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I was goin down a dirt road too fast and came up on a ravine, and the front end ate it on the slope of the ditch and snaped the axle right in half. but yeah, changing the bolt pattern is out of the question cause those wheels are brand new and cost enough.


You would have probably had the same problem with the Rubicon D44 as it has the same tubes as the D30. Off the top of my head I don't know of any other axles other than the D30 that keep the 5x4.5 wheel lug pattern, have the same WMS and have a passenger side pumpkin drop. You can get a LP D44 from an 70's Jeep Wagoneer with about the same WMS give or take 2-3" inches as your D30 and has the same drop but those have 6 lugs. There are also HP D44's from late 70's Ford pickups but those are 8 lugs and are closer to a 70" WMS which is about 10" inches wider than the D30, although I have read/heard that the some 76-79 Ford Broncos with D44's that have a similar WMS and lug pattern to Jeeps but I have never verified this so you can take that for what's it worth. Your "cheapest" bet is to do like BigJim said and stick with the D30, upgrade the shafts and truss it if you're going to be doing high speed stuff...

Fred R.

97 ZJ, 5" Long Arm Lift, Beadlocked 35's, 231/D300 Doubler, Locked Front & Rear (Narrowed HP D44 & F8.8), ARB Bull Bar & 9K winch, 1-Ton Hydro-assist steering, "Custom" body work and some other goodies... PICS