What tire/wheel/terrain broke your D30?

cal said:
We all realize that. We are also all talking about using XJ outers.

In my case, we're talking about 30 spline Warn outers, with hardened spindles and chromoly hubs. Way stronger than the similar D44 outers.
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OK, cool. I was responding to Milford when he said 'WJ outers', wasn't sure I understood what he was talking about.
 
cal said:
what does one have to do with the other?

neither comes with 60's, and you're stepping down to a heavy carburated v8 vehicle that has less power than your lighter 4.0 powered rig now. spending more to have less..
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Basically for the frame, it seems when people go to 60s they do full frame plating to keep it from ripping the jeep apart, now you have a rig that weighs near the Wight of a full size but lacks in the power department. Well that's what I imagine anyway. If not I'll just keep the 60 from my ramcharger before I scrap it haha
 
I weighed my rig when it had about 75% body and a good six point cage plus front end tie-ins. It was roughly 3760 lbs. That includes 3x3x3/16 angle steel down the framerails, full skids, and a Warn M-8000.

Oh yeah,

Disco 30 housing
Yukon 4.88s
Old Alloy USA shafts and Spicer joints
Aussie locker
Stock cover with a bolt-on guard
Neapco u-bolt pinion yoke
Atlas 4.3:1 for just a couple trails now
Tera high steer knuckle
Unit bearings
35x12.5x15 MT/Rs then TrXus MT then X-terrains
15x8 cheap black steelies then nice aluminums

I broke a pinion yoke in 2006 because it was a shakedown run and the pinion yoke was hitting an upper control arm. Replaced the yoke, removed the upper, no problems since.

No other breakage.

West coast rockcrawling and I don't drive like a total tard. Rubicon, Fordyce, Hammers one time, Moab one time.
 
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How do unit bearings hold up to the abuse of larger tires and such?
I always wondered compared to d44 bearings. Especially cause I've destroyed multiple ones trying to get them out with a hammer where it just unfolds the the flange. So I figured they don't take side loads and I worry every time I put a side load on my tires going up a wash out or something similar.
Personally I like the unit bearings which makes the assembly alot simpler than the 44 which you can pull everything out with 5 bolts and 1 nut and not have to set torque specs.
 
Super mud said:
How do unit bearings hold up to the abuse of larger tires and such?
I always wondered compared to d44 bearings. Especially cause I've destroyed multiple ones trying to get them out with a hammer where it just unfolds the the flange. So I figured they don't take side loads and I worry every time I put a side load on my tires going up a wash out or something similar.
Personally I like the unit bearings which makes the assembly alot simpler than the 44 which you can pull everything out with 5 bolts and 1 nut and not have to set torque specs.
Click to expand...

My unit bearings are the originals with 200k on them. they have had 35's spinning on them for the last five years and no issues. The key is the proper torque spec.
 
Super mud said:
How do unit bearings hold up to the abuse of larger tires and such?
I always wondered compared to d44 bearings. Especially cause I've destroyed multiple ones trying to get them out with a hammer where it just unfolds the the flange. So I figured they don't take side loads and I worry every time I put a side load on my tires going up a wash out or something similar.
Personally I like the unit bearings which makes the assembly alot simpler than the 44 which you can pull everything out with 5 bolts and 1 nut and not have to set torque specs.
Click to expand...
you are using the wrong tool on the wrong part of the bearing. If you want them to be reusable, either spin the bolts in a couple turns and put a sacrificial socket on them, then slam the hell out of them with your BFH, or balance a bolt or deep well socket between the ujoint yoke ear and the inner knuckle / inner C and then turn the steering wheel. The bearing will pop right out.

They'll handle a side load just fine with a stub shaft installed and the axle nut torqued to spec (175 ft-lbs, too little or too much will both cause premature wear.)
 
Several broken shafts on the d30
Each shaft the broke was with the same axle and gearing.
HP d30, 4.56 gears, Detroit Locker, BTF diff cover, Teraflex OTK knuckle and steering, Yukon shafts

1st break
Tire size 33x12.50
What tire was it.BFG MT
What rims? 15x8 steel rock crawler 3.5 BS
What kind of terrain? Sandy Gully,
Slow crawl, got the tire bound up and turned gave it a little gas when I snapped the inner DS shaft right outside the locker

2nd break
Tire size 33x12.50
What tire was it. Swamper TSL Bias
What rims? 15x8 steel rock crawler 3.5 BS
What kind of terrain? Helo pad Tellico in the rain
On the gas with a lot of wheel spin, hit traction and snapped the PS inner shaft.

3rd break
Tire size 35x12.50
What tire was it. BFG KM2
What rims? 15x9 aluminum Spyderlocks
What kind of terrain? Helo pad Tellico again, Dry this time
On the gas with a lot of wheel spin, hopping and snapped the rear driveshaft, once that let loose trying to run front wheel drive only we snapped the PS inner shaft right outside the locker

4th break
Tire size 35x12.50
What tire was it. BFG KM2
What rims? 15x9 aluminum Spyderlocks
What kind of terrain? Mud
On the gas but not heavy, running through a mud pit and hit a tire or stump and caught the PS wheel and blew up the U joint and both inner and out ears.

I did have a very heavy rig which played into the breaks, but once I switched to USA alloy shafts I didn’t have an issue, although I only put a couple trips on them before changing the axle to the 44.

Knock on wood I haven’t broken a thing on the 44 yet.
 
kastein said:
you are using the wrong tool on the wrong part of the bearing. If you want them to be reusable, either spin the bolts in a couple turns and put a sacrificial socket on them, then slam the hell out of them with your BFH, or balance a bolt or deep well socket between the ujoint yoke ear and the inner knuckle / inner C and then turn the steering wheel. The bearing will pop right out.

They'll handle a side load just fine with a stub shaft installed and the axle nut torqued to spec (175 ft-lbs, too little or too much will both cause premature wear.)
Click to expand...

Yea I forgot to say I learned to put a socket extension between the axle C and the back of the bearing.
Though I never relized the stub shaft was supporting the bearing which explains the huge torque spec that I never followed. Damn, though mine have been holding up well since the last time I checked but I'll be re torquing them.
 
Tire size- 33x12.5
tire- baja claws
rims- 15x8 soft 8's
terrain- mud

Heavy throttle thru a deep rutted mud pit, turned around to come back thru and got stuck noticed only one front tire was spinning,since i have a locker this is wrong, i sheared the ears around the passenger side u joint

Got me some chromolys to fix it


Now a year later i have noticed my pinion bearing has about had it
 
Dana 30 Non Disco
33" KM2s
4.56 gears
mud (jeep was on dry gound when breakage occured)


Busted stub shaft yolk on the longside, also broke the axle shaft itself on the longside.

Lots of thottle, in reverse, attached to F-150 buried up to the bumpers.

LP 30
31" Cooper STTs
3.55s
Trail Riding/Rocks

Broke drivers side u-joint climbing a steep hill. Wheeled Jeep for 2 year w/o any problems and i would imagine they where the stock u-joints.


Neither of these rigs had lockers. It also seems, by reading this thread, and something I have believed in from what I have personally witnessed, is that 35 inch tires are fine on a OPEN Dana 30. Lockers or especially 4.1 gear sets, tear them up quick; even on 33s, with a 2.5L.
 
I have broken 5 297 shafts at Hollister Hills, CA. One climbing over a log, one in the rock garden, one after getting a little air on a hill climb getting out of a ravine and . . .

I got stuck in the tank trap in this position and ended up breaking both front shafts.
22.jpg

26.jpg


While getting towed out from behind, I see a few of my buddies get the "oh shit" look on thier face. I get out and find
32.jpg

31.jpg


The axle sahft caught on the stub and pushed the bottom ball joint out which put all the pressure on the top ball joint and wallowed out the inner C ball joint hole thus ruining the axle. It's ok though since it motivated me to move on to one tons.

Lessons learned - change out any broken shafts ASAP
 
Hp 30 non-disco
Stock 140000 mile shafts
35"x14.5" pitbull maddogs
Spartan locker
Stock 3.55's
Climbing a rock ledge, slammed into a large boulder. Drivers side u-joint ripped an ear off the stub shaft. Replaced with a cv shaft (only thing in stock locally), broke it making a u-turn. Swapped in the almost alloy shafts from IRO when I put in the 4.88's and haven't had a problem since.
 
I personally think its much better money spent to build a D30 than to go with another axle as long as you don't plan bigger than 35" tires. Thats assuming you can do the gusset and truss work yourself.
 
Dunno if I've posted this before, but here's what you can do with a D30 on 35's with RCV's. At the end of the vid, the guys watching even commented on how much I was sawing the wheel back and forth.

http://www.vimeo.com/27178403


Only issue I've had with the RCV's is when the unit bearings started getting really loose and I didn't notice, the orange boots got all torn up. Luckily I had a spare set.
 
Alloy Usa d30 shafts
4.10 gear 231/231 doubler
33 Dunlop mud rovers

Passenger side




passenger inner shaft


Driver side inner



Needless to say I dont have a d30 anymore
 
The first time I broke a front axleshaft I was on 31's and going up a steep but short hill. When I got to the top I lofted the front end and when it came down, Boom! That was all stock components. The second time was all stock components on 31's climbing a steep loose dirt hill with rocks mixed in. I got stuck and in trying to get unstuck I broke both axleshafts at once. The third time I was on 33's with alloy shafts and got spotted into an undercut I couldn't see. I slowly gave it more throttle and it grenaded the passenger side shaft. That sucker broke both at the stub and broke the splined section off the inner shaft. I was running an aussie locker that time.
 
Exactly why I would never recommend a lunchbox locker in a D30 on 35s.

The stock carrier blows.

I blew up my 4.88 gearset/stock carrier with stock 27 spline shafts.
 
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