So just how strong is the Dana 30 front?

[PolloLoco]

I agree with Plechtan when he says that there is more to our strokers than the motor. I updated my signature yesterday to show my Ford 8.8 and today I read his post, I think I was on to something yesterday.

So now that I've got my rear covered, just how strong is the Dana 30? Seeing as that the 8.8 has 4.88 in it I have to get a 4.88 front. There are 4.88 available for the D30, but is it worth it? I suppose I could find a D44 from a TJ and put that in. The D30 has a reputation of being a decent front axle, but with a stroker and an upgraded rear axle it almost seems foolish to keep the D30.

And I don't know if I should just run a limited slip, locker, or selectable in the front. The 8.8 I bought has an Auburn ECTED electric locker, so a matching front would be nice. I also plan on driving in snow and ice, my next PCS move will be to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, and I've read that lockers are terrible in the snow/ice. I also like to do snow wheeling.


Thoughts? Opinions?

[RAPTORFAN85]

The dana 30 fronts are a pretty stout axle for what they are. I run mine with a stroker, 4.88 gears, 35" tires and a full locker and have had almost zero problems with it. Mine is a high pinion 30 (out of a XJ) so it has reverse rotation gears so it is a little stronger then a standard wrangler dana 30. If you Get that crazy with it I would buy chromoly axles before I would go threw the trouble of putting another axle under there. If you really want to upgrade what would you go to? Dana 44? That's about your only upgrade as far as bolt in goes. Well, thats not really an upgrade because the week point in the dana 30 is the u-joints, well the dana 44 takes THE SAME U-JOINTS. So the week point remains the same. Guess what, the dana 44 and dana 30 also use the same steering knuckles. So there really is no benefit in going to a dana 44. What other options are there? Well not a whole lot without major mods to the axle or having something custom built ($$$) Anything else is going to have to have all new brackets welded on it, and you will have to find something that is close to the same width as stock.

I would stay with the dana 30 front, and if you want piece of mind buy some chromo shafts and call it good. The 30 has been proven as a good little axle as long as the tires stay under 36" or so. Like I said, I run 35's, 4.88's, full locker and the stroker and I beat the piss out of it and have had almost no problems with it.

I would get a selectable locker or a full locker like a Detroit or an Aussie. Limited slips are crap and won't change a whole lot in a front end...

As far as lockers in the snow, they only suck if you stay ON the pavement offroad they are great. If you get a selectable you get the best of both.

[Alex22]

The D30 isn't too bad of a front axle, as long as you keep in mind that its only a D30 and don't flog it with big tires/locker or in the rocks.
One of the problems they have is housing flex hat will allow the ring and pinion gears to spread apart and then the pinion gear can run over the ring, and that never ends well. The first thing I did to mine was to get a beefy front cover. I went for the ARB nodular iron front cover. If you sill haven't bought a locker for it then take a look at the OX lockers. They come with their own very beefy cover to strengthen the center section.
The control arm brackets aren't very tough so I would recommend a gusset kit.
http://www.tandjperformance.com/product ... _kit.shtml
As Raptorfan85 said, the U joints are also a weak link when more power and large tires are involved. I upgraded to aftermarket shafts. If you go for aftermarket shafts make sure they are machined to accept full circle clips, if they are not then tac weld the caps to the axle to keep the caps from poping off when the hole flexes under load.
You can also upgrade from 27 spline inner shafts to 31 spline shafts, but if you do you will need 31 spline spares to go along with them.

IIRC the rubicon D44's use a D44 center section with everything else from a D30 pressed into the housing.

Here is some good info on the basics of the D30 and info on upgrading it.
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101343

[Muad'Dib]

Id stick with the dana 30 unless your going crazy with your build. I would say if its a dual purpose rig, the D30 would be fine. If its purpose built for rock crawling / off-roading then thats when you may want to consider something else. Even then i would stick with it and see how it does for you. If it cant keep up (your driving style will influence this alot) then that should push you over the edge to consider a swap.

Most importantly if you keep the dana 30, invest in larger 297x u-jounts, and eliminate the vacuum disconnect if you have it.. Also make sure you have the high pinion version of it.

[ajmorell]

With 33x10.50s you will be fine running the 30, even locked. IMHO the "44" from a TJ isn't much of an upgrade since it shares pretty much everything except the center section with the 30. If you are really that worried about you can invest in the super 30 kit. My only issue with 4.88s in the 30 is that the pinion only has 9 teeth on it.

[Biggrnjeep97]

I swapped out the Low Pinion(LP) Dana 30 for an XJ High Pinion in my TJ. I regeared it with an OX locker and 4.56's. I beat the ever loving snot out of that axle for 4 years on a few sets of 35" MTRs. It wasnt until i stepped up to 37" MTR's that the STOCk stub shaft finally gave up the ghost. As stated above they share the same Dana 297-X ujoint as a D44 ('90+ housings; 260x before) which is decently stout. I replaced my shafts after the break with a set of ALLOY USA 30 Spline chromo's (stock is 27spl) and CTM 297's and never had a prob. Oh yeah and I re-welded the tubes top the housing w/ stainless wire to prevent the tubes from spinning, trussed the housing and inner C's, and replaced the lower control arm mounts with 1/4" versions. It was the most polished turd ever, but it never failed to amaze me.
-Will