this is how I feel when I'm arguing with you. lol

 

I don't want lower gears. Although i admit it would be easier on my drive train.

Taller gearing has it assets. And that asset is complimentary to the particular build I am after.

 

I used to instruct people who were wanting to develop off road riding skills. You remind me of a few of those guys, who had been at it a lot longer than I had but didn't know it. LOL

 

was that before or after you were riding the brake pedal to activate the imaginary locker?

 

I think that was just before the imaginary locker. LOL

 

You guys are fun to read. Of course you know well what your debating, both of you. There are different ways to achieve the same thing. Let's see if I understand this debate. My tire needs to get over a rock, and in order to do that it needs torque applied to it. The same amount of torque is needed to get over that rock no mater how my Cherokee is set-up. So a stock 3.07 geared Cherokee will need x ft/lbs of torque from the engine and my not stock 4.10 geared Cherokee will need less than x ft/lbs of torque from the engine because of the multiplication of torque by the differential gears. Hmmmm! Less torque through engine, trans, transfer case, drive shaft and u-joints could be good for the longevity of those components. I guess there are other places in the drive train that one could draw the line of impact.

 

Yep you got it. I am saying with 3:07 I have less control and could easily apply too much and break an axle. Atmos is saying that because I have 3:07 I have no power to break an axle.

But on your particular situation. It instigated me to search out upgrades.

And from what is seems like you may as well stick with a Dana 30 rather than a 44 and mess with a conversion. 44's have their weaknesses, with their only real strength being the size of the gears.

 

but how big is the rock?

when you regear you take stress off the drivetrain and add it to the axles. so your ujoints and shafts will see more stress(pressure) in wheeling situations (I'm not talking about wearing out parts faster, I'm talking about breaking them)
engine/drivetrain output remains constant. adding more torque at the diff means that your engine can get more torque to the tires with a lot more ease. so if you put oversized tires up against parts that are not made to handle them, and you're spinning all 4 and your front tire comes to a stop your engine and diff are gonna want to keep turning because it's easy for them. this is an "unstoppable" force encountering an "immovable" object. whatever is inbetween them will be crushed
now lets say you've upgraded to chromos and super joints and your tire comes to a complete sudden stop. this is how people end up breaking ring and pinions

this is why people who build their axles right and gear them (and wheel them hard) will not run tires larger than a 35. it's just pushing the limits. now if you run a big tire and don't regear, you're making your engine, trans, and tcase do all the work. you can figure why you wouldn't want to break or fatigue any of those parts. which is why people regear in the first place, which is why they upgrade axle shafts, and eventually break it all and sell the D30 for a huge loss and going to a D44 to repeat the cycle. which is why people run 35's MAX on a D30.

my info and argument is based on this situation only, and high stress offroading. if you're just cruising through the back woods it really doesn't matter as much so you can just ignore me.

 

first off don't you have an automatic? with 3.55? or is your jeep a dud.

regardless. if you apply too much output and your tire comes to a stop, my point is not that you can't break a shaft, it's that you're stressing the crap out of the rest of your drivetrain. you can snap parts, but what I'm trying to get across is that when you have bigger tires (more weight) and deeper gears (more torque) you will have the power to grenade parts easier because they aren't strong enough to withstand an oversized tire jamming up suddenly. when you encounter sudden traction without gears it is more likely that your jeep will simply bind and stop moving (which is horrible for your trans and tcase), and you let off the gas obviously. with gears this can some times happen faster than you can react and let off the gas.

of course you can break parts with stock gearing on 36's. once again I reiterate, EASIER TO DO when you have deeper gears. WHICH AGAIN I STATE is why people do not should not try to run over sized tires

if this doesn't get my point across I don't know what will. I'm speaking on what I know, which is rock crawling in the dry sierras. I know it's different where you're at

 

So it sounds like the weak point on the D30 is always going to be the r&p? But maybe keeping the gears lower (4.10s or 4.56s) can help reduce stress on the r&p

What about the unit bearing? I know that's a non-upgradable part. Are failures of the hub assembly common with larger tires?

 

I replace hub bearings at least every 4 months. But i believe it's because of mud/water and cheap grade bearings.

 

We know the same things Atmos. We are looking at it two different ways. And that is our opinion. For me if I could have a 100:1 ratio I would never break anything. Except for the pinion because it would be the size of a tooth pick.

Off topic but running taller gears is like adding hp to your motor. As far as situation. Gearing low you lose power. This is why I want to run tall gears. 3:07 I have been considering. I have experimented with this a lot in the past. Is depends of course on application. For instance 1/4 mile racing. Gear too tall and you are slower, gear to low and you are slower. You have to gear just right if you are to make use of what you have.

I am taking this way of thinking for my application off road. Rather than what is "standard" just if some may be wondering why I would run taller gears off road. Hopefully my videos soon enough will show you. And if my little plan fails it was fun trying.

 

So to answer the OP's questions....

Order of Breaking on a HP D30:
U-Joints (260x)
U-Joints (297x)
Stock Shafts
Lunch Box Locker
Open Carrier
U-Joints (760x)
R&P
Alloy Shafts
Full Case Carrier

Ball Joints & Unit Bearings will just be a maintenance item to check on.

This is not a set in stone order but it has severed pretty well, one major caution is that the carrier can be know to break BEFORE a stock shaft when it is Lunch Box Locked.

How I would build a HP D30 for 35's:
Stock Shafts
U-Joints (760x)
R&P (4.88)
Full Case Carrier (Preferably Selectable)

Then Carry a set of spare shafts to get you off the trail when you snap one...

Also, My Front D44 Required VERY LITTLE WELDING:
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/79...-build-195610/

Of Course a D44 has the Same Problems on 35's as the D30 in stock form... Stock Hubs Blow & (x297) U-Joints
So plan to at least carry spares or run Premium Hubs & x760's.
For 37's on a HPD44 Run RCV's & Drive Flanges

 

I used to break the front quite a bit. But every time it jas been my fault.

ever since I started going through the front end before every wheeling trip I have not broken a thing. Also remembering to not gas it while on the stops I believe has helped a lot also.

So far with everything fresh and tight and running 36's the dana 30 has been flawless. I run the heavy greasable joints, make sure the pinion is tight and fresh oil. Also that the axles are not twisted other damaged In any way.

The 30 has proven to be a pretty good axle. And I even have the lp.

 

sure if you upgrade the axle shafts and ujoints your RP might become more of an option for a break. but your RP is still very strong. it's highly unlikely you will ever break a RP, even with 4.88's. the only time I've ever seen gears break in a 30 were when people were trying to run 36's or bigger with 4.88's, locked, chromo'd, etc. put that fear out of your mind

unit bearings last 4-6 months when you're off roading a lot. I often replaced them with a decent junk yard spare or one that happened to be sitting in a buddies garage. no big deal. they wear out, some sooner than others

the only thing you should be worried about breaking is 80's disconnect crap and ujoints on 86-94 smaller shafts. upgrading to 760's and full circle snap rings is cheap and easy. do that and you won't have much to worry about