not sure I understand the question, do you mean should you add lockers and sleeve and gusset your d30?

answer is no to it all.

sleeving is for a guy that is going to no mans land and does not have the option to do anything but abandon the vehicle should the axle have a catastrophic failure.

if this is a daily driver I don't think you would take the vehicle to the limit that would need any of the three.

the people on a forum that are swearing by stuff like this are more than likely the same person that never goes off road but loves to brag about what he spent his hard earned money on this week and how cool his Jeep is and its cooler than anyone else's.

most guys on this forum will never break a dana axle 30 or 44, much less a d44 that is sleeved and gussetted

a bad sleeve job can cost you more money in the long run than a replacement after market stronger axle.

when you get to this level on convo (sleeve and lockers etc) ask the poster to provide a pic of their vehicle and a pic of the worst situation it has been in. I bet you get a beautiful Jeep with several coats of wax and thousands of dollars of wasted after market components that will never be utilized for what they were designed to do.

good luck and save your money, watch out for forum trolls

 

not sure I understand the question, do you mean should you add lockers and sleeve and gusset your d30?

answer is no to it all.

sleeving is for a guy that is going to no mans land and does not have the option to do anything but abandon the vehicle should the axle have a catastrophic failure.

if this is a daily driver I don't think you would take the vehicle to the limit that would need any of the three.

the people on a forum that are swearing by stuff like this are more than likely the same person that never goes off road but loves to brag about what he spent his hard earned money on this week and how cool his Jeep is and its cooler than anyone else's.

most guys on this forum will never break a dana axle 30 or 44, much less a d44 that is sleeved and gussetted

a bad sleeve job can cost you more money in the long run than a replacement after market stronger axle.

when you get to this level on convo (sleeve and lockers etc) ask the poster to provide a pic of their vehicle and a pic of the worst situation it has been in. I bet you get a beautiful Jeep with several coats of wax and thousands of dollars of wasted after market components that will never be utilized for what they were designed to do.

good luck and save your money, watch out for forum trolls

I have a bad habit of being a little long winded for posting on forums sometimes, sorry. I was basically just asking whether anyone thinks an air locked, Artec armored, Dana 30 would survive under a 2 door on sorta light 35's, geared at 4.56-4.88 that sees only moderate type trails. Think Charles Wells red trails for example or at least for Arizona. Or is it a waste of money? Or do I save a long while for the $5k PR44? I do find myself looking for more challenges every year, but I also keep in mind the rig has to get me home at the end of the day, and to work the next. Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

Well I did what everyone says DO NOT DO. I did a truss system, gears and ARB locker for my D30. I do wheel if some nothing crazy I try to keep all tires on the ground unless flexing. While doing some research I called AEV, Poison Spyder, and Metal Cloak talked to their tech department and asked their opinion on doing work to the factory D30 vs upgrading. They agreed with me that I would probably never see any issues as long as I did not beat and try to jump it. Moderate wheeling on trails with rocks and more so expedition run I would be fine. Now of course they said your best bet is upgrade to a quality D44, but I took the gamble and have been pretty happy.

Couple of things I suggest is if you have the axle built regardless of what housing you go with consider having it power coated while it is tore down. This is one thing I really should have done there is no good way to paint the inside of the truss and the bare metal will rust quick. I am in the military and travel all over my Jeep sees more highway than any trails I just want something capable if in 5 years I can upgrade to lets say a G2 axle then I think I got the use out of my D30.





90% of the trails I run:


Really I guess it depends on what you are gonna do, I would not take my JK out West with out rear 60 and front 44 RCD shafts ect. But here in the East I think I will be fine.

 

I wheel with a guy who has rcvs 4.88s and drives like an idiot on 37s. He has a truss and truetrac in his jk Dana 30. It's all in how you wheel.

 

Haficon, first of all, Thank you for your service sir. Glad to hear that your 30 is holding up! Good call with the powder coat! We do get rain in the desert sometimes! No salted roads though. I'm with you, I should never have more than one wheel off the ground at a time. Not all of our trails out here are killers, but you don't have to look far to find them!

 

Glad to hear that your 30 is holding up! Good call with the powder coat! We do get rain in the desert sometimes! No salted roads though. I'm with you, I should never have more than one wheel off the ground at a time. Not all of our trails out here are killers, but you don't have to look far to find them!

Few months after install. Shop spray painted the metal, at this point all I can do it rust converter and maintain it.

 

I wheel with a guy who has rcvs 4.88s and drives like an idiot on 37s. He has a truss and truetrac in his jk Dana 30. It's all in how you wheel.

And his 30 is holding together ok? I wheel like I have to drive it home!

 

And his 30 is holding together ok? I wheel like I have to drive it home!

I mean one r&p but he also had 2 tires off te ground and foot so far in it that he took out his rear drive shaft at the same time

 

Lol! Fun to watch, It's got to be fun to do, just not my style though. I'm hoping to avoid major trail repair or a recovery. I know something will happen at some point, I just hope I can keep it minor.

 

I'd agree with most of what LVCapo said. I've seen plenty of guys running D30's on 35's with no issues provided you stay light on the skinny pedal. What snaps axle shafts is a wheel spinning in the air that suddenly comes into contact with the ground. Wheel smart (it sounds like you are) and you'll be fine.

Sleeves and trusses are overkill for you and your style of wheeling- money would be better spent elsewhere. Gussets are cheap ($50) and are easy to install provided you know someone with a welder. I'm planning on installing them soon.

I did choose to install a lunchbox locker in my D30, and I've been extremely happy with it. But you're already re-gearing, and you have OBA, so if I were you, I would- install an ARB or a Zip locker, gusset the front, and go to 4.56's. Consider sleeves only if you have $80 burning a hole in your pocket, but a truss is unnecessary.

 

Lol...wow.....hello pot, my name is kettle.....talk about trolling :thumbdown: OP, you're lucky. I spend as much time as I can in the Sedona/Flagstaff area....just amazing. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The new D30s are much strong than the older models. Sleeving or trussing might be overkill for most, but gussets are something I'd recommend if going with larger or heavier tires, bending a C sucks. Gussets are good insurance imo. As to locking the D30, you can, but I wouldn't. I just don't think its cost effective. You can do something like an Aussie or Lockright...cheap auto lockers that don't require you to reset the gears, however, for the area you are talking about, I wouldn't recommend one of these....Most people install lockers while regearing (to save money), and when you factor in gears, locker, gussets...you are more than halfway to a decent aftermarket D44 axle. What I did with my D30 was gusset it and run it open until I decided to regear....then I added 4.56 gears, good aftermarket ball joints, and a Detroit TrueTrac. I personally feel the TT is a good compromise to a full locker in the D30, especially paied with the BLD. First, it's relatively inexpensive....and if you are adding gears at the same time...WIN. Second, it's not going to require any user interaction, and you probably won't even notice it...but it definitely works (and it puts less stress on the R&P than a locker). Third, being that the Flaggstaff, Williams, Sedona area sees snow, the TT will come in handy on those snowy/icy roads. As to the LCA skids, Skid Row makes some relatively inexpensive bolt on skids (I think I paid about $100), they have taken a beating but have definitely done their job...good investment.

Flag and Sedona are definitely among my favorite places to go. Beautiful. We try and get up there to camp at least once a month or so in the summer. We may go play in the snow once a year. I live about an hour or so East of Phoenix, so the trails around Florence Junction are 20 minutes from home for me. The TT seems like it could be a good option. I'm not really in snow or ice very much at all. Mostly desert rocky trails. I know what you mean about the cost factor getting close to a 44. I'd hate to build my 30 and then something breaks and I could have kept saving for a bomb proof 44.

 

I'd agree with most of what LVCapo said. I've seen plenty of guys running D30's on 35's with no issues provided you stay light on the skinny pedal. What snaps axle shafts is a wheel spinning in the air that suddenly comes into contact with the ground. Wheel smart (it sounds like you are) and you'll be fine. Sleeves and trusses are overkill for you and your style of wheeling- money would be better spent elsewhere. Gussets are cheap ($50) and are easy to install provided you know someone with a welder. I'm planning on installing them soon. I did choose to install a lunchbox locker in my D30, and I've been extremely happy with it. But you're already re-gearing, and you have OBA, so if I were you, I would- install an ARB or a Zip locker, gusset the front, and go to 4.56's. Consider sleeves only if you have $80 burning a hole in your pocket, but a truss is unnecessary.

I am leaning to this, doing gussets and an air locker on my 30. I may still go ahead with a truss. It seems like good insurance, at least cheaper then an aftermarket 44.

 

Another option is looking for a used axle someone already upgraded. I picked up a d30 with sleeves gussets gears air locker for about $1500. Seemed like a good deal and I am not hard core so I think it will last me a good long time.

 

good option and good point....just make sure you check the gears really good.

 

Problem mostly solved. I picked up a set of complete, as in caliper to caliper Rubi 44's front and rear. They came off a 2012 JKUR almost immediately after it was purchased. Owner went straight to 60's. A member of my local club alerted me to these. Score!! Thanks to all who posted up some great info, I really appreciate all of it.

 

Nice score. IMHO though, I would still gusset and truss that front 44 as the axle tubes are pretty thin and prone to failure.

 

ur are a very fortunate B*st*rd!!!!!! Nice score!

for anyone else reading this thread for info. Truss is overkill for a D30. If you need to truss it, then you shouldn't be running that axle in comparison with that tire size. I would never lock the D30 with 35 or larger tires, just for the piece of mind. Stick with shafts and gussets on the D30. sleeve are a waste of $$$ unless you are planning on running down the trials at 50+ mph. all the sleeve does is stiffen the axle housing and does nothing for torque introduction to the shafts themselves (which causes causes breakage in a sudden wheel spin-to-stop scenario seen in climbing/crawling). A BJ upgrade is always a good idea, eventually, in any axle you have. The abuse that us internet "trolls" put our vehicle through will wear them out prematurely. Don't forget to carry extra U-joints! RCV Shafts are great until your that one unlucky guy who manages to break one, U can't trail repair that unless you carry an extra shaft.

An if someone chooses to post and immediately classify forum members are "web wheelers" or "trolls", it makes me wonder why they are even spending their time on a forum. its kind of ironic and contradicting and um......hypocritical?

here is me trolling:

 

Thanks! I am at the very least going to gusset them before installing. May still truss. New BJ's at some point, maybe not right away though, I just got a new set, they came with a free D44! Unless removing them to gusset, or the heat from leaving them in destroys them, then I'll have a good excuse to repace with HD units! I totally see your point about rotational stress playing a factor. I will be keeping an eye on CL for some trail spares. And by the way, I think something looks broke in that pic! :laugh:

Nice score. IMHO though, I would still gusset and truss that front 44 as the axle tubes are pretty thin and prone to failure.

Yup, it will at least get gussets pronto. Maybe more, I can't do anything for a few weeks because of work.

I see people questioning trussing, and guys like zjilla bring up some great points. One thing I will point out from talking to a lot of people is that it seems the plug welds on these axles are a weak point/point of failure. Trussing doesn't just keep the axles from bowing, it can prevent the axle tubes from spinng as well.

A local club member had that happen on his as well, at the plug welds. I may wait just a bit on the install, rebuild my Jeep fund account a little, and do the whole Artec Armor kit. I need to learn to weld....Sheesh! :thumbsup:

Thanks again guys!

Billy

 

I see people questioning trussing, and guys like zjilla bring up some great points. One thing I will point out from talking to a lot of people is that it seems the plug welds on these axles are a weak point/point of failure. Trussing doesn't just keep the axles from bowing, it can prevent the axle tubes from spinng as well.

 

Here is the thread I started a few months back. Maybe helpful for anyone looking for more info/opinions on the topic.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/dana-30-owners-running-35s-2266721/

 

Here is the thread I started a few months back. Maybe helpful for anyone looking for more info/opinions on the topic. http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/dana-30-owners-running-35s-2266721/

I came across this thread while trying to figure out what to. I think I read it at least twice at different times. It's a good read, thanks!!

 

I was wondering if it was among those that you had found. Glad to help.