build the 30? or spend $$$$ on the 44?

alright well im going with the 8.8 in the rear already decided that one, now im in delema between building my 30 or spending alot more and building a 44, or will it really cost more? i run the con,fordyce,hammers,hollister,moab here soon, on 33's. i know its been beaten to death before but im posting again. what do all of you think is the best route? thanks i advance!!

also what are some of the better products out there to build the 30?..steering,shafts,ujoints,etc....?


Sean

If you're sticking with 33's than your hp30 should be fine with so nice 297/760 u-joints welded caps open or with a arb. Since you are set on the 8.8 I'd say keep the hp30 with the 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. If you are going with a hp44, get a 9" to match it and either stay full width or narrow both. That's exactly what I did, I had a xj 44 with a detroit and 4.56 gears and just wanted a hp44 up front, but I decided to just sell my hp30/44 and get a hp44/9" to put $ into. They both are some good axles. U can build the 9" up real good with 35 spline alloy shafts, Strange Nodular case etc., but with 33's this is overkill. A hp30 isn't a bad axle, just watch that U don't sink lots of $ into it with manual hubs, high steer stuff etc, Superior/Warn shafts etc etc. If you have the $ and want to build something get your hp44/9".

As far as building the 30, maybe the non disco 30 shafts with 297/760 u-joints with welded caps or Longfield u-joints. I had an arb in mine, but I bought it for $650 with it in the 30 and the welded caps, skid plated LCA and 4.56 gears. I would have never bought all that stuff to put in the 30. When I wanted to get axles a little stronger, I thought about just getting Yukon alloy shafts for the 30, but with the 44 I'd have nice manual hubs, stronger ball joints, stronger housing, many more gear options, true hi-steer etc etc.

I know with 33's and being a little easier on it, you will be happy with a hp30/8.8 at least for now. Maybe down the road you want to upgrade and can go hp44/9"

Troy

Get the HP 44 so you wont ever have to worry about blowing up the front end. The bigger brakes and manual hubs on the 44 make it worth the swap in my eyes.

I spun the tubes in my dana 30 and am now having to replace it. HP dana 44 all the way

AARON

well - take a second to think -
cost of the d30 manual hubs - 700 to 900 big ones
cost of d44 and brackets - 200+375=575 for a bigger axle

cost of gears, carrier/locker, aloy shafts wil all be about the same either way

True hi-steer is an option with chevy flat top knuckles on the 44
the 5on5.5 bolt pattern wheels cost about the same as the 5 on 4.5
the bearings on the d44's are rebuildable as opposed to the unit bearings on the d30
aftermarket support is the same both ways
the d44 housing is stronger...

making your own front suspention - be it a radius arm, missing link, wishbone, leaf - is all possilbe during the swap of the 44 - where as with the 30 the steering options are fairly limited to the stock setup.

i went for the hpd44 and the ford 9 combo - bought them yesterday infact - tearing them apart today - pics in the pictures forum later on tonite...

oh -
may the force be with you!

Don't consider upgrading the Dana 30. Drive it into the ground and then replace it with the 44. A Dana 44 isn't too hard to come by and the strength is night day stronger over the 30. Even with 33s the Dana 30 can be easy torn up. Listen to XJ_ranger. He knows what he is talking about!

-Cracker

I voted for D30 because I just made the same choice myself. If my reasons aren't the same as yours, you may come to a different conclusion. I could have had a HP44/9" out of a '78 F150. Instead, I decided to build my 30/8.25 a bit seeing that my current tire size is only 32". With plans for running nothing bigger than 33's. Believe me when I say I would love to have something better, but budget has to dictate where I spend my money. This may not be an issue for some people, but I don't have the tools, training, and workspace to do fabrication or welding. I am also in an area that does not have a high demand for this type of work. This is what would make this kind of work very expensive for me. I am building up my XJ from stock for Moab this April, so I needed everything for it(lift, sye, driveshaft, tires, wheels, bumpers, rock rails, skid plates, gears, lockers, spare parts, recovery equipment, tools).

I could not justify the additional costs at this time to build a D44 over the D30. For my '99 D30 I bought some shafts, gears, locker, and install kit. If I had the '78 F150 axle I still would have bought shafts, gears, locker, and install kit. Add to that rebuilding everything on the ends(brakes, hubs, etc.) plus suspension(fabrication costs, track bar design, crossmember design, control links, narrowing, etc.).

Maybe sometime in the future I will have the need, not just the want to do this kind of upgrade.

Greg

I've had a few friends ask the same question, and the main thing I tell them is this:

What is your ultimate goal in building your rig? When you're clear on what you want the end result to be, build accordingly. You don't want to have to do things twice.

If you plan on sticking with 33's, that will steer you in one direction. If you plan on running 35's or 37's later on, that will be an entirely different route to consider.

Plan for the future.

So far seems that the 44 is the way to go? Why isn't anyone jumping on this 44 then? http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46946

Hate to bring someone elses for sale item into the discussion, but is this not a good deal for a 44 or is it not what you would need for an XJ?

jjmat3 said:

So far seems that the 44 is the way to go? Why isn't anyone jumping on this 44 then? http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46946

Hate to bring someone elses for sale item into the discussion, but is this not a good deal for a 44 or is it not what you would need for an XJ?

Click to expand...

Cast raduis arm mounts are the problem. If you plan on running Ford style radius arms as your suspension, then it can be made to work. If you plan on running an XJ style suspension, you need to get the axle with the weld on wedges.

Here's my HP44 front with the welded radius arm mounts cut off. The welded mounts are not a structural part of the axle housing. With the cast radius arm mounts, the cast sections actually double as part of the housing, so they can't be cut off. I think some people have ground them down, but I'm not sure they have been too successful in welding to them (I don't have first hand experience with welding to cast, so take it for what it's worth)

D-44.
Several have made note of the fact that it is up to you and what you want to end up with eventually. This is true, but as you upgrade, you'll find yourself going after the tougher obsticles and harder lines. It's a lot like inchitus that many have suffered.
Your poll was limited to the high pinion D-44. You might also consider a normal rotation D-44.

DaffyXJ said:

D-44.
Several have made note of the fact that it is up to you and what you want to end up with eventually. This is true, but as you upgrade, you'll find yourself going after the tougher obsticles and harder lines. It's a lot like inchitus that many have suffered.
Your poll was limited to the high pinion D-44. You might also consider a normal rotation D-44.

Click to expand...

Very true, many people have inchitus. Just decide what trails you want to do and what your budget can afford. The hp44/9" is an expensive route set up correctly with the alloy axle shafts, gears, lockers etc, but you would probably do some of the same things to the 30/8.25 and then put $ into axles you will not get it out of. If your plans are just 33's max and U live in an area where you cannot find fab work, then just keep your build to a minimum like 297 u-jointed non disco 30 shafts, 29 spline 8.25 with lock rites etc. and have fun with your rig. Just don't sink alot of $ into the 30/35/8.25 when you could put that into a 44/9"/60.

The reg 44 has the advantages of bigger brakes, ball joints, housing strength, manual hubs, deeper gears, stronger r&p etc etc, but the hp30 isn't that far off in its r&p strength, so that's why I think the poll was set up for a hp30 vs hp44. I wouldn't go with a reg 44 front axle in place of the hp30, I could only justify going to a hp44 for the strength of the r&p and driveshaft issues.

Troy

Same as everyone else has said. Figure out early on what you plan to do. Those with severe inchitis will say 44. while those that wheel all the hardcore trails on 33"s say the 30 is fine. I believe strongly in the 30. I personally only have 4.5" of lift and 33"s. I ran Jackhammer back in Dec and other than winching one I got thru without a problem. there were 2 of us on 33"s. although my underside did take a beating.
to run a 30 on 35"s requires a little more willingness to take a strap rather than try and HP thru an obsticle.
I vote for 30

I will vote for the HP44 just because it seems that you either want to spend money on one or the other. If your going to build on build the 44. A well built Dana 30 will be as strong as the 44 up to 35" tires. But if you build the 44 you will be able to go as far as 37" because you might as well do the 33 spline up front detroit locker or the arb when it comes out.

I vote 44.

I'm considering the very same thing. I currently run 33" LTB's but would like to step up to 36" TSL's. I'm looking at building my HP D30 with 4.88's and an OX locker. I'm hopping that if I have control of the locker maybe the D30 will hold up to 36's. I see lots of people running 35's on D30's so can running 36's be that different?

I looked at the HP D44 set up but don't want to go the wide - I like the advantage of being stock width.

XJ4playin said:

I'm considering the very same thing. I currently run 33" LTB's but would like to step up to 36" TSL's. I'm looking at building my HP D30 with 4.88's and an OX locker. I'm hopping that if I have control of the locker maybe the D30 will hold up to 36's. I see lots of people running 35's on D30's so can running 36's be that different?

I looked at the HP D44 set up but don't want to go the wide - I like the advantage of being stock width.

Click to expand...

36" TSLs are about 2 inches bigger and a lot heavier than just about every 35" radial like MTRs.

This maybe a dumb question but i dont know the answer to it. but yeah. What does the HP mean in HP44?

PstrKd4BrthCntrll said:

This maybe a dumb question but i dont know the answer to it. but yeah. What does the HP mean in HP44?

Click to expand...

High Pinion, as apposed to a low pinion.

Greg

Not to offend anyone, but what does brake in a D30 usually? U-Joints, shafts, ball joints, some r&p and some carriers. Where is the difference in u-joints, axle shafts and ball joints in D30 to D44? You can get 30 spline chromo axles for the 30 but the u-joints are still the weak point.

I won't sink any dollar in a D44 if the 30 proves to be to weak. Go big or stay with what you got. If you stay at 33s you will be fine with the D30, just get some Yukon alloys and be sure to use quality u-joints and you're good to go.

If you plan to step up in tire size the 44 will not be strong enough. You have to sink a lot of money in it. Forget about the 44 and go big, get a 60 front and a matching rear. The rear is cheap, the front is expensive but once you've built your axles the only thing you do on them is regular maintenance.

i decided to stick with my HP 30 for now i was also considering a HP44 or D60, I just dont have the time to setup everything right now for a full axle swap and i already scored a D44 rear which is 60" and 5x4.5"

I picked up some inner and outer alloys for around $400 total (superior evo's and warn's) and im going to be running a lockright and 4.56.

we'll see how it works but i think it will hold up pretty nice

I would definitely stay with the 30 IF:

you're staying with stock type suspension, and your tire size will be no larger than 35.

If you're changing out the suspension for something custom there's no reason to hang onto the 30, and there's also no real advantage to a 44 unless you dump 60-type cash into it.. at which point you could just have a 60 and be done with it.

I realize that argument's been beat to death here and everywhere else- just consider how plentiful D30 spares are in the wrecking yard before you blow a bunch of cash on a 44 (with the same size ujoints)