I think that the Dana 30, Chrysler 8.25, or 8.8 would be a great set up to run 33s. But the OP stated that he wanted to know what he needed to build a crawler, that is why I stated that he needed to go bigger and tuffer.

 

dana 60's are too big for 33's.

you lose way too much ground clearance running it.

 

i run that combo.. plus a auto locker and it does just fine.. no issues yet!

 

I agree with the statement that Dana 60s are to much axle for 33s. If I were going to build a Cherokee for crawling with 33 inch tires I would go with the Dana 30 front with 30 spline alloy centers, 27 spline outers, and an E-Locker. In the rear I would go with a Chrysler 8.25, with 29 spline alloys with a Detroit Locker and a disc brake upgrade.
I would go with 4.88 gears and then do a Tera-Flex 4-1 transfer case upgrade, that would give me a 54.66 to 1 crawl ratio with the auto and a 74.76 to 1 crawl ratio with the manual. This wouldn't be a great combo for a rock only crawler but it would make one hell of a trail machine that could also crawl pretty dam good.

 

alright, im gonna stick with the d30. if it breaks then ill put her on tons

 

it'll work great and you'll love it, the biggest issue is that I recommend you don't, and personally refuse to run anything bigger than 33s on a Dana 30.

Can bigger tires than 33s be run on a Dana 30? Absolutely

Can bigger than 33s be run hard and reliably on a Dana 30 for a decent amount of time? Nope, you will break u-joints, shafts and possibly other stuff if you do even moderate wheeling with a D30 and larger than 33s.

I'm not even gonna bother sinking money into my Dana 30 beyond gear oil. I'd much rather work on building a Dana 44

 

HP44's are not that easy to come by nowadays...33's on a Dan30 is fine with 4.56's I have TJ's and XJ's with 35's on D30 while rock crawling as that is all I do with my rigs.

I agree with upgrading the shafts but at $500 for a set that's a little overkill when you can pick up stock shafts and unit bearings for a 1/3 of that...I have had ONE shaft break in my experience on 33's - a lot more on 35's but I don't like to hold back

Same...

4.56 is the lowest a 8.25 will go - 4.88's and lower will need a 8.8, D44 or 60's etc...

 

a dana 30 front will be fine, i have 35 inch tires with a detroit in my d30 with 456 gears and i have no problems, youll be fine unless you drive like an idiot.
if you get a d44 theres still u joints and drive lines to break cuz when you beef something up the next thing in line is the weak link now. keep the d30 and put an 8.8 in the rear and call it done

 

dana 30's are NOT ok with 35's.

the unit bearings don't hold up, and even with 297's, it will break.

a dana 30 isn't worth investing $$$ in for the better shafts etc. for less $$$, you can go full width.

the only people who think 35's are OK on dana 30's are people who don't daily drive them, or don't abuse them much.

 

your an idiot, why dont you tell me the sky isnt blue

i am running a d30 with no problems
my dads ****** has had a d30 locked with 35s on it for only 15 years with no breaks, and no our jeeps are just wheeling rigs not dds

a dana 30 is fine if your not wheeling like an idiot

 

and I had a dana 30 with 4.10's, 35's, no locker, and 297 shafts....I went through 3 wheel bearings per side in a year, several tie rod ends (granted, they were stock, so I can't say anything about those TRE's). I broke 3 297 shafts in a year, both inners and outers, and I tore one ball joint out.


all because 35's are TOO BIG.

how many miles have you put on the 35's with a dana 30? I daily drove mine. anyone who actually puts miles on them would feel the same way I do.

 

mine drives to and from a trail then gets parked,
mine has less than 1k on them but they are also offroad miles,
my dads ****** with a d30 on 35s has over 5k with no problems in 15 years,
i do however agree that it will wear out parts alot faster than smaller tires. the op never mentioned if its his dd or just a rig either
but 33s will be fine on a dana 30 plenty of people run that setup

 

we're agreed there.


I put 9xxx miles on my 35's. I took the lift out and back down to 4"....and 31's, with 3.55's. I'm sick of breaking things, and don't wheel enough.

 

good idea, if i didnt wheel mine i would put a 2 inch budget boost on it and run 30-9.50-15s on it for the mileage and cheaper tires. i think i better stop hijacking the ops thread/end thread hijack

 

yeah. it was either go fullsizes like the OP....which is a great idea, but cost/benefit of that, or building the dana 30...just didn't work for me. I don't get out wheeling enough to NEED to go that hardcore. 31's and stock axles work just fine...