What you see is a plug weld for the sleeve.

 

I suppose a JK Dana 44 take off might be an option but isn't it's axle wall thickness the same as the Dana 30's?

 

That sleeve may be the only thing that kept your housing together. Without it, might have ripped it completely apart.

The only difference between a D30 and D44 housing is the cast center section. Everything else, tube thickness, etc, is the same. If your insurance or the city covers this, I would forgo a Mopar replacement and get a Teraflex 44 housing or some other housing that will take all of your stock components. Unless you wanted to invest in all new innards.

 

If your insurance will fix it you can have it appraised (go to an expensive shop) then request the money and they'll write you the check to fix it yourself. Could easily upgrade then.

 

Good point. That would have been exciting.

 

Just a thought because from my experience, insurance is always trying to screw you if they can find a way. I would throw on some stock wheels and then make the the insurance claim.

I'm sure the insurance will have some loop hole in their policy they'll find and then try to deny the claim based upon the adjuster reporting you had over-sized tires. Throw on those stock wheels/tires and it seems they couldn't go down that path.

 

Yup, I did this. Insurance cut me a $3500 check for a new front axle. Blew it on a crate rubi 44, and the rest towards re-gearing and locking the rear.

 

A D30 with 35s on it is a ticking time bomb. The housing is just too weak to live with that. Could you repair your current D30, yes, but you would just be wasting money as it would break again at some point in the near future, and you might not be so lucky the next time to escape without damage to the rest of your JK.

If your budget can handle it, going with a brand new aftermarket axle would be your best option. While the factory Dana 44 is stronger than the 30, it still has issues with thin wall axle tubes that like to bend, weak axles, and a weak differential. By the time you spent money on beefing up a factory D44, you'd be within striking distance of a full aftermarket axle. And you would get all the strengths advantages that goes with it too.

 

Tera Flex has a Dana 30 replacement axle. Much better built than stock, stronger, beefier, set up for lifted JKs...

Other than a bigger/stronger ring and pinion in a TF Dana 44 is there a good reason NOT to get the TF replacement Dana 30?

My wheeling is mild, no mudding, no extreme rocks. No locked different either.

 

A Dana 30 is still a Dana 30, even an aftermarket one, and still has the inherent weaknesses of the overall design. And what you'd spend on that aftermarket Dana 30 wouldn't be far from an aftermarket Dana 44-based housing, so why not do it right the first time and get a 44? And if/when you decide to step up your off-roading a notch or two, you won't have to worry about whether or not your front axle is stronger enough to handle it.