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Front axle????


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Ok here is the situation..I have an 87 longbed...8.25 rear and dana 30 front..Found out this weekend that the d30 is bent so i gotta replace it..What axle is recommended to replace it with and i want to keep the 5 on 4.5 lug pattern and the same width..I know its gonna be asked so the tire size is 36's..

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I am not hard on axles..Everyone has told me I couldnt run 33's on an amc20 w/ a 304v8...been on there since 78..Guess its cause i don't do rock crawlin..for that reason i consider'd going back w/ d30 and beefing up the outer tube..but i could have sworn you could get a d44 front w/ a 5 on 4.5.....

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I am not hard on axles..Everyone has told me I couldnt run 33's on an amc20 w/ a 304v8...been on there since 78..Guess its cause i don't do rock crawlin..for that reason i consider'd going back w/ d30 and beefing up the outer tube..but i could have sworn you could get a d44 front w/ a 5 on 4.5.....

 

the only 44 front with 5 on 4.5 is the rubicon axle. like he said.

 

other than that its 6 lug or dana30.

 

but i bet you could make a D30 just as strong as a rubi44 with the amount of money it'd cost.

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Grab a 1996-2000 non-disconnect XJ high pinion Dana 30, throw some alloy shafts in it if you want for $475.... http://www.drivetrainoutlet.com/Jeep_Front_Axle_Kits-Alloy_Chromoly_Upgrade_Kit_87_04_TJ.html and call it good if you have to keep the 5 on 4.5 pattern.

 

Better option if you are up for the fabwork and swapping wheels is get a HP44 and 9" rear out of a late 70's Ford truck. Just avoid the cast in radius arm mounts on the 78-79 F-150's. 76-77 F-150's are good, 78-79 F-250's are good.

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I've heard that a trussed 30 can handle almost anything. I know that a lot of Jeepspeed folks use them. I know another guy who kept blowing front lockers until he trussed his 30. Never had a problem again and ran 35s.

 

 

Yeah, and I've heard a welded D35 is right up there with a D70.

 

 

Jeepspeed guys run D30s because they have to. They truss them or they'll be smiling in no time. Only the highly modified classes allow any other axle type - a bunch of them swap in ford TTB or a custom IFS.

 

 

A truss in a front application matters if you're really hammering weight on it (dropping vehicles weight on it, ask Pat about his driving style for example). It doesn't do anything for the patheticness of the R&P, unitized hubs, axleshafts, ball-joints, knuckle design, gear carrier, etc. Yes, some of these things you can upgrade, others you can't. Some of them when they fail leave you really screwed.

 

 

I know people that have had failures on 32s. Not fatique failures - plain old 'she broke' failures.

 

 

That said I know of a lot of people who run 37s, 38s and even 39s on them. I think they don't know how to drive.

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with all this being said i am going back with the d30. Just gonna beef it up the best i can..Now will a 30 out of a yj work also or do i need to get it out of a xj. The one thing i am planning on doing is reaming the outer knuckles so that i can go with 1ton tie rod ends. Then go with a semi-high steer deal. All front end components will be 1.5" x .250 dom tube.

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If you rock crawl the d30 is on borrowed time on anything bigger then 33's if you are locked, or running anything larger then a 12.5" tire. As DC pointed out, there are lots of strength issues to be ovecome. I thought I would be good once I went chromo shafts.... I got 4 runs out of them before I broke the shaft off in the splines... Talk about sucking.. I had to disaasemble my whole front end to pull out about 2" of 4340 so I could run a stock shaft the second day and have just as much fun :eek: before that broke as well, and I had to winch 400yds up hill :headpop:

 

If you truss your axle like the jeep speed ppl do, you might as well run 33's cause thats how much ground clearance you will have, and if you truss the top, you will lose up travel, or put holes in your owl pan by upflexing the truss into it.... ask how many ppl running the Sky jacker Rock ready kit if they have a straight oilo pan :brows:

 

 

As for the ford axles, there is nothing wrong with the ford f150 d44, even with the cast c's They are still stronger then a built d30 in stock form, and with all the bronco aftermarket out there you can adapt them pretty easily to a jeep. I even saw a radias arm kit that lengthens them 12" and puts a flex joint on it, all you do is weld it up. then you can run a ford 9" or 8.8 which is just as if not stronger then the front axle, and beats the piss out of a d35.

 

F250 axles are special, they use d60 brake calipers and require they use of 16" or bigger rims, they also have special inners that do not adapt to other d44's. But if you want a mathcing set of these complete with front springs and driveshaft let me know.... I have one sitting behind my garage as well as the matching d60

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F250 axles are special, they use d60 brake calipers and require they use of 16" or bigger rims, they also have special inners that do not adapt to other d44's. But if you want a mathcing set of these complete with front springs and driveshaft let me know.... I have one sitting behind my garage as well as the matching d60

 

 

You can get a 15" rim to fit. It involves an angle grinder and LESS than 2" backspacing. Alternatively you can steal some knuckles from a ford 1/2 ton D44 and use them to run a more normal brake setup.

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F250 axles are special, they use d60 brake calipers and require they use of 16" or bigger rims, they also have special inners that do not adapt to other d44's. But if you want a mathcing set of these complete with front springs and driveshaft let me know.... I have one sitting behind my garage as well as the matching d60

 

 

You can get a 15" rim to fit. It involves an angle grinder and LESS than 2" backspacing. Alternatively you can steal some knuckles from a ford 1/2 ton D44 and use them to run a more normal brake setup.

 

why buy a 1ton axle and put 1/2ton stuff on it? :nuts:

 

 

that 44 install kit looks pretty nice, what year/model fords work with that again? i might have to do that.

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Something everyone needs to realize. EVERYONE wheels different. In my local club we hit all kinds of trails with all kinds of vehicles. The D30 holds up very well with sensible driving. if you want to drive it like you stole it, (Man I hate that term) you are gonna break.

 

Having said that, As others have said, it has its limits. I feel these are 35" tires and a locker. Alloy shafts in a HI-pinion model is your best setup. Not that you cannot run bigger mind you.

I have a guy in my club running a very light YJ stretched with a Super 30 and Super 35 axles ARB locked and 37" MTR's. He has broken a couple U joints and one axle but overall, his setup works for him and his style of driving. Before you ask, yes he runs the big dog trails.

 

ANYTHING can be broken, everyone will do well to remember that.

 

CW

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I think the key to longevity is wheeling smart.

Full throttle attack will kill any axle.

my d35 keepd me worried, but I've not broken it yet with the 34's. Of course, I dislike the throttle, and the midwest is mostly mud. I certainly wouldn't run rock with it, and that's the reason it will be replaced with an 8.8.

Anything can be made to work, you just have to know your vehicles mechanical limitations.

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This subject always cracks me up. It's always....

 

"I broke my D30 on 31's open fourteen times in two weeks"

 

or

 

"I've wheeled my D30 on 37's for 5 years without a failure"

 

I'm not saying either is not true. Heck, I ran a LP D30 with stock shafts on 35" Krawlers with heavy steel beadlocks, locked, for 3 seasons and didn't break a single part. Not one. And this was on serious trails, boulders and all! But... some other guy can't get out of the driveway without popping a u-joint on his open 33" tired rig.

 

What does this tell you?

 

You need to first figure out which guy you are. Because that is really what it comes down to. Are you guy #1 or guy #2? Then build whatever you need. There is no definative answer to what tire can go on a D30 and there never will be. EVER!

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I have to agree with CW.. everyone wheels different.

 

That TNT truss looks decent for the price.... I know where to d44's like that are, problem is.. they have drum outers which means converting to disc (which is easy) which means more money. To answer your question why someone would swap 1/2 ton stuff on a 3/4 tom knuckle.... its simple to convert to 5 lug or 6 lug, and to run the rim size or tire size you have. You can buy complete dodge and gm axles cheap, and just swap in the outers.

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