I have one
If you are not having breakge issues, it probably is not worth it. The advantages of the front D44 (I have done this swap from a wagoneer and am driving on it now) are the bigger and stronger R&P allowing gear changes up to 5.38 instead of 4.88 with the D30, stronger axle tubes, and better knuckles (IMO).
That being said, A D30 that is built up can take some pretty heavy abuse. Even though the R&P is small and weaker, I hardly ever hear about it being a problem with breakage. When swapping to the LP D44 like I did, it creates the issues of fabbing everything together to work with coils, and increasing the front driveline angle. I still have not gotten the driveline issue worked out completely, and am still modifying things to clear control arms better, my steering is still a little loose due to geometry issues, and I have had the axle under there for over a year.
I DO worry less about the frnt end when I am wheeling than I would with a D30, though. I think the general consensus among guys at Pirate and a few other boards is that strength-wise, a built D30 can be about 85-90% as good as a built wagoneer front D44. If I was starting all over, I would probably swap something bigger in the front than the D30 again, but I think I would look harder for high pinion options.
