Baystate Jeepers

I know I need a larger carrier (3.73+) for my regear. Do I need a new carrier for the front and rear?

Also I read some conflicting information about carriers and lockers. If I choose to do ARB air lockers for the front and rear do I need to buy the carriers still? On a tech site one answer was yes and the other was no.

Again thank you guys for your insight.

The ARB is the carrier

That was fast lol. So that is a no on buying both, just go with the locker. Thank you Randy. Have a great day.

Since you are regearing and getting lockers you’ll be glad you spent the extra cash on the ARB’s. You’ll need a compressor but I’m sure that was on your list anyways.

You real need to get all your ducks in a row before ordering. Some axles can only take 3.73 and lower with thick gears. Not trying to confuse you but you have potential of $1,000+ mistakes. If your not doing work yourself a lot of people will charge extra labor and not warranty if bringing them parts.

Also if you have a 30 front you will have $2,000 atleast into it without axle shafts which are another $700 give or take so you have $ 2,700 into a weak axle to start with. When you can buy a completely built 44 for a little more.

MDSRACING398 wrote:Also if you have a 30 front you will have $2,000 atleast into it without axle shafts which are another $700 give or take so you have $ 2,700 into a weak axle to start with. When you can buy a completely built 44 for a little more.

I put a locker and regeared my Dana 30, looking back I should have went with the completely built 44. I broke the same axel shaft twice in a matter of months. After spending the money I won't be upgrading ..... yet. If you have not spent the money, Mark has great advice. Get the 44.

damn....... back to the drawing board.

I would think you could get away with your 30 as long as you have at least the gussets welded on and you drive it knowing its a 30. Ive been on my 30 for 10 years and so far so good. If you change to a pre built 44 axle later none of what you put into this axle will fit it. Choose wisely GrassHopper FjR68

Do what your budget allows is my best answer for you. Mark is absolutely right, if you have the cash to do it, the 44 is a better choice, and that none of the 30 parts will fit the 44. But if your option is to upgrade the front only or regear and lock both then you have a tough choice to make.

I think a front locker is great, but will not be used nearly as much as the rear. The use of the locker will be completely determined by how far you want to push your rig. Ill be honest, I have one in mine and even at Brookridge running some nasty trails I think I only had it on 3-4 times going up something and then turning it off. Honestly, I would bet that most of those I could have probably done without it with more effort or better planning on my part.

Good morning. All this is great information but just when I think I am ready to start the build another good point is brought up from the experience you guys have. I have not done any of my mods yet I am just trying to finalize what I am going to do. I have the tires, wheels, lift, control arms, and skids lined up. Now I have to deal with this front axle and do it right the first time, hopefully, lol. The budget was there but based on newer suggestions I may need to defer for a little bit and then get my mods done later than I was hoping for. Just like my Vette this Jeep is a project and it is going to take me time. I am calling a shop in my local area that does builds and pick their brain a bit on the total cost of a built 44 versus a built 30. Last night I quickly added the cost up just on parts, a 30 with chromoly shafts, diff cover, 4.56 gear kit, and air lockers is $3,200. I built a 44 last night for just a little north of that $3,200. The 44 is more but sounds like it is worth the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in the end.

Cassandra, did you upgrade your 30 with the chromoly shafts and then broke them?

Heard a good one yesterday. Jeep Just Empty Every Pocket

Enjoy the snow.

for that price I would do the 44, its a better axle setup compared to the 30.

skip the major upgrades for a while. you’ve got the lift, skids, wheels and tires all lined up. honestly, get out and wheel at that point. you need the seat time, you need the experience. anyone can throw their checkbook/creditcard at the jeep, but if you can’t wheel, it’s all been a waste. once you realize first hand what all these upgrades can do for you, you can more appropriately spend your money.

simple upgrades, then wheel, then upgrade, then wheel, lather rinse repeat.

many people wheel stock rigs, and make small gradual changes and do just fine. yes, rigs have weak points, but you can’t get away from them all, and you can’t plan for them all.

No stock. Next is cromoly.

I hear what you are saying Dan. Half of me wants to wheel right now and the other half wants to complete the project first. I spent an entire summer working on my Vette just to roll it once that Fall, but it was a great ride and all the work made it worth it. Maybe this Spring, maybe the Summer, maybe the Fall. If I hit the lottery it will be within the month lol.

BTW, I know I ask a lot of questions about building, but I do have wheeling experience albeit years ago. Where I used to live has logging roads everywhere so wheeling was easy to do. I look forward to the time I get to wheel with the club and learn from the experience you all possess.

Again thank you guys for your suggestions.