Dana 30 Build: Sleeve, Truss etc.... for 35's

[ert01]

Agreed.

A 60 is not the right axle for me, but a built 30 is.

Why?
Because I could DD my jeep every day for the last 8 years as it grew from stock to 31's to 33's to 32's to 35's.
Because I could build my D30 as I had time and money. Gears one year. Locker another. Truss and gussets another year. WJ steering another year.

You can't go through that progression on a 60. It all has to be done at once. The total cost may be lower but it's a one time sum and not spread out over time. And good luck DDing it during the build process.

Maybe for a trail only rig that starts its life as a stock rig and jumps immediately to a trail beater with 37's then the 60 jump would be worthwhile but its not for my jeep.

Ground clearance and weight savings are other benefits to the 30 that others have mentioned here. The only downside is that you have to drive sensibly.

Seems like an easy choice to me.

 

[CAJJ93XJ]

what's the big deal. some people run a 30 and some people run a 60 or 44 or other. no one "needs" any of this. it's a hobby and everyone has their own take

I broke my D30 because I didn't spend $2k polishing. more like $1300... the gearing options suck and you have to upgrade the brakes and steering. but it's a stout axle

I'm trying a D60 this time around. the D30 served me greatly and I learned a lot. but I'm never going that route again. 44 is the bare minimum from here on out

 

[rockclimber]

Agreed.

A 60 is not the right axle for me, but a built 30 is.

Why?
Because I could DD my jeep every day for the last 8 years as it grew from stock to 31's to 33's to 32's to 35's.
Because I could build my D30 as I had time and money. Gears one year. Locker another. Truss and gussets another year. WJ steering another year.

You can't go through that progression on a 60. It all has to be done at once. The total cost may be lower but it's a one time sum and not spread out over time. And good luck DDing it during the build process.

Maybe for a trail only rig that starts its life as a stock rig and jumps immediately to a trail beater with 37's then the 60 jump would be worthwhile but its not for my jeep.

Ground clearance and weight savings are other benefits to the 30 that others have mentioned here. The only downside is that you have to drive sensibly.

Seems like an easy choice to me.

I built a 30. there is almost nothing more you can do to build a 30 than what I have done... and I would argue going any further would not get you any benefits, but that is neither here nor there...

what I WISH I had done is saved the most of the money that I put in my 30, built it less, kept my rig on 33"s and built a 60/14bolt in my spare time, and made the jump from 33"s to 37"s.

instead, I have a 30 that is barely strong enough to run 35"s and even though I have more money into it than any other part of the rig, it is the weakest part.

just my .02

 

[CAJJ93XJ]

what I WISH I had done is saved the most of the money that I put in my 30, and built a 60/14bolt.

I think most of us wish we had done this. but the problem as a beginner is there's no way of ever knowing you need a bigger/better axle. D30 is a necessary starting point and it will suffice for most of us

 

[rockclimber]

I think most of us wish we had done this. but the problem as a beginner is there's no way of ever knowing you need a bigger/better axle. D30 is a necessary starting point and it will suffice for most of us

right.

and I'm not saying that the 30 is a bad axle... my advice is simply spend less on it than I did.

building a 30 for 33"s cost a hell of a lot less than building it for 35"s and the ability of the jeep doesn't suffer much.

 

[CAJJ93XJ]

right.

and I'm not saying that the 30 is a bad axle... my advice is simply spend less on it than I did.

building a 30 for 33"s cost a hell of a lot less than building it for 35"s and the ability of the jeep doesn't suffer much.

much agreed.

 

[yossarian19]

Sorry to further threadjack. Question for you guys...
Looking back, at what tire diameter and amount of work invested does it make sense to graduate from a Dana 30?
Since I currently run 235s and will probably never go past 31x10.50, I assume I will never need a 44. I am, however, a curious person.
So, how far would you build a 30 and for what size tire before it's better off to start with a 44?

 

[blondejoncherokee]

36s for me. that when I broke the R&P. Ive seen a lot of guys in the sierras on 37s on a 30. Depends on the terrain (different parts of the US require more or less wheel spin) , depends on the R&P you choose, 4.88 versus 3.55 , the driver, the specific tire, the 30s build, etc. We have a buddy running 40s on a 30 and wheels in freaking competitions (and also wheels difficult trails almost every day after work, yes allen we are talking about you…) which is mind boggling that its held up, on 3.55s might be the secret.

Global Rule of thumb is 35s for a randomly selected terrain.


Its seems in CA, in the sierras(maybe other than Fordyce) , 37s are somewhat of the limit for the turd and some lucky idiots get away with 39.5ss (bias ply iroks are pretty damn light at 76 pounds new)

I would have ran 35s on stock 30 shafts for more year if I would have known better

 

[CAJJ93XJ]

if I was starting over and wanted to run 35's I'd build a 44 straight out the gate

the D30 was great when I had 33's. but as soon as I jumped to 35's it was one problem after the next. without brake upgrades and steering upgrades and the rest of the polishings that go with gears and lockers, I'd keep it on 33's.

everything has it's own merit. unfortunately you're just going to have to build something and go try it out! like I said, I'll never use another D30. even with 4.88's it is still undergeared for a tire larger than 35". so why even bother

 

[CAJJ93XJ]

but in your case with 31's it's a fine axle

 

[blondejoncherokee]

Ya I was always nervous on the harder trails on 35s, and the easier trails didn't need the 35s

 

[XJEEPER]

My trussed and gusseted, ARB locked, alloy shafted, WJ braked D30 has held up well, with 285's and 4:88 gearing. http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=913774&page=10

 

[CAJJ93XJ]

My trussed and gusseted, ARB locked, alloy shafted, WJ braked D30 has held up well, with 285's and 4:88 gearing. http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=913774&page=10

with a very appropriate tire selection. I'd be shocked if you ever have a problem with it. I doubt you'd even have a problem on 35's except for the tiny pinion on the 4.88

 

[831_xj]

My trussed and gusseted, ARB locked, alloy shafted, WJ braked D30 has held up well, with 285's and 4:88 gearing.

Sexy rig

 

[nosigma]

Wow. I bring my own old thread back from the dead to update it and boy did that open up some opinions. Let me toss out mine....

I dont think I have ever claimed this is the ultimate axle. But I do think its right for the way I wheel. I like having a lot of different trails to pick my way through. I love the challenge of line planning and self spotting a small rig through rock gardens that no one in their right mind would take 31 shod rig through. I have unfortunately run out of trails in my area that even I (boy thats cockey) can run on 31's. On 31's I simply can NOT do the two trails I want to conquer really bad: Pennsytuckian at the Cove in Gore Va and Rock Creek at Rausch in PA. I could run 37's on the D44 (the previous owner of that axle did just that) but then most of the moderate trails around here would be a cake walk. I drove 39.50 shod rig down the length of Rock Creek and it was WAY WAY to easy. I dont want that. A D44 on 37's or a D60 on38's or 40's would take most if not all of the fun out of it.

Gear will be 4.56 to reduce the risk of breaking the R&P. This will give me 15% more rpms that I have right now with 3.54's and 31's. Transfer case is being swapped over to a Rubi box that I have been sitting on for a couple years so I will see almost 50% more rpm on the trail with the 35's than I have right now on 31's. Axle shafts will be the same Superiors (old company) I got from Rabbit back in 2004 (they have sure served me well). Outers and brakes are WJ (as good or better brakes than the 44). Steering will be upgraded, needed to happen long ago anyhow. Better for me than a 44 maybe, maybe not. Lots of trade offs. I give up a few things with the D30 but not a lot and I like what I think I will gain for the way I wheel and what I want to do.

John

 

[xjtrailrider]

My tiny 4.88 pinion gear chipped 7 teeth off the ring gear on my 30 pulling a SAS'sd Yota up a trail in reverse when it couldn't come up on its own with that little 4 banger power. I wheeled the rest of the day and drove it home like that, 20 mile drive. It was a bit noisy but it never locked up on me.

The pinion was still good. I cryoed the next set of gears, no issues.

Note to self, HP D-30's are weak in reverse LOL!

 

[bluejeepkid]

My tiny 4.88 pinion gear chipped 7 teeth off the ring gear on my 30 pulling a SAS'sd Yota up a trail in reverse when it couldn't come up on its own with that little 4 banger power. I wheeled the rest of the day and drove it home like that, 20 mile drive. It was a bit noisy but it never locked up on me.

The pinion was still good. I cryoed the next set of gears, no issues.

Note to self, HP D-30's are weak in reverse LOL!

I thought the pinion rode on the strong side of the ring when in reverse? Or am I back asswards?

 

[MoparManiac]

Front axle: HP is strong going forward, LP is strong in reverse.

Rear axle: HP is strong in reverse, LP is strong going forward.

 

[bluejeepkid]

Oh ok. Cool, that's good to know

 

[sunburned]

I see your built 30's and raise you.

Trussed, RS cover, 4.56 gears, ARB, RCVs, heim steering w/hydro assist, 3-link. Only mod left I think was WJ knuckles and brakes, but I didn't want to re-do the steering again.

I broke the ring gear once, but it was the day after a local guy had replaced the pinion bearings, so I don't think he did a very good job resetting up the gears. Beat the hell out of it for a few years after that.

And I'll say I'm glad I spent the money to build the 30 to the extreme instead of cheaping out and running smaller tires. An XJ just doesn't have enough clearance with 32-33" tires when wheeling the pointy rocks at Rausch Creek and the like.