D44 Breakage, Vs. D30???

J

Jimminyc

NAXJA Forum User
Location
GJ, Colorado
So, im doing some comparison. And there is a ton of info on here about the biggest tires to run on a front dana 30. But, i was wondering, how much "Less" breakage have people experienced by swapping in a D44 to the front? Im looking into Alloys for my front D30 and running some bigger tires. I know with alloys, the gears and locker are the weak point, but with the 44, how much strenth do we gain, or for those of you who have done the swap from a D30 with Alloys, to a D44, what kind of breakage did you experience after compared to running a d30 with alloys?
89 xj, 4:56's, EZ locker, 34's, Rear D44, front 30
Brian:.
 
Don't forget the knuckles. 44 knuckles are alot stronger. Unless you get the hybrid Rubicon 44s. I understand they are basically just Dana 30 knuckles.
44 shafts are quite a bit bigger then 30 shafts also. So if you go with a standard 44 you are gaining quite a bit of strength. Be prepared for quite a job doing it though. I haven't done a 44 front swap, but I know guys who have and it isn't a bolt in swap. How big of a tire are you going to run ? I basically run the same set up as you with same tires and I'm sticking with the 30 even when I go to 35x10.5 next tire.
 
I'm running 35s on my 99 XJ with a d30 in the front. It's not locked yet, but it will be in the near future.

I've had zero problems so far with the d30, but I also am not a person that will beat the hell out of my vehicle and drive with just the skinny pedal.

I'd say you're fine with the d30 up to around 35s, 37s being the biggest thing i'd ever want to run on it. With anything bigger then 35s i'd expect breakage.

When I lock my d30, i'm gonna do 4340 shafts (inners and outters, larger u-joints (760s). Right now the d30 is stock (except for 4.56 gearing) (297 u-joints for my year btw) and unlocked.
 
Yeah there are guys in our club that have 36 and 37 Iroks. They break shit constantly. Some of the 35" tires too. Mostly when they bind with a locker though. From watching them do it, I could see where if you are paying enough attention you could feel it happening and back off most of the time. Maybe being in the vehicle you can't feel it. You can see it trying to push back from outside though and just about the time you tell them to stop and take another line you hear the Big Pop.
 
A D30 on 33's, lockrite, 4.56 gears, and I think 297 shafts. Going up a small dirt/rock hill. Oops, Matt.

100_1548.jpg
 
i dont have any pics, but i have blown up a complete set of factory inners and outers open on 31's. i might be lookin into some cheaper alloys for the 34's im gettin this month.
 
4340 shaft from Yukon on 33's with a trutac. I drive very conservatively...nothing is bullet proof. Snapped the splines right off of it. Shaft was only a couple months old.
1zfpf5s.jpg
 
Jimminyc said:
So, im doing some comparison. And there is a ton of info on here about the biggest tires to run on a front dana 30. But, i was wondering, how much "Less" breakage have people experienced by swapping in a D44 to the front? Im looking into Alloys for my front D30 and running some bigger tires. I know with alloys, the gears and locker are the weak point, but with the 44, how much strenth do we gain, or for those of you who have done the swap from a D30 with Alloys, to a D44, what kind of breakage did you experience after compared to running a d30 with alloys?
89 xj, 4:56's, EZ locker, 34's, Rear D44, front 30
Brian:.
Click to expand...

The bigger question is what kind of terrain are you wheeling? Just about everyone active in this section of the board can show you pics of their broken D30 stuff, and what they did/are doing to keep their front ends going - whether it's a complete axle swap or constant upgrades. There are way too many variables that play a part in axle breakage to compare a D30 and D44 versus how/what you drive.

If you're wheeling in the big rocks, CRASH's writeup is very good for explaining limits and options. If you're primarily wheeling in other stuff, I don't have much experience and, therefore, not much advice (stay away from mud - it's evil, period).
 
Extremely well trussed and overbuilt D30, complete with alloy shafts, Jantz Joints and ARB:
DSCN0023.jpg



Results of running 35" Creepy Crawlers in the rocks with previously mentioned D30
D30ringgear.jpg


Yet to break my 44.
 
I always enjoy seeing good carnage pics! So, Those of you who have swapped in a 44 have seemingly had less breakage it looks like. Ive got half a mind to just jump to a D60. I wish there was a narrow D60 out there that i could just weld on pearches and Go. But, i have heard that the easiest swap for the xj, would be a late 70's Ford D60 correct?
 
Jimminyc said:
I always enjoy seeing good carnage pics! So, Those of you who have swapped in a 44 have seemingly had less breakage it looks like. Ive got half a mind to just jump to a D60. I wish there was a narrow D60 out there that i could just weld on pearches and Go. But, i have heard that the easiest swap for the xj, would be a late 70's Ford D60 correct?
Click to expand...
Mid 70s is easiest to narrow.
Late 70s has the larger forged RA mounts which require retubing to narrow.
 
Don't do the 44 if you can do the 60 but it is quite spendy to get it done (right)
 
cracker said:
Don't do the 44 if you can do the 60 but it is quite spendy to get it done (right)
Click to expand...
Yeah....And don't do the 60 if you can do the 80 :D
 
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