I like the idea of beefing up the dana 30 because it still keeps the jeep light. One of the reasons why jeeps wheel so well.

People underestimate how well a 30 can hold up...its a matter of horsepower vs. tire size. As far as the locker, I'm someone who would rather have something and not need it than need something and not have it. I'm a fan of IRO so I like the truss.

Nice build. Appreciate the comment about running stock axle shafts to avoid damaging the ring and pinion.

Nice to hear someone else basically say what I tell people about my overlander and that is “that’s the beautiful thing about America; you don’t have to understand, agree, or like anything I do... only I do”

Looks good. I say build what you want the way you want it, it's your time and money.

I work at an off road park in s Michigan. I have seen my fare share of breaks ( daily ) and in most cases, its NOT the dana 30 thats on 90% of the jeeps i see come into the park. The most common break i see on stock or semi stock rigs, is the steering arm gets bent, or breaks , and tie rods. Now having said that, while we do have rock areas, rocks are not in most of the park. Bottom line.....build it for what you do, a 60k drive train dosnt impress me, and screw the trolls. I watch guys with 1 ton military axles break stuff all the time, usually because of the 52 inch tires, but you can break ANY axle, and no where does it say if you dont run the most expensive equipment, your not cool and will never break. My jeep goes any where....it makes me smile, and if you dont like it, drive your own, because i really dont care, and at the end of the day.....my jeep will be pulling you to the parking lot

I love your reasoning and answer to why you justified using the d30! mine has held up perfectly with 35s and a locker for the last 6-7 years. A good strong steering setup and normal maintenance will go a long way as long as you don't completely abuse it.

BRAVO!!! Finally someone who understands me. The setup you've described is basically what I do; although, my front Dana 30 was destroyed by a tow truck towing the vehicle backwards. I ordered a new Dana 30 with Truss, from East Coast Axle. No locker. Limited Slip Dana 44 in the back. I've been looking for a Dana 44 Clutch replacement video; because, it's the biggest task I want to tackle, in the next month, in time for some winter desert driving. Plus, my 5.9 ZJ came with Quadratrac; where, the ABS/ESC uses the brakes to prevent too much wheel slippage. I decided I want to keep the ABS; because, it is remaining a street vehicle; plus, with my last ZJ, my ABS saved a kids life when I was able to steer it to center up with his front tire. Both SUVs totaled; but, with minor injuries. Without ABS, it would have been really really bad.

Your not the only one with a built dana 30 we are running a Dana 30 trussed and sleeved with 4:88 Yukon gears ARB lockers Yukon chromemoly axle shafts in our 2014 JKU with 37in tires and so far so good and we beat on our jeep pretty hard. I think the dana 30 is a great axle.

Excited for your build, awesome stuff.

love the build!!! I took an 07 jk dana 30 to swap into my WJ plan on doing the same exact thing. Thank you!

I'm running 35's ten factory axles, lock right locker for about 2 yrs now ,no problems,a lot of it is how a person wheels, that Dana 30 is awesome good work 👍

Looking great! I am currently building myself an Iron Rock Off-road sponsored ZJ for Overland! Truly a great company! I run their premium 3.5" lift with their rear sway bar. Going to address the Axles next so this series is perfect right now! 👊🏾🦁

Great job! It's what I have as well and what I intend to build for the same reasons. Thanks for the video.

Thank God I see someone using a Torque Wrench on a YT vid. Nice job guys. Like some other posters have mentioned, the Dana 30 is underrated if given a little TLC. Having said as much, I live in Colorado with some of the most technical trails in the world. Having a select-able locker in the front while driving up a wet rock canyon is key. BUT, applying full power at full steering lock will break almost any front axle or front u joint. At least anything that most people can afford and drive to work every day.

Love your Dana 30 build...Great job!!!

Way to take a real world look at your build. You said things I've been thinking in spite of all the internet 4x4 mythos out there. Well done I say.

I went a similar route. I did Reid knuckles, locking hubs, Detroit locker, & RCV's. Minus what these naysayers say. The D30 isn't all that bad. I'm running 35" KMII's and don't break stuff.

I've seen this video pop up often and I figured i'd finally drop my Two Cents in …. its basically because how you say you get Slagged for building up a Dana 30. Every time anyone does any kind of mod to their Jeep, people are always "Rock Crawl this, Rock Crawl that … Blah, Blah, Blah." Not all of us Rock Crawl. We aren't all Rock Crawl specific. Some of us are just explorers (Overlanders is the new trendy term, I think) and just want to get into the back country. I love this idea of just beefing up the Dana 30. I love that you stuck with it … I love mine, and I love this idea. You said people are slamming you for doing this, but myself …. and it seems plenty others, like it as well. I myself would rather go this route … I have it, its there, and anything more would be a waste of money for what I plan to do. I don't need, or WANT to go buy some crazy ass axle assembly that cost more then my whole (1988 Cherokee), when there is no real need for it. That said! I want to be able to deal with whatever gets in my way, and make it home ... this looks to me like the way to go. I thoroughly agree with jrg10332's comments below, and many others. My Dana 30 is completely stock, and its been through hell for 21 years (that's how long I've had it). When it breaks, i'll beef it up with parts such as these …. or if finances allow. But for now, its thoroughly fine, and i'll put the effort and money into other things and modifications that help me get out there in the back country. I love this build thread, and love that you did it, for the rest of us that are cool with what we have …. and will just make what we have better. Good job, thank you. … everyone who slagged that you did this … probably don't wheel, i'm sure... or know the cost of things. Just watch shows with huge budgets, and shops with every possible tool and piece of machinery … and probably don't pay for ANYTHING. "On this episode of our budget build of $30,000.00 and every conceivable tool." I dig my Jeep as is, and dig the Dana 30 and 35, so i'll stick with them. No need for the other stuff.

I'm doing the same mods (maybe not the sleeves - not sure) for my overland XJ. Mostly hill climbs with mud and gravel here in Costa Rica to get way out in the Bush. One thing I'm doing that you should consider - WJ knuckles and big brakes. I definitely need those for these crazy roads.

I love this overlander project. Would like to see it in action 👍👍🇵🇷👍👍🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆😁

Thanks for the video man!

I really like this series of videos on this axle. It may have changed my mind on what I'm doing with my 90 XJ and possibly my son's 97.

Nice and thanks , i have dana 30 and im doing the same sleve ,truss ,axel and gears my been working very good ,hooo and 35 tires ,led have fun

Awesome vid my dude, thnx for the share. I love it. I’m keeping my Dana 30 😎

thats cool man, good work

Nice . thanks for the video detail's.

I've ran a built dana 30 high pinion on 36's for 5 years and 60,000 miles on a jk with a mechanical locker. No issues. I've seen guys running 37's and 40's on them. Ive seen more 44's break than 30's.

Great video. This is what I am going to do!

Awesome work man 🙌🏼🙌🏼💪🏻💪🏻

very smart using the axles as the weak link. I blew a ring gear and pulling out the axle shafts on the trail was a pia...

Love it. Thanks for sharing. I subscribed.

Smart build, I raced off road for years with a Dana 30, Mint 400, Baja, etc and never broke an axle or dif. It's all about how you drive

No worries, I have an over built dana 30 on my jk. Looks and works good!

you go sir. have done the same to my d30 in my 2011 jk 2d. Moog ball joints, artec truss with c-clips, nitro sleeves an axle shafts, b.lees steering kit, an solid diff. cover. d30 are just as strong as d44, my opinion. my jk sees more rocks than anything. no problems so far. for each his own 👍👍 on your build.

nice build dude!

i put a spartan locker in mine a year ago works fine

I've got two 01 xjs and I have a 96 XJ with a high pinion 30 in it. I've definitely been contemplating building and swapping the high pinion into one of the 01 Jeeps.

I would love to see a little more information and detail on your spindles and modification you did to strengthen them Thanks

Been running my Dana 30 with 4.88s, 37’s and a Yukon duragrip for a hot minute now. No issues so far, purchased a truss and c gussets today. Figured I might as well run it till it breaks. Got 4 spare axle shafts for next to nothing at the junkyard, and I keep an extra ring and pinion when I wheel. Helluva lot cheaper than a $3500 44 that I’ll have to put gears in!

The fact that you do your own work makes you far more legitimate to upgrade that 30.

Great video, great information and nice build. Building my "RUSTY NUT" 2000 WJ now. You got me thinking about another whole can of worms now.

I have never run anything but stock diff covers. They can take an unbelievable beating

I did everything you did except the 1 tonne steering. I did Eaton TruTrac limited slip diff lockers front and rear... Also, left axle shafts stock. I changed the front driveshaft from stock.

I've been running a d30 built very similar to yours. I am running Spartan locker, alloy USA chromoly shafts. Been wheeling it on blacks/reds for the past 2 years and on 37" treps the last year.

I think your right the dana 30s are not bad I think there a good axle it's all in what your doing with them and they are a dime a doze

Awesome job sir

nice job loved it

Nice job. I have a bent axle shaft right now and want to do a gear swap shortly. I don't care to upgrade my D30 because I don't wheel a whole lot any way but I do run 35s because I like the look haha

just found this channel I have an 06 F250 Harley Davidson edition unmolested other than a full fabtech 6" lift sitting on 305-70-18 and love it.. really enjoyed the video going to dig in and do what every new subscriber does and play catch up! thumbs up and subbed! thanks for the great upload!

Rock that Dana 30!!!! Mine works and I've beat the crap out of it.

Nice solid work

I built up my stock TJ front Dana 30 with upgrade to 4.56 gears and aftermarket exterior axle seals. I powder coated the axle housing, powder coated the front calipers, installed slotted rotors and new ball joints. Maybe I should of done the same on a Dana 44 retrofit, but like you the axle was there and I had other things to spend limited funds on. oh yes, it also had a Detroit True Locker already in it. I don't take the TJ 4 wheeling off road, but can say it's 4 wheel off road capable.

I'm planning on doing the same build with my jk d30. Except with air locker.

Ever thought of stronger knuckles, bigger brakes, high steer kit to bring up that 1 ton tie rod above your diff cover, and possible spin free locking hubs from teraflex in the future?

Sweet 30 though none the less. Still running my 30. Had my V8'ed YJ since 2001.

Just stumbled upon this today. D30 isn't a bad axle. People just push them over thier limits. Great build. As far as a front locker, as long as you know you aren't going to be trying out rock bouncing it's fine to go without. I prefer them simply because the truck works easier. That's just me though.

you should box those lower control arm brackets. mini skids. I've bent too many lower control arm brackets.

i've run a D30 in my last 3 jeeps.....never broke one. My mud bogger even had a narrow trac D30, and it ripped the ears off the old spindle and left the axle intact. Rule#1.....dont bounce the axle....rule 2....DONT BOUNCE THE AXLE

Would you mind Sharing more on the knuckles and how you adapted them to a D30 and what they are off of, I have a 5.3 in my TJ and I really need to beef it up besides the truss and such

Great build.. if i wanna upgrade my jk Dana 44 front and rear axle. Can you tell me which parts to use ??

The fuse argument has been around since the 70’s, proven over the decades not a good argument. With no locker and 35” and under tires the Dana 30 ring and pinion is not a problem even with a locker. The axle shafts are a dime a dozen and less work than the ring and pinion on the trail but still a pain in the ass. Put some good CM shafts in use it how you say you want to use it and worry about it 15-20 years down the road.

Iv said before and I’ll die on this hill... a built/beefed d30 is a perfectly capable axle and is even in the right circumstances a comparable to a stock d44 or even stronger, at a fraction of the cost.

Hey I know You're not alone in the D30 lovers dept. I have always had good luck with mine

nice job!

You know what I always say, if somebody wants to give you crap about what you choose to spend your money on, then they can put up the money to buy what they’re telling you you should be buying, otherwise they can shut up.

Do you happen to know if i can use this truss on a JK DANA 30? I cant seem to find one that they make specifically for the jk

Looks good man, I'd put it on my jeep.

So it's time to rebuild my d30 on my 2000xj. What brand yall have the best luck with? I'm looking at the Spicer one. Not gonna regear it just so the bearings and seals

Nice axle build. Watch out for those mud wasps under your hood though. Lol

Would love for you to review these upgrade Tyler!

I think it's funny when people say "you could build a Dana 60 for that". Those people have no idea how much Dana 60 parts are. Not to mention the modifications it takes to make them fit

I am with you. I have the HP30 and bought a locker on black Friday for $600. I have an e-locker with 30 spine axles but I will run 27 spline outers - so I if anything breaks it will be the outer and not the gears - what do you think I am going overland also.

I like it.

Offset tie-rods would be better and a Torsen Traction Dana 30, 3.73 gears. I love the Dana 30's!

I like the truetrac lockers. If you got one wheel off the ground you slightly press on the brakes to put sum drag on the freewheeling wheel, and the locker will engage. The U.S. military uses truetrac lockers in many of the trucks. Plus they aren't that expensive, and basically got no parts that will prematurely wear out.

Well it sure is pretty!

If the Dana 30 works for you i say go for it. I swapped for Dana 60s front and rear though on my '97 Ram. A bit overkill but the cool factor is worth it to me. Also if you had manual hub locks they act as a fuse and will be your break point. It's easiest and quickest to replace a hub lock than anything else. You can even still drive.

Hey BleepingJeep, how it has been with the re-inforced dana 30? would you recommended after 2 years of usage ? 🧐 am considering dana30 reinforcement . Thank you

You can cryo the ring and pinion as well as add 30 spline axles and a full carrier locker. Ive seen dana 44 sized ctm u joints break before anything else in the dana 30 does so the 30 is no weak axle if its breaking dana 44 ctm's

Love the visor! I need to pick one of those up before the Fallon 250. I also wear glasses, and you've got to have something to block the backside glare. The goofy arsed hats they sell today either have some stupid looking 6" wide brim visor, or they stick up 8" like you're a member of the Conehead family. And then the so called "vented" ones still bake the top of your head like it's in an oven. I think I'll find a golf Pro Shop and pick up a PING visor! Oh, and great job on the axle!

In your honest opinion, do you think you could run 37’s if you only did overlanding with this?

Looks great but why didn´t you put the tied rod over the steering arms?

What did you use to paint the axle? It looks great?

Dana 30 life

I have a lunch box locker unused I now have a Rubicon so its no use anymore. Do still need one??

will this get ride of death wobble i have done everything but the axels

Good job. Might as well use what you have.

20+ XJs and ZJs at my local wrench a part and only 2 yes TWO are all that have non CV style axles on them. And one had abs ring which is what was broken on mine. You might stock up on a pair for back up if you find a good set.

You gave up some of your turning radius by adding those washers. Not really a big deal but you could have used off set tie rod ends and had plenty of clearance, unless your using 15 inch wheels.

I have a factory stock?? dana 30 on a 95wrangler yj and have had zero trouble with it ( knock on wood ) so far! but how much damage can a 70 yo lady do??

Sorry for my bad English. I'm riding an XJ and I want to use 37s tires. Do these reinforcements together with RCV support this size of tires? I'll use e-locker too.

I need the rear end replaced in my 2000 Cherokee. My pinion is bad plus other bearing bad. Im wanting to take out axles, housing an all out of my 2000 cherokee and replace it with another complete housing axels an all. Unbolt u bolts drop it all. What modal jeeps will inner change. I know i have a Dana 30 in the front and its good and a Dana 35 in the rear thats bad.. My rear gear ratio is 355. What other jeep rear ends will inner change and that i will be ok with my front end dana 30

I like my ARB diff covers

How would u take 1 ton back down to a 3/4 ton, would it be beneficial for mpg I got a rig f250 4x4 xl 1985 and the guy before me dropped a 1 ton on her so would it be worth it costly and mpg. I'm only trying to hunt it every weekend

It'd be interesting to put super strong shafts in and push this axle to it's breaking point just to see what it can take. Obviously since this was built for a reason already that won't happen. But I'd like to see how it compares to something like a d60. Pretty sure it's stronger than a 44 already

Where can I find more info on the overlander project?

I rebuilt a d30 for my s15 jimmy and I used moog ball joints. when I torqued the castle nuts on the ball joints the knuckles wouldn't budge even when I kicked the knuckles. so I just tightened them like any other ball joint and put the cotter pin in. dont know why it was jammed like that.... any thoughts?

Rock on bro

went that far might as well have done wj knuckles. the brakes are 10x better and steering is a nice upgrade as well