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dana 30 upgrade

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dbswede

NAXJA Member # 1516
Location
colorado springs
I plan on going to 33"s and keep reading how the dana 30 is not quite up to this task.........what do you pull a 44 out of to put in the front of a xj........how much modification is needed? how readily are they available?
thanks
 
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dbswede said:
I plan on going to 33"s and keep reading how the dana 30 is not quite up to this task.......

Who says? :) Granted, the D30 is not best front axle out there. But there are plenty of people running one with 33" tires.
 
You might want to weld the U-joint caps in, but other then that a D30 is fine for 33" tires. Bigger then that though and I would start looking for a D44. Heck honestly I know people running 35" on a D30 though I personally wouldn't recomend it.
 
x4

since I'm now running it WITH NO SHAFTS, or GEARS......because THEY BROKE! on 33's

My d-30 is so strong Blah blah blah.

Shut up or answer the guys question.

There are several sources for d-44's
Currie, Crane, junkyard.......

As for the best......get out search and shop.
 
X4. 33's on my open diff turdy for me. If it broke I may go searching but if it ain't broke......you no what they say. Been running this for 2 years now too and hit alot of trails. OK by me.
 
yea my dana 30 has been perfect.. no probs... im putting a locker in it and regearing to 4:56 soon. so shes been perfect. im actually thinking of maybe adding 35s so maybe ill look into upgrading to a 44... well see im a college boy so i dont have much money. i pay for everything myself... ouch i know...
 
I wheeled a LP dana 30 on 35's for 4 years and never broke a single part. Then... one of my friends first time out with 33's on his dana 30 broke his spider gears to bits.

Point of my post.... Some can wheel Dana 30's for eternity without breakage. Some can't get out of the driveway without breaking them. I suppose you have to figure out which guy you are.
 
I broke both U-joints along with the inner shafts in my D30 with only 33x10.5 tires, though I do have a front detroit. I got a set of replacement shafts from a junkyard and installed new spicer U-joints. Had KarlVP fully weld my caps in (weld all the way around, not just in one small spot) and haven’t had a problem since. Are D30 perfect, of course not, but they are capable of running 33" tires.
 
D30 = suck, it will be better to step up the the 297 u joint shafts, but unit bearings start going with the bigger tires. And if you actually wheel, you will break the d30, ecspecially with a locker. Save up and go with a d44
Scott
 
Well, since no one has really given you a good answer to your actual question. The wagoneer d44 is about the correct width and is considered to be a good swap for the xj and wrangler for that matter, but they aren't a direct bolt in. The came leaf sprung and thus will need brackets and coil buckets installed to match your xj front suspension (not a terribly hard thing to do if you can weld and make brackets.) You will also need to change at the least the pitman arm to match with the stock wagoneer steering tie rod end size. Finally, the wagoneers are 6 lug axles and the best thing you could do would be to leave your front d44 six lug and swap in a centered rear d44 from a wagoneer as well. Then you will have dual 44s and your lug pattern will match. It really isn't worth it to change the front d44 to 5 on 4 1/2 lug pattern and I don't really know how you would go about that. I'm sure someone has done it though. As far as how available these axles are.... wagoneers are everywhere and pretty cheap usually. To get the dual d44 combo and driver offset front end though, you will need to find and 80s wagoneer (don't know the exact years... mine was an 85) and they can sometimes be a little more expensive because they may still run ok. The last pair of waggy axles I bought were 150 for the front d44 and $150 for the rear centered d44. The hardest part if planning on doing a full swap is finding the centered rear. Most late model waggys came with a model 20 rear. (I actually have a 44/20 combo right now that I got for free to use for spare shafts for my front 44) This is one option for you to consider, but I don't know of any bolt in front d44s unless you buy an aftermarket one. Just to give you and idea, I put dual d44s in my yj/cj, installed 4.88s myself, and a full spool in the rear and it cost me around $1000 for the full swap (not counting all the grinding discs and welding materials). Hope that gives you a little info that can help you out. Good luck.
 
Sorry, i got a little side tracked, also another popular choice is d44 and 9" out of a 77-79 ford. Wider than the waggys (65 wms) but play with the backspacing and that can be fixed. Now for suspension, you could cut all of the brackets off and replicate your original axle. Or you could run the ford radius arms. Or you could make custom long arm radius arms. Do a search on radius arms and you can see what I mean. I am gonna do this swap, but still haven't decided on suspension yet,
Scott
 
nightkrawler said:
find a wrecked rubicon and savage the front axle out of that
just my $0.02

Lets see.
Low pinion 44 carrier
Dana 30 tubes
Dana 30 inner C's
Dana 30 outer C's
27 spline dana 30 stubs, steering and brakes

Most people would argue the high pinion 30 ring and pinion is stronger than a low pinion 44 (because your on the coast side of the 44 ring gear).

.. Where is the upgrade there?
 
well dont listen to this guy 30 are junk! lets get that out of the way. i ran 33's with my 30 and broke it every trip out and let me ad it was open and i was easy on the gas!! get rid of that 30, the ? comes into play about how much mony you have to up grade. check junkyards and the internet 250-500 depending on where you live that has been my experiance. some people say put cromoly axles and upgrade your 30 but all of that is a wast of mone i went with a 60 i dont like to spend time on the trail fixing axles or u-joints. also you need to ask yourself what are your wheeling habits? thats where i would start.
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xjohnnyc said:
Who says? :) Granted, the D30 is not best front axle out there. But there are plenty of people running one with 33" tires.
 
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