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Front Rubicon D44 or HP D30?

K

krimax

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Talbott, Tennessee (near Knoxville)
As the title suggests, I am trying to decide between the two axles. My plan is to run 35s eventually (on 31s now). I have gathered that the rubi 44 is basically a D30 with a D44 center section (correct?) and I am wondering if there is a benefit to running it as opposed to the HP 30 (I currently have a LP D30). I basically am going to buy a housing for one axle or the other and then fully build it with alloys, warn hub conversion, and a locker. Thanks for the help guys.
 
If you build up a super 30 you are left with weak tubes and weak D30 R&P.
If you build up a rubi D44, you are left with weak tubes and a nice selectable locker.
 
Yes a rubi 44 is center 44 with 30 outers.

rubi housing is about $600
Full D30HP axle from a yard is about $150.
If you truss the mounts for the upper control arms and do a little added welding and clearancing on the lower shock mount area for flex, the D30 is strong enough.

The big buzz I see for rubi axle is the built in locker. But if your regearing, and doing all the other work you listed. The 30 will work just fine. I'm running 36s on mine with 4.10s. Yes the gear is low for 36s but the stroker makes up for it.
 
Are you breaking shafts with 36s on your D30?
I'm worried, I just put 35x14.5 Boggers on my MJ on my Dana 30 with Yukon 4.10s.
I wheel in the woods, trails, ruts, mud, roots, and some small rocks. We go hard, but no rock crawling west coast shit.
 
barillms said:
Are you breaking shafts with 36s on your D30?
I'm worried, I just put 35x14.5 Boggers on my MJ on my Dana 30 with Yukon 4.10s.
I wheel in the woods, trails, ruts, mud, roots, and some small rocks. We go hard, but no rock crawling west coast shit.
Click to expand...


I'd be real worried, I run 33s on my locked hp d30, I could run 35s, but I won't.
 
jonzer12 said:
If you build up a super 30 you are left with weak tubes and weak D30 R&P.
If you build up a rubi D44, you are left with weak tubes and a nice selectable locker.
Click to expand...

[can of worms]The HP d30 r&p is as strong as a LP d44 r&p [/can or worms]
 
ZachMan said:
I'd be real worried, I run 33s on my locked hp d30, I could run 35s, but I won't.
Click to expand...
ZachMan said:
[can of worms]The HP d30 r&p is as strong as a LP d44 r&p [/can or worms]
Click to expand...

X2, X2

Anyway without turning this into another "Is it worth upgrading a D30?" thread, I'll throw out there that I too would not run anything larger than 33 or very narrow light all-terrain 35s on a D30 no matter how 'beefcaked up' it is. Can you run anything you want on your D30? Yes, but it's only a matter of time and if you actually venture off pavement that'll matter.

So to answer your frist inital question, HP D30 > LP Rubi D44 in my eyes. Would I run 35s on it, no.
However, If I was you, I'd go with the HP D30, upgrade it some and run 33s. Then, later down the road when you want more step up to something bigger.

Edit: Check out CRASH's Tech, there's a ton of good reading in those threads. Here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=80707
 
Last edited:
barillms said:
Are you breaking shafts with 36s on your D30?
I'm worried, I just put 35x14.5 Boggers on my MJ on my Dana 30 with Yukon 4.10s.
I wheel in the woods, trails, ruts, mud, roots, and some small rocks. We go hard, but no rock crawling west coast shit.
Click to expand...


36s HPD30 OK. Run mud and some rocks. FYI, I have a D44HP sitting on the shelf waiting to go in.

I am running stock shafts with 760 joints and a lockright locker on my D30HP.
 
Boggers on a D30 is a bad idea. Boggers hook up violently, don't allow much spin that won't eventually grab HARD, and are heavy as Hell. I ran both 33" and 35" Boggers on my old D30, the axle stripped a Lock-Rite, I replaced the Locker, then it split the carrier in half. I'd go with a more conventional mud tire.
 
If you can get a full Rubicon axle complete, for cheap, go for the -44. If you have to build it yourself, and your planning on all new internals anyway, go ahead and start with the HP-30 The only advantage to the rubicon -44 is the built in locker.
(unless youre planning on spending a LOT of money, in which case you can get bigger aftermarket shafts for a -44)
 
If you are building a serious rig don't forget about ratio limitations with the HP30, may haunt you in the future after lots of $$ poured into it. I am a fan of the 30, it is servicable for most peope but I get wary when people dump tons of money into them. In my experience
most people who are willing to drop serious coin on their 4x4 are going to be at it for a while and it is very easy to outgrow a 30 especially if you like the skinny pedal.
 
Last edited:
ZachMan said:
[can of worms]The HP d30 r&p is as strong as a LP d44 r&p [/can or worms]
Click to expand...

Well, that pretty much answers my question there. I wondered about the strength difference.

I would however upgrade the shafts, so I believe the 44 would be a bit stronger, and someone brought up a good point about the gearing.

I know alot of guys on here say to not run bigger than 33s on a D30, but there are alot of guys on here that do just that and they don't break them. I guess it depends heavily on your driving style and your tires, but I tend to take it easy on the throttle, so hopefully I won't break much. I know I wont go bigger with this rig, as I am looking for something I can really hammer later and run bigger gear.

Thanks for all of the input guys, greatly appreciated!
 
krimax said:
Well, that pretty much answers my question there. I wondered about the strength difference.

I would however upgrade the shafts, so I believe the 44 would be a bit stronger, and someone brought up a good point about the gearing.

I know alot of guys on here say to not run bigger than 33s on a D30, but there are alot of guys on here that do just that and they don't break them. I guess it depends heavily on your driving style and your tires, but I tend to take it easy on the throttle, so hopefully I won't break much. I know I wont go bigger with this rig, as I am looking for something I can really hammer later and run bigger gear.

Thanks for all of the input guys, greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

If you really want to compare apples to apples, and you are planning on locker/gear/alloy shaft replacement anyways, put a 30spline "Super 30" carrier in there (I think you can get ARB, OX and Detroit in that configuration) and have 44 equivelent shafts too...
 
I lucked into a front rubi 44 for 500 bucks with the locker but no axels or outers. I basically bought it because I needed a locker anyway. The big benifit was the locker which you won't get with just a housing. The 44 can swing a lower gear set without having a tiny pinion gear. Its just plain a bigger beafier center junk anyway you look at it. It is low pinion so running lockouts is a good plan and if you change to 5 on 5 1/2 the warn lockout kit is stronger than the 5 on 4 1/2 kit. The supper 88 kit for the ford 8.8 axel has holes for both patterns if you are thinking about doing the rear also. I also needed rims so this was a good rought for me. I'm happy.

Now the Hp30 has advantages also mainly in cost. You will have high pinion and can get by easier without the lock-outs. Less driveline angle.You can use your old axel shafts as spairs so skip the super 30. They mostly break at the outers anyway. If all you want are 4.56 gears then get real Dana Spicer gears which are the strongest. The 30 housing flexes and breaks gears but if you use the Spicer 4.56 gears and a stiff aftermarket diff cover to stiffen the housing it would be the way to build a 30. They are weak in reverse so go easy backing out of stuff. Run the $ numbers a few ways and keep in mind that the rear end may have limits on what gears are available.
 
Run the HP30....if you want, go SUPER30. The Dana30 can hold upto a lot more than people give credit. A superkit,welded tubes and a truss will make that thing STRONG! I wouldnt hesitate to run 35s on one.
 
Motorvated said:
Run the HP30....if you want, go SUPER30. The Dana30 can hold upto a lot more than people give credit. A superkit,welded tubes and a truss will make that thing STRONG! I wouldnt hesitate to run 35s on one.
Click to expand...


na they both suck you need a dana 60 , jk


so where's my 2wd axle for the free HP30?
 
Stumpalump said:
I lucked into a front rubi 44 for 500 bucks with the locker but no axels or outers. I basically bought it because I needed a locker anyway. The big benifit was the locker which you won't get with just a housing. The 44 can swing a lower gear set without having a tiny pinion gear. Its just plain a bigger beafier center junk anyway you look at it. It is low pinion so running lockouts is a good plan and if you change to 5 on 5 1/2 the warn lockout kit is stronger than the 5 on 4 1/2 kit. The supper 88 kit for the ford 8.8 axel has holes for both patterns if you are thinking about doing the rear also. I also needed rims so this was a good rought for me. I'm happy.

Now the Hp30 has advantages also mainly in cost. You will have high pinion and can get by easier without the lock-outs. Less driveline angle.You can use your old axel shafts as spairs so skip the super 30. They mostly break at the outers anyway. If all you want are 4.56 gears then get real Dana Spicer gears which are the strongest. The 30 housing flexes and breaks gears but if you use the Spicer 4.56 gears and a stiff aftermarket diff cover to stiffen the housing it would be the way to build a 30. They are weak in reverse so go easy backing out of stuff. Run the $ numbers a few ways and keep in mind that the rear end may have limits on what gears are available.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info! I have a D44 from an 87 XJ that I am putting into the rear with alloys, so I should be ok to run 35s I think?
 
krimax said:
Thanks for all the info! I have a D44 from an 87 XJ that I am putting into the rear with alloys, so I should be ok to run 35s I think?
Click to expand...
Run the 35's if your main goal is off road. But big tires suck on the street period. All terains suck offroad and mud tires suck on the road.
You won't break if you learn to crawl the hard stuff instead of baja style. They seem to break when tires are leaving the ground under hard throttle or when the front end is turned hard and the gas is mashed. Bring tools. If the front breaks stop and remove the axel immediatly or you can seperate the ball joints. If you run lock-outs you can unlock a selectable locker and unlock the hub to get you home.
The rear 44 with alloys is stought unless you run hard and fast on rocks or jump it.Think about the 5 1/2" axel conversion befor you buy alloy rears because they may or may not be drilled and tapped for both patterns on that 44 rear. Aluminium wheels are lighter and may not break stuff as fast or wobble like steel does. Good luck!
 
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