Dana 44 differential wrap up

After more that a few tries I finally got the right combinations of shims under the rear pinion bearing race (cup) to give me a reasonable wear pattern on the crown gear.

Lacking a race extraction tool I used the brass bar on the left and a small maul to remove and install the race. Not the best, but there are crescent shaped cutouts in the differential casting for this type of removal. I used the same tools to replace the differential side bearings which I also had to do a number of times to get the spacing right for a good wear pattern and the correct backlash.

I picked up this unit to remove the side bearings on Amazon. I had to remove the bearings a number of times before I got the wear pattern and backlash right.

It is recommended that the housing be only spread apart .020. Rather than open it up to the .020 I decided to just do the minimum by only going enough to cover the .008 side bearing preload required

With .045 shims on the left and .015 on the right I was just able to slip the TT unit in the housing (without the spreader) – snug enough that it took a pry bar to get it out. I figure there was likely .002 clearance. Just enough to allow the unit to slip in place with a few taps from a rubber dead blow hammer. The manual calls for .008 preload on the side bearings. So I added .010 (.002 plus the .008) to the left side and then had to move .005 from the left side and move it to the right side to get a good backlash. I needed to spread the housing a little over the .010 for the TT unit to slip in. That would be less of a spread than the .020 recommended.

The TT unit slipped in with some help from the dead blow hammer and a final check on the backlash showed about .004 – recommended between .003 and .006.

Believe it or not the next thing I did was to dissemble the TT unit and the pinion. With all the work I did I expected that there would be some brass, metal and paint slivers throughout the assembly. Also I used a lot of chassis grease to hold things in place during the operations.

I cleaned everything up using brake clean and a tub of clean parts cleaner and then blew it all dry.

Same for the housing.

Pinion back in place with lots of hypoid gear oil over everything to stop the raw metal from flash rusting.

The TT unit being reassembled with hypoid gear oil over all and in the side bearings.

These are the two thrust blocks that fit in a hole in the centre of the cross arms. I was at a loss as to how to hold them in place until I realized that they are held together with a 1\8″ roll pin. No worry about them falling out when the axles are finally put in place.

A fine bead of sealant for both sides of the gasket.

Gasket and cover both in place aided by two guide bolts.

Bolts in finger tight. Tomorrow I’ll torque them to spec and touch up the paint ready for install over the winter sometime.

Meantime I’m hoping to see my donor engine soon 🙂

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