjeep, a few questions - how long have you had your current setup? How much wheeling have you done with it like that? Are you always locked off road? And I know you have spare axles, so have you been beating on the 30 pretty good to see what its limits are?