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How long did your locked Dana 30 last on 35's?

S

saybye

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Soddy Daisy TN
Plan was to run 34x10.5 TSL's or LTB's but no used sets around so Im gonna more than likely run 35x12.5's on my MJ. Ive never spent any money on a 30, usually yank them out and swap in a 44 or 60. With moderate wheeling, how long did ur 30 last locked with or without chromo shafts.

I had an xj on 35's a few years back and it lasted about a year before the spiders came apart and it was open. But that's not to say the PO didn't put it through hell. This one Im going to be using is fresh with all new stuff.

At this point swapping to a 44 or 60 isn't an option. Don't really wanna run anything bigger than a 35" on this build because of street time and weekly around town driving.
 
trussed with chromos and locker on 35" MTRs lasted this wheeling season on my MJ. was breaking shafts almost every time out with stock shafts.
 
saybye said:
how long have you been running this setup and how hard or terrain do yall ride?
Click to expand...

The setup has been on there close to 10 years and has been used for running through the desert and crawling. The ARB is only used when necessary. I am carefull of excessive wheel spin and hopping.
 
Locked D-30 with 4.88's and 33's since 2000. Added Chromoly shafts in 2008. added 35's in 2012. I've wheeled all typed of trails except mud. Regularly hitting up the most difficult "full bodied" trails around In Cali and Moab. Never broke a shaft (stock or chromoly) or u-joint or R&P. I am more of a finesse driver...
 
I have broken more than one shaft on a trail. I got where I could swap a shaft in less than 10 minutes.

I've only broken two shafts with the D44.
 
Stock shafts and joints blow up with a moderate right foot. R&p took a heavy application of the skinny pedal. Yes you can wheel 35's on a 30, but I'd at least run quality shafts and joints with a full case locker and something higher than 4.88's.
 
ARB, RCVs and 35" kevlars for maybe 3 years. Broke a ring gear a day after a friend rushed through setting the gears up after installing new bearings.

RCVs are worth it if you're pushing the axle to its limits.
 
It 100% will depend on your driving style. I broke countless chromoly shafts on 33's but I wheel hard and on truly hard trails. I feel like anyone who has truly wheeled hard will tell you its pointless to put time and energy into a dana 30.

With that said, i have seen people wheel smart and take the bypasses on the difficult obstacles and wheel on stock shafts and 35s without a problem.

For me its not worth the potential of a broken shaft on the trail.
 
NorIdaWheeler said:
It 100% will depend on your driving style. I broke countless chromoly shafts on 33's but I wheel hard and on truly hard trails. I feel like anyone who has truly wheeled hard will tell you its pointless to put time and energy into a dana 30.

With that said, i have seen people wheel smart and take the bypasses on the difficult obstacles and wheel on stock shafts and 35s without a problem.

For me its not worth the potential of a broken shaft on the trail.
Click to expand...


You're wrong. Some guys will say its pointless, but for every one who does five say otherwise, but get discounted because people think they don't wheel hard. :)

The only reason we don't race KOH on a dana 30 is someone gave us a free dana 44, and yay for 5.39 gears.

Dana 30 is fine for 35's. If you're a retard, you can break it, but if you wheel like a responsible human its not all that likely.

Wheeling 33's or 35's on stock shafts is just stupid, though. Stock shafts do not have the u-joint yokes hardened and break very, very easily compared to aftermarket shafts that are hardened complete.
 
NorIdaWheeler said:
It 100% will depend on your driving style. I broke countless chromoly shafts on 33's but I wheel hard and on truly hard trails. I feel like anyone who has truly wheeled hard will tell you its pointless to put time and energy into a dana 30.

With that said, i have seen people wheel smart and take the bypasses on the difficult obstacles and wheel on stock shafts and 35s without a problem.

For me its not worth the potential of a broken shaft on the trail.
Click to expand...

Countless? Really? or exagerating?

Meh, I wheel truly hard trails and I (generaly) don't take bypasses. I have very little time and energy in my D30. It's held up to a lot of wheeling. I've thought about upgrading axles... but it hasn't let me down, so why should I? You might wheel a type of trail that I have not? slippery where wheel spin is necessary.
 
No I wheel the hardest.. ok it's a pissing war!

35s Spartan and chromos. Never broke a stock shaft with welded 760x caps from Reno to fordyce chromos are a big piece of mind

You'll be cool unless you wheel places that are muddy with lots of wheel spin
 
As mentioned, driving style has a lot to do with it. I have a few axle guys (that make their living building axles, mainly narrowed 44's/60's, front 14bolts etc) and they have all told me the same thing, dana 30 is stronger than most people think. Again, right foot comes into play....

I wheeled 2 years on a HP 30 w/ lock rite and unknown shafts on 36" iroks, but I was easy on it (4.56 gears) the guy that bought it put in an arb but I don't know if he broke....

Current rig has hp30 4.56, chromo w/spicer joints, and lock right. Been wheeling 33's fine, and just got a set of 36" iroks on aluminum beadlocks that I'll be running this weekend. I'm not really concerned at the moment. Have plans of a HP 44 this summer so I don't think I'll even bother putting in a full case locker.

It can be done, but terrain and your foot are the deciding factors....
 
I agree driving style has EVERYTHING to do with it. I am somewhere aggressive. However on my dana 44 setup I was breaking shafts on 38's and an old timer told me I needed to "learn how to drive a dana 44."

He said the "hard turning" of the wheel back n forth and fast tire spins are usually what gets the 44 shafts. I havent slowed my wheel speed down much, but I have slowed my steering down a good bit and keeping in mind that "in a perfect world" I want to keep my wheel as straight as possible since this is how he explained it to me...

Keeping in mind that little bit of info has greatly decreased my shaft breakage, matter of fact I haven't broken one in over a year. I would assume this theory would hold true for a d30 and 35" setup...

Great discussion btw guys!
 
Last edited:
831_xj said:
No I wheel the hardest.. ok it's a pissing war!

35s Spartan and chromos. Never broke a stock shaft with welded 760x caps from Reno to fordyce chromos are a big piece of mind

You'll be cool unless you wheel places that are muddy with lots of wheel spin
Click to expand...

Pat, you wheel like me; with a level head and a light right foot. :spin1:

Im looking forward to this next wheeling season. I hope to have all of my suspension sorted out and all of my new-to-me parts installed for an all new Jeep.
 
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