35s look too small but I wanna keep smaller axles cuz I live very far from all trails so I gotta highway it and I don’t have the money to get a tow rig and a trailer so I’ve got a question , if I truss a high pinion dana 30 along w/ c gussets , chromo shafts, 760 u-joints, quality locker, quality driveshaft, all quality internals and it’s built right, could it hold up in rocks on 37 mtrs (73lbs) on a 17x8 wheel (36lbs) totally 110lbs. I’d need to drive it several hours to whatever trail I’d probably go w 4.88 gears. Oh yeah and same thing to a Chrysler 8.25 in the back, chromos, disc brakes, truss, locker. Whatcha guys think? Will it last if I go easy on the throttle and don’t bounce it at all or will it be a short fused bomb no matter what I do? Thanks ! And yes I know other posts almost exactly like this exist but everyone who answers doesnt even have experience or know what they’re talking about

 

I'm going to go with yes but you're not going to enjoy it because the second you go hard something is bound to break. You want axles you can have confidence in especially when you're going to have to drive it home after. Also the amount of effort and money you're going to spend trying to beef up the Dana 30 could easily be put into buying something beefier that doesn't even need a truss to do the wheeling you want to do.

I'll let a vet handle the final decision on this though. I just know when I look at the Dana 30 on the front of my XJ I would cringe putting anything more than 32's on it and expecting it to bring me home everytime I go hard.

 

I am one of those who doesnt know, but do know the D30 stock control arm mounts arm mounts are awfully flimsy and would need heavy duty reinforcement.
Would prefer a D44

 

I am all for big tires, but not on a locked D30. This is particularly true with a selectable locker. You will snap those 27 spline axles in the rocks. 37s will also push that 8.25 to the limit and probably break something there too

 

Look up Rusty411 on YouTube, he was running 36s on a locked Dana 30 and Chrysler 8.25 and was pretty hard on it and had no problems he then switched to 40" tires and the only time he broke something was when he accidently put it in reverse when going about 30 mph in 4x4, he sheared the ring gear and bent the carrier in his Dana 30.

 

One of my favorite people on this forum. He knows what he's talking about so screw it truss it and run it just make sure to do your best to make that puppy beefy

 

not sure with chromo shafts, but that may only move the weak point to the pinion/ring gear. i would prefer to have my weak point to something i can fix in short time, like the u-joints/shafts.

i will say, when i locked my d30 up with 36 bias ply iroks, on beadlocks, i snapped many a shaft/joint till i removed the locker. really only seemed to break once i put into reverse, in the rocks, and the wheels were turned. i was at very low tire pressure, so i'm sure that was the added resistance. but you can never choose where you're gonna break...

 

Yeaahh I’m not trying to break the d30 when I’m hours from home , if they break that easily even on light throttle then it’s just not worth the time or money I’d rather have the peace of mind. I just don’t know where I’d go for a more heavy duty axle. I live on the west coast in California right above Santa Barbara where should I go? Or should I order a completed axle assembly off of East coast gear supply? Those things are bolt in but are $$$$$. Any help? Thanks guys I really appreciate it

 

That depends on whether or not you can fabricate. But it still is going to cost. I think the cheapest thing to do is to go with front and rear full width axles from an F150 or full size Bronco. That gives you a 9" rear axle and front D44. Certain years have a cast in link mount which is not a good thing for the swap. But still all in all, lots of aftermarket parts available for both axles and both will hold up to 37s. You can buy all the brackets you will need for the front and move the perches on the rear.

 

I understand the struggle I live in Cali as well. Looking around craigslist and local junkyard's is your best bet. Anything like LKQ pick your part just charges way to much for everything so try to buy something that's sold by a local it'll be cheaper