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D30 Chromo's

B

BADaXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Maine
I haven't been on the boards for a while since the jeep's been down and i've been working so much, so i was wondering if someone could fill me in. I'm running a trussed D30 front with an aussie and 4.56's. 33" trxus m/t's. I spent most of the winter building my suspension and the first time out this year, i snapped off a shaft at the splines and it's stuck in the locker, holding in the carrier. i should be able to get it out, just haven't had much time yet. anyway, i had just finished putting in new 760-x's and welded on the IRO almost alloy tabs. I'm ready to go for some chromolly front shafts but it seems like there are new companies, and the ones i remember don't make them anymore. i tried searching and didn't come up with much. can someone fill me in on who's making good quality axles? or at least a link to a thread? while searching, i came across Nitro, superior and discontinued alloy usa as being decent. i'm probably not going to spring for the longfields either... and i hear bad things about yukon. any help would be appreciated, searching the web didn't come up with much either. sorry for dragging this back up! :wierd:
thanks!
 
IMO ten factory is the best bang for the buck. good product, good customer service, good warranty. Call national drivetrain and speak with Eric Filar, you'll get a good price. :)
 
Sheesh, there was a huge thread on this just last week.


And +1 on National Drivetrain, Eric hooked me up with my D30 ARB a few months ago.
 
Jes said:
How are they working for you?
Click to expand...
on a friends rig, he was killin shafts every time out, wed always be waiting for one to blow up hahaha, but those rcv's are taking a beating so they they seems to work pretty well as far as im concerned
 
I've put my RCV's through hundreds of miles of highway driving, two days at BigDogs Members Only run and 3 days at Blacks Mountain in Harlan KY and they haven't broken a sweat. Granted I'm only running 32's so far, but doing hard trails with small tires and a relatively small lift, I'm always hard on the throttle and rowing the wheel back and forth lock to lock. I'll definitely put them through their paces as soon as I get 35's on, which should be sometime in August.

Oh, and got mine for around $800 shipped through a group buy, so you just have to shop around.
 
I would go with RCV's like a few guys have mentioned. They are pricey but they seem to be proven.

I have have a very similar set up to you. Aussie, 4.88's, and 35's. I'm still using stock shafts because I'm afraid to blow up that lunchbox locker.

It may just be me but I rather snap a shaft than break a locker or R&P. D30 is just hard to build reliably because of its size. If we had D44's or D60's it would be a different story. Just something to think about.
 
^ I agree, as dumb as this sounds and as big a pain as it can turn into, i'd rather have my shafts be a "fuse" if I have to have something fail i'd rather swap a shaft than have a blown apart pinion, ring gear, carrier, etc. but that is just me.
 
i would agree with the last two post theres no way i would buy 800 dollar shafts for a dana 30 when you could put in a dana 44 or 60 for that much. but i also would rather just have like 4-5 spair stock shafts and just break those insted of ring and pinion.:read:
 
I'd rather wheel smartly and not break the R&P. Pretty sure I won't break an ARB either. Don't really have the time and space to build and swap a D44. Don't have the fab skills yet either. And totally BS about being able to build a built D44 for the price of a built D30.


But yeah, back to chromoly shafts... I'd rather get aftermarket shafts and not break stuff than stick with stockers and do trail fixes all the time. Which ones you want are a personal and financial decision.
 
Comparing building a 44 vs building a 30 doesn't work usually. Lockers cost the same either way, alloy shafts, truss, gears and install, etc etc are the same either way. Doing a 44 however requires that you first find and buy the 44 and then buy/fab the bracketry to fit the XJ. That brings it out more than the 30 you already have and that already fits. Plus, you can build the 30 slowly over time, benefiting from each expenditure/addition as you go instead of taking that same time to build the 44 and not seeing any benefit until the very end.
 
for 800 bucks just on shafts i could have a dana 44 under the truck with no mods easy. spend 300-400 bucks extra and get a locker and you have the better axle i would rather build it right the first time then break a 30 constaly and that price alone goose over the 44
 
snowboard3r411 said:
for 800 bucks just on shafts i could have a dana 44 under the truck with no mods easy. spend 300-400 bucks extra and get a locker and you have the better axle i would rather build it right the first time then break a 30 constaly and that price alone goose over the 44
Click to expand...

So do you have a 44?

I've heard plenty of first hand accounts of people saying they wheeled a D30 on 35's for quite a while and never had problems, then when they upgraded to a 44 and got bigger tires, they started breaking everything left and right. One way or another, you gotta upgrade the axle and if you're staying 35's or below, I don't see a point of going through the hassle of swapping in a 44.
 
snowboard3r411 said:
for 800 bucks just on shafts i could have a dana 44 under the truck with no mods easy. spend 300-400 bucks extra and get a locker and you have the better axle i would rather build it right the first time then break a 30 constaly and that price alone goose over the 44
Click to expand...

Really? So, you get a junk yard axle and run it full width? What about your wheels? I suppose you get them for free. What about the rear axle that is now a different width and different wheel bolt pattern? What about steering? Gonna run inverted T low steering? Axle shafts? Junk yard shafts that are 30+ years old are really strong I hear. regearing the axle will likely have to be done, along with all new bearings and seals, unless you like leaky junk I guess. You'll likely need a diff cover or at least beef up the factory one, they're pretty thin. Oh ya, link mounts and coil buckets. those can be made on the cheep assuming you know what you're doing.
Doing any new front axle for $800? Doubtful.
 
I been looking to upgrade my stock vac disco d30 for around 2 years now. Well stock with 4.56s and a aussie and a rock Krusher diff cover. Im on 35s and beaten the hell out of it running John Bull all the trails out in Calico and some at Johnson Valley. I keep expecting it to break everytime I go out, It never once gave me a problem yet! I still even have the stock U Joints. Im not real easy on the gas eather. I still want to upgrade it soon tho. I want peice of mind.
 
Jes said:
Really? So, you get a junk yard axle and run it full width? What about your wheels? I suppose you get them for free. What about the rear axle that is now a different width and different wheel bolt pattern? What about steering? Gonna run inverted T low steering? Axle shafts? Junk yard shafts that are 30+ years old are really strong I hear. regearing the axle will likely have to be done, along with all new bearings and seals, unless you like leaky junk I guess. You'll likely need a diff cover or at least beef up the factory one, they're pretty thin. Oh ya, link mounts and coil buckets. those can be made on the cheep assuming you know what you're doing.
Doing any new front axle for $800? Doubtful.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the more thorough explanation. Some friends of mine just built up D60/14b combos and they said all the little things like seals and bearings nickel and dimed the crap out of them, not to mention aftermarket everything else is expensive as hell (knuckles, high steer arms, steering, lockouts, ball joints/kingpins, lockers, R&P, etc.)

I'll stick with beefing my D30 up a little at a time. My progression over two years:

4.56's/Ruff Stuff cover/inner axle seals
Currie steering setup/RE trackbar/HD mount
LCA skids/UCA bushings
ARB locker
Superior outer axle seals
RCV axle shafts/ball joints

I figure a ballistic fab truss is really the only thing necessary that I have left, maybe some inner C gussets too. Then I can always go the WJ knuckle/brake swap and get sweet high steer, but that's pricey and not yet necessary.
 
Jes said:
Really? So, you get a junk yard axle and run it full width? What about your wheels? I suppose you get them for free. What about the rear axle that is now a different width and different wheel bolt pattern? What about steering? Gonna run inverted T low steering? Axle shafts? Junk yard shafts that are 30+ years old are really strong I hear. regearing the axle will likely have to be done, along with all new bearings and seals, unless you like leaky junk I guess. You'll likely need a diff cover or at least beef up the factory one, they're pretty thin. Oh ya, link mounts and coil buckets. those can be made on the cheep assuming you know what you're doing.
Doing any new front axle for $800? Doubtful.
Click to expand...

... I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Jes. ;)
 
the whole "shaft as a fuse" thing always sounded pretty reasonable to me until a couple of things happened. First, i saw a shaft break at the ears and as it bound up, the two pieces put enough force on the knuckle to pop both ball joints. as a result, the entire assembly from the inner c out, fell off. if that happens a few miles into the woods, your rig is likely staying over night... also, my personal experience with the shaft twisting off at the splines with 33's. the broken piece is still stuck in the carrier holding it in the housing. the break was also jagged and since i had to drive home, the broken pieces ground together and littered my gear oil with nice big chunks of metal. i can only imagine what my bearings look like until i manage to get the broken piece out and pull the carrier. R&P is expensive but so are the two cases mentioned above. plus, changing shafts in the mud sucks!
and for anyone searching later, here is the other current thread:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1038469
 
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