Dana 44 Re-Gear and ARB Air Locker Install

[Nick Mitty]

Hello everyone, I am currently in the process of Re-Gearing and installing an ARB Air Locker into my Jeep TJ Dana 44 Rear Axle. After a few months of watching BFH Garage videos and doing my own research I now felt ready to tackle the project. I was hoping I could get some feedback on the below specs and images to make me a bit more confident in my work, or catch a mistake before it's too late.

I usually do a write-up after completing a big project for people to learn from, but for this I figured it may be best to start during the project so more people can learn the entire process while I figure it out as well.

Axle / Vehicle:
- 2006 Jeep Wrangler Sport
- Dana 44 (Non Rubicon) Rear Axle
- 4.10 Yukon Gears
- ARB Air Locker

Backlash: Currently reading .008"
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .0230 Shim Pack (.005 + .005 + .010 + .003)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.

Carrier Preload:
Set so the carrier needs to be installed with 6-8 good whacks of a dead blow.

Pinion Preload:
Not at this point yet.

OEM Pinion Depth: .0545"
Current Pinion Depth: .040"
.0100 Shim Pack behind inner race + .030 Oil Slinger behind Inner Bearing
(.008 + .001 + .001) + (.030) = (.0400)

Gear Wear Patterns:

(I have already been told these are not the greatest pictures, and I will be working on getting better ones today that show more of the face of the tooth).

My main questions are...
1. Does the gear wear pattern look acceptable?
2. Is it okay that I have no shim pack on the right side of the carrier?
3. Pinion Depth seems far, is .040" a normal number to be reading?
4. Any other lesser known pointers that I should know?

I wanted to get this posted here now to begin the discussion, but I will be working on this today more. I plan to get better pictures of the wear pattern and check my measurements on shim thickness sizes. Also I found this link last night that seems to outline a really good way to get to a starting point, I will probably save the above measurements in case feedback is good, but also play with some new ones to see if I can get better wear / numbers. Any advice on this is super appreciated and I look forward to discussing!

 

[Bigfoot-NM]

@hosejockey61

 

[hosejockey61]

First, when taking pictures, try to get your angle looking more at the face of the tooth rather than straight down at it from the top. Be sure to include the bottom side of the pattern too so we can see if it's too deep or not.

Right SIde Shims: None

This will probably change as you make depth adjustments.

Looking at your current pattern, it looks a little deep to me but hard to say 100% because of the angle the pic was taken at. I would probably remove 7-10 thou and see if it will show the shallow side.

 

[Nick Mitty]

First, when taking pictures, try to get your angle looking more at the face of the tooth rather than straight down at it from the top. Be sure to include the bottom side of the pattern too so we can see if it's too deep or not.

Right SIde Shims: None

This will probably change as you make depth adjustments.

Looking at your current pattern, it looks a little deep to me but hard to say 100% because of the angle the pic was taken at. I would probably remove 7-10 thou and see if it will show the shallow side.

Okay was able to make some progress today and have some more information to provide / receive feedback on!

1. Pictures, the below should be better now, tried to get all of the tooth face showing, let me know if another angle would be better.
2. Shim sizes, I was using a digital caliper to measure shim thickness - bad idea... I switched to a Starrett analog caliper and have gotten much more accurate measurements for shim thickness.

I basically started over from scratch after having to re-measure all my shims since the old values were inaccurate. Below is an outline of that process...

FIRST ATTEMPT:
OEM Pinion Depth: .056"
Attempt Pinion Depth: .055"
.023 Shim Pack behind inner race + .032 Oil Slinger behind Inner Bearing
(.003 + .01 + .01) + (.032) = (.055)

PINION IS TOO CLOSE

SECOND ATTEMPT:
OEM Pinion Depth: .056"
Attempt Pinion Depth: .035"
.003 Shim Pack behind inner race + .032 Oil Slinger behind Inner Bearing
(.003) + (.032) = (.035)

PINION IS TOO FAR (Planned to establish a bracket)

THIRD ATTEMPT:
OEM Pinion Depth: .056"
Attempt Pinion Depth: .045"
.013 Shim Pack behind inner race + .032 Oil Slinger behind Inner Bearing
(.01 + .003) + (.032) = (.045)

PINION IS GOOD OR ALMOST GOOD

FOURTH ATTEMPT:
OEM Pinion Depth: .056"
Attempt Pinion Depth: .042"
.013 Shim Pack behind inner race + .032 Oil Slinger behind Inner Bearing
(.01) + (.032) = (.042)

PINION IS NOW SLIGHTLY TOO FAR AGAIN

FIFTH ATTEMPT: (Same as Attempt 3)
OEM Pinion Depth: .056"
Attempt Pinion Depth: .045"
.013 Shim Pack behind inner race + .032 Oil Slinger behind Inner Bearing
(.01 + .003) + (.032) = (.045)

PINION IS GOOD? (Extra pics to be sure)

All of the above attempts were completed with the below carrier shimming:
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .012 Shim Pack.
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.

QUESTIONS:
1. Does Pinion Depth look good or should I adjust more?
2. Pinion Depth is now good, but I cannot get backlash in spec, currently sitting at .014". If I add anymore shims I cannot get the carrier into the housing without the use of a spreader. I do have a spreader but I have not yet used it. Should I use it to add more shims to decrease backlash?

Making progress for sure and learning a lot as I go! Trying to share the entire experience here so more can learn.

 

[hosejockey61]

Your third and fifth attempts were best.

But nothing matters if your backlash isn't in spec. Bring your backlash in spec with those same PD numbers and let's have a look.

By the way, I absolutely love the way you present your progress. People should use this as a template for gear setup! The only thing I'd change is to add your backlash number to each setup.

 

[Nick Mitty]

Your third and fifth attempts were best.

But nothing matters if your backlash isn't in spec. Bring your backlash in spec with those same PD numbers and let's have a look.

By the way, I absolutely love the way you present your progress. People should use this as a template for gear setup! The only thing I'd change is to add your backlash number to each setup.

Agreed 3rd and 5th was the best, and makes sense on the backlash. Turns out all I needed was to take a break and grab something to eat. Came back and inserted the carrier a little higher into the case instead of rolling it in from the bottom and found it was sliding right in. Then in 3 more attempts was able to get the backlash into spec. Here's how that process went...

ATTEMPT 1:
PD: .045
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .012 Shim Pack (.012)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Backlash: .015

ATTEMPT 2:
PD: .045
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .018 Shim Pack (.012 + .006)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Backlash: .012

ATTEMPT 3:
PD: .045
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .022 Shim Pack (.012 + .006 +.004)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Backlash: .009

RESULTING PATTERN FROM ATTEMPT 3:

I now have what I believe to be a final setup based on the below measurements.

Pinion Depth: .045
Backlash: .009
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .022 Shim Pack (.012 + .006 +.004)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Carrier Preload: Set so the carrier needs to be installed with 6-8 good whacks of a dead blow.
Pinion Preload: Not at this point yet.

Looking to confirm the results here, and then I will move onto final assembly. I did manage to finally break the infamous copper line after about 20 or more successful installs. Project might be on hold for a bit until I get a new one, going to be placing the order tomorrow, but I will update this thread until the axle is complete. Not mad as now I have a setup one for life, but there has GOT to be a smarter way to connect that copper line to the seal housing.

Anyway, I guess my only question is how does it look? Happy to play around more with it if needed but I think this looks good. Also still no use of extra shims on the right side, but that's how it was stock so I guess that's fine.

 

[hosejockey61]

Pinion Depth is now good, but I cannot get backlash in spec, currently sitting at .014". If I add anymore shims I cannot get the carrier into the housing without the use of a spreader.

Meant to post this right after my last post but for some reason it didn't. Looks like you got it figured out though.

I reread all of this just in case I missed something and this stuck out to me.

The issue is simply to move shims from the right side to the left to tighten up backlash. If all you have is the OEM master shim on that side, then this is where it kind of sucks. Measure the two OEM master shims and see how close they are to being the same measurement. Sometimes you can swap them from side to side and then make up the differences with other shims. If that won't work, then you're going to have to remove that shim and replace it with a bunch of other shims to the same or desired thickness. I have a stack of OEM shims that are all different thicknesses to help out in these situations.

 

[hosejockey61]

Agreed 3rd and 5th was the best, and makes sense on the backlash. Turns out all I needed was to take a break and grab something to eat. Came back and inserted the carrier a little higher into the case instead of rolling it in from the bottom and found it was sliding right in. Then in 3 more attempts was able to get the backlash into spec. Here's how that process went...

ATTEMPT 1:
PD: .045
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .012 Shim Pack (.012)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Backlash: .015

ATTEMPT 2:
PD: .045
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .018 Shim Pack (.012 + .006)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Backlash: .012

ATTEMPT 3:
PD: .045
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .022 Shim Pack (.012 + .006 +.004)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Backlash: .009

RESULTING PATTERN FROM ATTEMPT 3:
View attachment 601500View attachment 601501

I now have what I believe to be a final setup based on the below measurements.

Pinion Depth: .045
Backlash: .009
Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .022 Shim Pack (.012 + .006 +.004)
Right SIde Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Carrier Preload: Set so the carrier needs to be installed with 6-8 good whacks of a dead blow.
Pinion Preload: Not at this point yet.

Looking to confirm the results here, and then I will move onto final assembly. I did manage to finally break the infamous copper line after about 20 or more successful installs. Project might be on hold for a bit until I get a new one, going to be placing the order tomorrow, but I will update this thread until the axle is complete. Not mad as now I have a setup one for life, but there has GOT to be a smarter way to connect that copper line to the seal housing.

Anyway, I guess my only question is how does it look? Happy to play around more with it if needed but I think this looks good. Also still no use of extra shims on the right side, but that's how it was stock so I guess that's fine.

I think you're there too. Fun process huh?

 

[Nick Mitty]

I think you're there too. Fun process huh?

Oh super fun process lol! In all seriousness though I find it fascinating how this all works and the feeling of being able to do it yourself is amazing.

As for what you mentioned in post #7 about the carrier shimming, I do still have the ARB Master Shim and the OEM Master Shim on the right side, I am just not using any additional thinner shims to build a pack on that side. I have swapped them all to the left side as outlined below...

Left Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .022 Shim Pack (.012 + .006 +.004)
Right Side Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.

I think this is okay because I am still using the ARB and OEM shim on the right?


Lastly I forgot to respond to the below from post #5...
By the way, I absolutely love the way you present your progress. People should use this as a template for gear setup! The only thing I'd change is to add your backlash number to each setup.

I really really appreciate this. I am 100% self taught when it comes to mechanical work, with no professional training. I love doing this and I have found that being extremely organized and detail oriented can not only make your own life easier but also make the content more digestible and understandable for others as well.

I have also been working on a few documents for logging and tracking shim pack thickness, and measurements. I will share those here once completed. But I was thinking if you would like we could possibly work together to create a "how to" type guide to post here similar to this one but a bit easier to digest. You absolutely have more knowledge and experience than me on this, but I would love to help get all the thoughts into an easily readable forum post.

 

[hosejockey61]

 

[hosejockey61]

You're correct with your shims and good to go. As far as trying to one up the Billavista Gear Bible? If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's don't mess with the Bible!

 

[Nick Mitty]

You're correct with your shims and good to go. As far as trying to one up the Billavista Gear Bible? If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's don't mess with the Bible!

Awesome news! And hey that's fair, its detailed for a reason. No need to change something that works!

I will continue to document my progress here but for now I think I'm all set! Next steps will be to get a replacement seal housing and then move onto final install. Also need to drill the bulkhead fitting. More to come soon, and THANK YOU again.

 

[Nick Mitty]

Alrighty, I was able to wrap up the final install of the locker today. Here's a breakdown of some of the final results.

THE NUMBERS:
Pinion Depth: .013 Shims behind race + .032 Shims behind Bearing = .045"
Backlash: .008" on 3 spots on the ring gear.
Pinion Preload: ~15-20 in/lbs, set by .060 Shim Pack.
Left Carrier Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, ARB Seal Housing, .022 Shim Pack (.012 + .006 +.004)
Right Carrier Shims: OE Master Shim, ARB Master Shim, No Shim Pack.
Carrier Preload: Set so the carrier needs to be installed with 6-8 good whacks of a dead blow.

FINAL GEAR WEAR PATTERN:

Centered left to right & top to bottom, favoring the drive side of the tooth.

ROUTING OF COPPER LINE

A little wavy from having to work it so much, but line makes NO contact whatsoever with the bearing caps, housing, carrier, etc.
Note: It has already been explained how fragile this copper line can be. Let me take this time to reiterate... THE COPPER LINE IS EXTREMELY FRAGILE AND WILL BREAK / LEAK IF EXTREME CAUTION IS NOT USED. I was lucky enough to have ARB warranty the one I broke, I used much more caution with the new one and it installed safely.

TAKEAWAYS / WHATS NEXT:
What a project this was, I feel like I just successfully landed the space shuttle. By far the most intense job i've taken on so far. I cannot thank @hosejockey61 enough for the assistance, and I hope this thread can be used as even more documentation on this process so more people can complete this on their own.

So whats next? I will need to replace the outer axle seals, bearings, and races. Then I will be able to install the shafts into the housing and test the system works. I plan to hook the axle up to air to ensure there are no leaks in the system. Also being installed is a disc brake conversion. Once these steps are completed and I have the entire axle assembly ready to be reinstalled, I will provide another update here.

 

[Bud125]

Good job! This is in my future as well. I have already been in my rear dif when the stock Rubicon locker consumed itself. I went with an Eaton elocker but was able to keep the original gears. 4.88 are on the to do list. Great job at documenting the process.

 

[Nick Mitty]

I am back again with what should be one of the last updates on this Re-Gear / Locker project! As of yesterday I was able to get everything back together and take the Jeep on its first test drive. I am happy to report that all seems to be operating normally! Below are the details and info I was able to gather from the test drive…

Test Drive Conditions:

• Backroads (0-50MPH)
• Stop and Go
• Turning Lock to Lock
• Brake Testing
• Cycle 4WD / 2WD at Low Speed
• Cycle 4Low From Stop on Gravel
• Approximately 10-15 Miles Total

Rear Axle:
OEM Dana 44 w/ ARB RD116 Locker
(What this thread is about)

• MAX Operating Temp - 180 Degrees F
• Noise / Vibration - NONE
• Locker Actuation - FUNCTIONAL
• Leak Test - PASS
• Oil Type - 80W-90 Conventional
• Oil Quality- See Below

Front Axle:
DONOR OEM Rubicon Dana 44 w/ Factory Locker
(Married to ARB system with 5psi Regulator)

• MAX Operating Temp - 98 Degrees F
• Noise / Vibration - NONE
• Locker Actuation - FUNCTIONAL
• Leak Test - PASS
• Oil Type - 80W-90 Conventional
• Oil Quality- See Below

Oil Condition:
I first did a very short 5 mile test drive. Below is what was on the magnetic Diff Dipstick. Mostly glitter with some small chunks visible.

I then did a longer 10 mile drive. Below is what was on the magnetic Diff Dipstick. Now all glitter with no chunks.

I assume this is normal as part of the break in? Also the results appear to be the same front and rear, and there was less contamination after the second, longer drive. All I did up front was take apart and inspect the factory carrier and reinstall with the same hardware (wear items and seals were replaced). The rear was the full ARB Locker install detailed in this thread. This makes me worry a bit less. My plan is to continue to drive the Jeep and check the dipsticks. Then change the diff fluid at 2,500 miles or less like ARB states to do. Let me know what you think.

 

[hosejockey61]

Glitter is normal, chunks not so much but that doesn't mean there is an issue. Those look small and no other problems after it, so I wouldn't worry to much about it. It could be perspective on my part zooming in on it and it looks bigger than what it is. I wouldn't worry though.

 

[Nick Mitty]

Glitter is normal, chunks not so much but that doesn't mean there is an issue. Those look small and no other problems after it, so I wouldn't worry to much about it. It could be perspective on my part zooming in on it and it looks bigger than what it is. I wouldn't worry though.

Yeah I would definitely classify this as glitter rather than chunks. The largest was probably about 1/16” long with the rest being 1/32” or smaller.

I’m thinking I’ll run this as is for about 1,000 miles, drain and pull the bearing caps to ensure everything looks good. Then refill and change again at 2,500 like ARB states. During all of this I’ll keep pulling the filler frequently to ensure no large chunks are forming.