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d30 vs d44 for 37's and 3.5in of lift...

well i talked to dude with the 44 and 9in and he says the knuckles, brakes, and axles are gone... and the 9in the brakes are gone... i was pissed cause he could have listed that already and not wasted my time... yeah there torn down and ready to build but now i dont think there worth the $250 he said he would sell them for and the 4 hour trip to go get them... so guess im gonna keep shopping... waiting on a price on a front 99 dodge 1500 d44... that a guys got... but we will see... i think thats drivers drop anyways... only D60's i can find are like $1200 around here... and i cant afford that plus the mods to get it in... no way i could right now anyways... i wish... maybe one will fall in my lap!!
 
Forget the 44, and find yourself a front 60.. even if its a passenger side low pinion one (and run a dana 300).

While i will admit I am harder on my toys than most people are (but I am willing to pay to play..) I have broken my (formarly Goatmans) front 44 five times in the last six months, two of them being 'big' failures.

The first time out I broke a hub, on the first trail i drove, on the first rock. Lets credit that one to the prior owner, but still a 44 with 37's.

The second time out I broke a caliper mount and caliper (wtf?), and tore up a spindle. I'm not entirely sure how that one happened, but a lot of people had been bashing on the rig a bit all weekend.

The third time I busted a CTM and a balljoint. I wasn't being too stupid, just backing up with the weight of the rig on a front tire (a rear had flat'd and I was backing out of a climb).

Then.. Another hub. I'll take the blame on that one.

Last weekend I *destroyed* the short side inner, its in 4 pieces. I was in sort dirt, not out on the rocks, and it just caught right and exploded.


I've got a 60 sitting in the garage waiting to go in. Do yourself a favor and do the same. :)
 
i want to man... i want to... lol... im gonna keep an eye out for a crashed truck or one broke down in a back yard or something... but we will see... everyone seems to be leading away from a D30 and D44 and just going right with the big guy... most because they learned by wasting the money on them to eventually go with a D60 anyway... guess ill just swap in my stock D30 for now so my gears match again and start watchin for a D60... ill probly just sell off my WJ knuckles and stuff that i was gonna stick on it first...
 
cal said:
Forget the 44, and find yourself a front 60.. even if its a passenger side low pinion one (and run a dana 300).

While i will admit I am harder on my toys than most people are (but I am willing to pay to play..) I have broken my (formarly Goatmans) front 44 five times in the last six months, two of them being 'big' failures.

The first time out I broke a hub, on the first trail i drove, on the first rock. Lets credit that one to the prior owner, but still a 44 with 37's.

The second time out I broke a caliper mount and caliper (wtf?), and tore up a spindle. I'm not entirely sure how that one happened, but a lot of people had been bashing on the rig a bit all weekend.

The third time I busted a CTM and a balljoint. I wasn't being too stupid, just backing up with the weight of the rig on a front tire (a rear had flat'd and I was backing out of a climb).

Then.. Another hub. I'll take the blame on that one.

Last weekend I *destroyed* the short side inner, its in 4 pieces. I was in sort dirt, not out on the rocks, and it just caught right and exploded.


I've got a 60 sitting in the garage waiting to go in. Do yourself a favor and do the same. :)
Click to expand...

x2! Back a few years ago I could not find the D60 I wanted so I said I'll do a 44 and baby it. I was looking for the video on youtube of my inner axle going but could not find it. Trust me when I tell you that building a 44 is no cheaper then a d60 except you loose a lot of time in money when you do it twice. I had close to $3K in my D44 over the course of 2 years. Now if you have to go D44 leave the 37's for the D60 and run 35's. Your axle will thank you. For what its worth you have a few guys in here that have done it both ways and we are jsut trying to help you learn from our mi$takes.
 
Ghost said:
x2! Back a few years ago I could not find the D60 I wanted so I said I'll do a 44 and baby it. I was looking for the video on youtube of my inner axle going but could not find it. Trust me when I tell you that building a 44 is no cheaper then a d60 except you loose a lot of time in money when you do it twice. I had close to $3K in my D44 over the course of 2 years. Now if you have to go D44 leave the 37's for the D60 and run 35's. Your axle will thank you. For what its worth you have a few guys in here that have done it both ways and we are jsut trying to help you learn from our mi$takes.
Click to expand...

yep thats what Im doing just getting a better set of 35's that hold up better and cutting off the crap that hangs me up.. :yelclap: Its just sheetmetal anyway...

themud
 
Frank Z said:
A local TJ guy I've wheeled with a few times runs 37's on a locked LP D30. He's never busted a shaft.

As much as we all like to believe that bullet/bomdproof axles are a must for anything bigger than a 33" tire, it simply isn't true

More often than not, front axle carnage is more a result of driver error (bad line or heavy on the skinny peddle) than it is about weak components.

My $.02:
Carry spare shafts and u-joints and know how to change them.
Wheel your rig with open diffs first to learn what it is capable of.
Pick your lines wisely and use a spotter that knows what the heck they are doing.
Articulation beats brute force.
For the love of Gawd, AIR DOWN!!!
Click to expand...

running 37's on a dana 30 is retarded. Wheeling deliberately instead of flogging is sound advice, i agree. Seeing someone with all throttle not make it up an obstical that a smart wheeler can crawl without even spinning a tire is always entertaining. That being said, I think most guys have a stronger axle than the 30 because its obviously less likley to break. Isnt that a good thing? Its not just a reason to wheel with the skinny pedal.
One more thing: I have seen my buddy on 37's and a hp 44 do things and go places imposible to acomplish on a dana 30
 
i wish i had a grand to drop right now... theres a F350 4x4 on CL right now with a 460, 4 speed, D60 front and of course a dually but looks like he has the outter wheels off... but thats the cheap stuff to take care of... no bed... only wants a grand and it runs and drives... now that would make a heck of a build for a XJ... lol...
 
I know a guy out here with an F350 that he offered to sell to me. Wish I had the money, I'd swap them axles in a heartbeat.
 
cal said:
Forget the 44, and find yourself a front 60.. even if its a passenger side low pinion one (and run a dana 300).

While i will admit I am harder on my toys than most people are (but I am willing to pay to play..) I have broken my (formarly Goatmans) front 44 five times in the last six months, two of them being 'big' failures.

The first time out I broke a hub, on the first trail i drove, on the first rock. Lets credit that one to the prior owner, but still a 44 with 37's.

The second time out I broke a caliper mount and caliper (wtf?), and tore up a spindle. I'm not entirely sure how that one happened, but a lot of people had been bashing on the rig a bit all weekend.

The third time I busted a CTM and a balljoint. I wasn't being too stupid, just backing up with the weight of the rig on a front tire (a rear had flat'd and I was backing out of a climb).

Then.. Another hub. I'll take the blame on that one.

Last weekend I *destroyed* the short side inner, its in 4 pieces. I was in sort dirt, not out on the rocks, and it just caught right and exploded.


I've got a 60 sitting in the garage waiting to go in. Do yourself a favor and do the same. :)
Click to expand...


You need some driver's ed. ;)
 
SUA SPONTE said:
running 37's on a dana 30 is retarded. Wheeling deliberately instead of flogging is sound advice, i agree. Seeing someone with all throttle not make it up an obstical that a smart wheeler can crawl without even spinning a tire is always entertaining. That being said, I think most guys have a stronger axle than the 30 because its obviously less likley to break. Isnt that a good thing? Its not just a reason to wheel with the skinny pedal.
One more thing: I have seen my buddy on 37's and a hp 44 do things and go places imposible to acomplish on a dana 30
Click to expand...
Last year's Ultimate adventure saw an XJ on 37s with an LS1 swapped running a D30 front run the whole course, wheel as hard as everyone else and make it through as one of the few to have absolutely zero carnage. So, yes, it is quite possible to wheel a D30 through extreme terrain and survive, it just takes a good driver and care when choosing lines.

Would I do it? Probably not, I don't have as much faith in my D30, but he managed to make it survive big tires, big power, and big rocks covered in mud with no breakage.
 
Darky said:
Last year's Ultimate adventure saw an XJ on 37s with an LS1 swapped running a D30 front run the whole course, wheel as hard as everyone else and make it through as one of the few to have absolutely zero carnage. So, yes, it is quite possible to wheel a D30 through extreme terrain and survive, it just takes a good driver and care when choosing lines.

Would I do it? Probably not, I don't have as much faith in my D30, but he managed to make it survive big tires, big power, and big rocks covered in mud with no breakage.
Click to expand...


But let's see if John has that same D30 in the front a couple years from now. He could go out on another run, after doing that, and break something while not even doing anything hard just because it was already stressed and nearly broken. John's a good driver, but also lucky, and luck doesn't carry a whole lot of weight when considering build options.

But, like has been said, D30's have proven to be more durable in some situations than seems likely. If you have one, wheel it. If you already know you're going to run big tires, and are considering building it, build something else.
 
He had plans to build and swap a D44 before the run but got sidetracked by a heart attack after finding out he was selected, according to the article. :) So, I doubt he'll still have it, I was just pointing out that it's not a guaranteed explosion. :D I still wouldn't attempt 37s or an LS1 on my 30.
 
PMed a guy on another site about a D44 drivers drop from a 99 dodge... he said he would take $150 for it... is it a good D44 or known junk? thats something i can afford now of course... i dont see a D60 workin well in the nar future... maybe ill buy it and re sell it here or at one of the other sites and make a buck... lol
 
32 splines started in 98 from what the "tech" is on the dodge front axles... and yeah i found that out also... along with them getting easily bent because of some dimple on the pass side... pass... lol...
 
ha.... found a 4x4 76 ford f150 that had the 390 and automatic that caught on fire... dude wants $400 for the whole truck... im sure the motors still good just everything on it will be burnt up if it was plastic... its only 30 min away... going to look tomorrow... they were 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern right? i got some WJ wheels and tires laying around and he sold them off of it... this way i can roll it around... bed and interior is all stuff i can part out and make my moneys back... i think this axle combo will be fine for me on 36's or 37's given that im more joy trial riding and not so much crazy competition rock crawling... and the price is deff right... lol... heck i can sell my XJ D44 and get most that back easily...
 
Last edited:
:doh:

I don't even know where to begin.

First off, the '76 F-150 D44 is a good starting point. Second, if it was more than just an engine fire, check the axle to make sure it is straight and true.

WJ wheels are 5x5. That D44 will be 5x5.5. If you want high steer on it, you'll need different knuckles, spindles, stub shafts.

Keep reading.
 
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