front axle swap options????
 

so i scored a d44 rear with the factory track lock and im in process of doing the disk break swap from big david. now im trying to figure what would be better than the d30hp up front. im at about 4.5" on 32's going up to probably 5.5" and 35's soon. i have hear that the waggy d44 isnt realy much of an upgrade as its a low pinion so just looking for some ideas.....thanks

If you beef up the Hp 30 you'll be fine running 35s, a lot of people do it. I would stick with a 30.

Im gona stick with the 30 on mine... i think they are strong enough for what im gona do...

x2. there aren't any really good front axles to match that rear D44 that I can think of off the top of my head. Everything is going to be a different lug pattern, width, and probably more work than it's worth

yup thats kinda what i figured, chromo shafts and a arb is the plan unless im missing something ?

thicker diff cover and a truss along with relocated shock mounts

What it cost to swap axles i would go 1 tons,But in your case beef up what you got and you should be good to go for a long time.

i already have a solid diff cover. link to the relocated shock mounts?

Artec makes a great truss for the d30/d44. You can also get gussets from them to beef it up. Add those and it'll run 35's no problem. That's what I run on my rig with a full case locker.

well it looks like the IRO d30 truss relocates the shock mounts so that would be great. any body have experiance with they're truss ?

I almost bought it but after some research that's a lot of money for what it is. I'm going to go with a 1/4 plate steel "truss" on the long tube and run axle tube sleeves from IRO. That'll cost around $150 instead of $400

I run 35" tires with Detroit Lockers (full case) front and rear 4.56 gears using stock HPD30 and Chy 8.25 29 spline axles. Carry spares for both have never broken one yet but if I do that is what I want to break is the axle not the lockers or gears. Axle can be fixed on the trail easily and not a lot of time either plus the fact they are cheap for used ones.

IRO's truss is awesome. extremely well built and worth the money in my opinion. Like everyone else said, just build the 30 as much as you can. a TJ rubi 44 is the next best thing without having to run adapters for a different bolt pattern on the axle, but there is hardly any gain and they're stupid expensive. Other than that, you might as well go tons. Truss, C-gussetts, upgrades shafts and gears and it'll handle 35's all day long.

Nice Jeep Mitch!!!

i run 35's w/ my hp d30, works great. but i did sleeve it, truss it, gusset it, alloy shafts & a detriot e-locker. nice thing about the e-locker, very strong,selectable open or full locked, cost less then a arb, no compressor to fail, air hoses to break or leak.just 1 12v wire. plus the ground clearance on a 30 is high.