I've been toying with the idea of gusseting my 30 with a possible truss but after joining the forum, it sounds more reasonable to just replace the front dana 30 with a 44 from a rubicon. Ive come to the conclusion that after I spend the money on gussets (80$) and a truss (300) I'm guessing I'm going to drop another several hundred on the welding and install. So I've decided to try and find a dana 44 from a rubicon but haven't found anything online, and haven't had time recently to visit salvage yards. Does this sound logical to anyone who has dealt with this dilemma before. Do I have any other axle options that would be suitable and reasonably priced?

 

How big of tires are you planning on running?

 

Just remember that they use the same basic housing. Same length, tube diameter, tube thickness, same C's. The upgrade on the rubi 44 is all internal. So the gussets and truss that you were going to install on the 30, guess what... ?

Internally, the rubi44 is definitely a better axle, and a better candidate for external upgrades. Just be sure to price it all out before you buy, since paying for a used axle plus upgrading could get you pretty close to a PR/Terr44.

 

I was intending to switch to 37s maybe 38s, I want something that I don't have to worry about breaking. As I'm currently running 35s on a stock dana 30 for 17k miles now and am growing more and more concerned with my c gussets, as well as the axle house itself.

 

You are going to need to address steering too, if you do any type of wheeling/ I just went to 38's and now I am saving up for steering assist.

 

It was said, but just want to reaffirm the comment that the D44 will require the same investment as the D30 in terms of a truss/sleeves and gussets.

That said, you can find a Rubicon axle with that done already. Plus, it has a locker. Dropping $5k on a Prorock or similar is just silly. You can get a built rubicon axle for half that.