Ok so I have like many of us, the Dana 30 up front and 44 out back.....my Jk dosent see a whole lot of hardcore wheeling....I work in the oilfield industry so im working alot and just can't use it like I would love to all the time.....I do play sometimes though lol....but let me get to my question since im not gonna do hardcore wheeling, would I be able to beef up the Dana 30 just to make it stronger for the occasional wheeling?? Or should I just save up and buy a 44 from maybe a wrecked Jk or something?? I bought it with 35s and a 4 inch lift on it.....came with some stupid chrome package on it which is no bueno (everything chrome except grill and wheels has come off lqtm) taking off the crap somebody paid alot of money extra for to build the Jeep I want....I rambled sorry

 

Get some C gussets and call it done. A lot of people preach about the D30 but its fine for 35's. A rubicon 44 will not be much stronger. I beat my D30 with 35's all the time. Theres even a few guys on here with 37's and they lock it. I also ran 35" SSR's on my XJ dana 30 with no problems but one broken shaft....ONCE...It'll be fine.

Bottom line: IMO if your running 37's or smaller and don't TRY to kill you rig off road the D30 is perfectly fine.

 

C gussets are the best insurance. Sleeves are smart to put on whileyou're down there welding.

 

Thanks y'all I appreciate the advice....what are "sleeves"? I know what the gussets are

 

I'm just adding a truss, gussets and sleeves with some new axles and e lockers and calling it done.

 

I have been dealing with the same thing. After all the searching I think I am just going to beef up the d30. Gussets and sleeves for me.

 

If your not running 37's, and thrashing the shit out of your rig, your fine!

 

Inner sleeves are tubes that are welded to the inside of the housing to, hopefully, keep it from bending. Outer sleeves are a shell of some type that is welded to the outside of the housing.

The JK d30 and d44 are basically the same housing, so you would still want gussets/sleeves if you swapped to a front rubi 44. The big improvement will be the 44 gears, which are quite a bit bigger and stronger than the 30 gears. (and of course the locker and upgraded axle shafts and ujoints).

 

ohhh ok i understand what your saying...............guess i will need to save some money and just decide on what to do

 

Are there any limitations to the rear d44? I never hear about it being a problem. Can it handle a locker and 37s?