March 17, 2015 — Before Moab Easter Jeep Safari:
There are a lot of rumors and hearsay around the internet about the Dana 30 being a fragile axle. While the stock housing can be an issue there are also stated concerns about the center section. For this reason, we took one of our Tera30 HD Front Axle Housings, loaded it with an ARB Air Locker and 4.56 gears, and strapped some 37” tires onto it to do some torture testing. The Jeep will be wheeled hard on some of the hardest trails in Moab at Easter Jeep Safari to see if the rumors are true or fiction. What do you think — bust or hero in disguise?
April 8, 2015 — After Moab:
Our Tera30 HD Front Axle ran Moab Rim (with infamous obstacles such as the Z-Turn and the Devil’s Crack, Steel Bender, Metal Masher, Flat Iron Mesa (with Tilt-a-Whirl), and 7-Mile Rim without a single peep to be heard from the axle. It got bashed into rocks and thrown down desert roads at high speeds and the axle performed flawlessly. Obviously, if enough effort is put into breaking anything, one can achieve that goal. But if you have a JK Wrangler/Unlimited with a stock Dana 30 front axle and are looking to upgrade on a budget for strength and peace of mind, consider our Tera30 HD Front Axle Housing, also available for JK models with 4–6” lifts with additional caster built-in. We have increased the tube diameter, and wall thickness as well as the inner C size to match that of our awesome Tera44/Tera44 Rubicon Replacement Housings to give you real-world reliability and comfort out on the trail. Sleeve and gusset kits will do the job, assuming they are installed correctly, but a new housing takes the worry out of it.
Jacob, from TeraFlex technical support, was the driver of this vehicle and includes some additional insights:
"This test is to prove that a locked [Tera]30 can be run reasonably and is a viable option if you want the peace of mind and you're on a tight budget. Strock pieces include steering components and ball joints (we were out of TeraFlex HD Ball Joints when we assembled it). The larger 4.56 gears in theory make the ring and pinion weaker due to the small pinion and contact patch. As far as testing a [Tera]30 [HD Front Axle Housing] that has sleeves and gussets, it has been done. I ran mine for two years open with sleeves and gussets with 37” tires and the wife ran hers in a very similar fashion for three years. But as stated in the article, the sleeves and trusses still have weak points especially if installed incorrectly. The nice thing is that we, TeraFlex, offer axle housings that are priced cheaper than stock housings. So, should yours fail, you can get one of ours for a better price than OEM and drop it right in with the existing components you have. Not everyone can afford a [Tera]60, and in my case, I couldn't afford the upgrade to a [Tera]44."
So, what was your bet?
