So, you’ve just purchased your first JK Wrangler. You’ve done some digging around on the internet and realized that you probably should have bought a Rubicon. But you didn’t, so now you want to know the difference between the Dana 30, and the Dana 44.
Why? So you can make an educated decision about upgrading to a stronger axle.
The base model and the Rubicon rear axle are both Dana 44s. But, the front axle is where everything changes. The Rubicon gets a Dana 44 in the front, while lower model Jeeps don’t. The Dana 30 is what lower models receive.
So, let us dive in and compare Dana 30 vs Dana 44.
Dana 30 vs Dana 44: Axle Housing
The axle housing is what holds everything together. The strength of the housing is important if you plan on bombing around through the desert. Where I live (Phoenix, Arizona), there is a lot less rock crawling and more of going fast through the desert.
But, if you plan on just rock crawling, then the strength of the housing isn’t super important.
The axle housing of the JK Dana 30, and Dana 44 are 100% the same. So, if you plan on going fast through the desert, you might want to think about going to Dana 60s or putting a big truss on your 30/44; This is part of the reason JK Dana 44s aren’t considered “true” 44s.
Either way, both the JK Dana 30 and the Dana 44 both have weak Cs. What do I mean by this? The C is where the ball joints are and the knuckle bolts to. That C tends to bend, which requires a new axle housing to fix.
The common cure for this is to gusset the C if you plan on running tires larger than 37″. To my knowledge tires under 37″ won’t cause the C to bend.
Dana 30 vs Dana 44: Center Section
When I refer to the center section, I am referring to all the gearing as well as the center section housing. The center section housing is what holds your differential, so the housing material doesn’t have to be super strong unless you have a bunch of power.
The gears in the center section on the Dana 30 and the Dana 44 are different. The Dana 30 ring gear diameter is 7 1/8″ and comes with a 3.21 gear ratio unless your JK is equipped with the tow package.
The Dana 30 doesn’t come with any factory LSD or locking differential.
The ring gear diameter in the Dana 44 is 8 1/2″, and comes standard with a 4.10 gear ratio, and an electronically actuated locker. To accommodate the larger ring gear the Dana 44 has a large center section housing, but this doesn’t make any difference in housing strength.
Now, why would you want a larger diameter ring gear? Well, essentially it helps to distribute the load and is less likely to explode into a million pieces under stress.
The 4.10 gear ratio of the Dana 44 helps when crawling, but also allows for larger tires before you experience a large amount of engine power loss.
Last but not least, the factory locker in the Dana 44 is awesome, because lockers are awesome to have.
Dana 30 vs Dana 44: Axle Shafts
The axles shafts are typically the weakest link on any given axle. They’re the weakest for a reason. If you’re out of the trail, it’s easier to swap an axle shaft than it is to swap a differential. Trust me, I’ve been there and done that.
I’ve seen differentials explode on the trail, then drove all the way back home, picked up my spare front axle, drove all the way back out to the desert, and helped my buddies do a front axle swap in the middle of nowhere so that we could continue to off-road.
The Dana 30 comes with 27 spline axle shafts, and the Dana 44 comes with 30 spline axle shafts. The Dana 44s 30 spline axle shafts are obviously much beefier than the Dana 30s 27 spline axle shafts. However, they both have relatively weak “ears” and small u-joints.
Since the center section of the Dana 44 is beefed up, Jeep went ahead and beefed up the axle shafts. They’re still one of the weak points, but as I mentioned before, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The Dana 60 axles shafts dwarf the Dana 30 axle shafts and Dana 44 axle shafts. If you plan on running giant tires or high horsepower then you’ll need a Dana 60.
Dana 30 vs Dana 44: The Little Stuff
So we’ve covered the housing strength, center section strength, center section features, and axle shaft strength. But what about all the other miscellaneous stuff? Well, they’re all the same.
The Dana 30 and the Dana 44 have the same brakes, hubs, ball joints, Cs, knuckles, and steering. So other than the beefier center section, and the beefier axle shafts, these two are completely identical otherwise.
The biggest reason to get a Rubicon with 44s front and rear is for the beefier axle shafts and the electronic lockers.
Summary
So, if you are debating on whether you should buy a Rubicon, it comes down to personal preference. I wouldn’t spend the extra money on a Rubicon. Use the money you save buying a lower model Jeep on aftermarket axles.
The only difference between the JK Dana 30 and Dana 44 is ring gear size, electronic locker, and bigger shafts. You’re better off just starting with an aftermarket Dana 44 that is a “true 44”.
With the cost difference between a base Wrangler and a Rubicon, you could get aftermarket Dana 60 axles with lockers.
Great intro article, plan and simple. If you don’t understand what’s in this article you better go ahead and start saving money to let someone else do the work for you. Great thing about jeeps: there are a ton of them, a ton of people driving them and most of them enjoy working and helping other jeepers out. It’s kind of like owning a Harley!
Hi, I’m new at this so sorry for all the dumb questions. Is it cost effective to upgrade a Dana 30 front into something as strong as a Terra 44? Would purchasing the parts separately be more cost effective? Would I be better off selling my Dana 30 on the JK and purchasing a Dana 44 off a Rubi then doing the upgrade to Terra 44 standards? Not looking to rock crawl just looking for endurance something that will last and not leave me stranded somewhere. I love the stuff you guys do in the States but down here in Australia we do things a bit differently lol. Things like Landcruisers and Jeeps are geared more towards going the distance or what you call over-landing. The distances are vast, parts are hard to come by and your really out there on your own if anything should go wrong.
Depends on many things. Is your JK Jeep a 2-dr or 4-dr? If it’s just a 2-dr (lighter weight) and you’re not rock crawling, the Dana 30 (Next Gen) should be fine.
If you’re really out there overlanding in Australia you should carry spares of all the parts that are likely to break and a satellite phone, HAM radio, and CB radio. If you can afford the TeraFlex D30 then why not? It’s not smart to go to a D60 because of the extra weight and loss of gas mileage. For overlanding you want light weight as possible while strong to impacts like pot holes or sudden high speed changes in the height of the wheel. So maybe for overlanding a WK model Jeep with a diesel engine with suspension upgrades is better than a Wrangler? If you just want to make your axles more reliable just install a mobile welder and take tools and spare parts for everything and don’t run bigger heavier tires/wheels than stock if you don’t need them.
Will the front driveshaft off a JK equipped with Dana 30 fit onto a Dana 44 axle? Thinking of upgrading as a tube got bent but will reconsider if I need to change other components. thx
Hi, i have the oportunity to buy the front and rear axels from a TrialDuster Plymouth from the 79 a 4×4 that has dana 44 with factory lockers and i want to swap them to my jeep wich has dana 30 , please let me know if this is a smart swap or im heading to any kind of trouble !!!
I expect to use ride this jeep on 31´ or 33′ mainly to work 30minutes distance and on the weekends on very tought offroad terrains.
My main concern is if this dana 44 will turn my car in a unfit car for the city???
The JK 44s got a slight bump in ring gear diameter from 8.5 to 8.8″ as well as a more stout pinion shaft.
Can i swap Dana 44 parts in my Dana 30 housing
for a CJ5 78 Im intending to put 35/12.5 r15 what dana should i use?
The research n study about the dana axles 30,44,60,n the 80,I’ve been watchin the selected videos n crunchin the math,and jeep gladiator Rubicon ,chrysler,dodge,Plymouth ,the way i see it ,JGR really knock it out of the ballpark ,and I’m still studing the jeeptruck, the top priority question about factory production is # 1 QUAlITY CONTROL !!!!!!!!,the given human being is flawed to begin with ,because even when a recall comes out,when the molding departments factories are doing their part in vaccum parts n placement,is concern,i guess they can’t pay enough for manpower to keep QC QUALITY control maintain any better than what it is ,but even after you go in debt for a new set of wheels like say a jeep and now even a jeeptruck !!!,i have no idea how many garage shops are out there,that are in this possibly $million business ,i found the dynatrac shop in california and i live in indiana,not to mention that auto parts is a pricey business,but i think it’s a dam f—ing sad cryin shame the lazy ass auto industry can’t do a better job,when the basic standard factory is only doing a minimal job at best ,especially when it comes to the parts that are doing all the moving motion parts doing the main performing that actually do the main representations of selling this truly awsome set of wheels ,i guess just it’s sad when our 4×4 enthusiast of our great american hobbies have to put out $hundreds,thousands of dollars ,you dam good n f—– well some one is makin a pile of money ,i really don’t give f—— dam about their research ,but the jeeptruck is priced $15000-20000 over the top to dam much ,the 5ft bed is a good idea,a 6ft bed would be even better ??✌?????,the idea of a beddeck storage is perfect and the utility rack really finishes it up tops it off,100% ,silver with the black top is the color,
Hi! So, is it possible to upgrade a JK DANA 30 front axle by just changing the center section housing with an 8.5” ring and an axle shaft with 30 splines?
I have a 2010 2dr JK and want to mount 35” tires for mostly freeway and city drive with occasional offroad.
Does anyone have any info on a factory Dana 30/44 out of a ’66 f 100 they could share? I have the housing that looks like a Dana 30 however my inner axle has 30 splines, which i understand is a 44.
Good article. But there are other reasons for the Rubicon. The heavier duty 241 OR transfer case (3/4 ton) with 4:1 gears and fixed yoke which adds up to a lot of money spend to upgrade from weak 231 slipper. Rear disc brakes are much better.
My housing is cracked from an accident Can i have it welded?