Dana 44 re-gear and locker install
- Thread starter 97TJNM
- Start date
The second pattern I didnt change the shims on the locker, because it was still in spec for backlash.
2nd pattern:
Pinion shim:.060
Passenger side shims:.288
Driver side shims:.278
Backlash: .080
Sorry, the first image was corrupted and I couldn't attach it, so I had to take a screenshot and attach the screenshot.
2nd pattern:
Pinion shim:.060
Passenger side shims:.288
Driver side shims:.278
Backlash: .080
Sorry, the first image was corrupted and I couldn't attach it, so I had to take a screenshot and attach the screenshot.
Just saw your reply. I had run a second pattern with 5 thou taken out. Can't get back to it today, but tomorrow after work I'll remove an additional 5 thou and see where it's at!
That’s probably because the gear manufacturers seem to think the interference fit needs to be much tighter than it really needs to be. In my experience, stock does it perfect and it takes almost no effort to get the pinion out at all. Numerous brands of gears have all been tight. When you think about it, it doesn’t need to be tight at all. The torque of the pinion nut will clamp down so tightly on the inner race that the bearing isn’t going anywhere.
It’s very annoying, I have ruined pinions before trying to hammer them out during setup.
Apologies for not posting last night. Son had an issue with his XJ so we diagnosed and fixed that instead of working on my gears.
Current pattern:
Pinion shim: .055
Passenger side shims: .288
Driver side shims: .278
Backlash: .070
Feeling like this is close, but again, I have no idea what I'm doing!
Current pattern:
Pinion shim: .055
Passenger side shims: .288
Driver side shims: .278
Backlash: .070
Feeling like this is close, but again, I have no idea what I'm doing!
Apologies for not posting last night. Son had an issue with his XJ so we diagnosed and fixed that instead of working on my gears.
Current pattern:
Pinion shim: .055
Passenger side shims: .288
Driver side shims: .278
Backlash: .070View attachment 633643View attachment 633644
Feeling like this is close, but again, I have no idea what I'm doing!
You are in fact getting closer. In both pictures you can see the compound is really runny. Put just enough on to turn them yellow to eliminate the runs and hard line at the root. There is a difference between a hard line at the root because it is deep, and a hard line at the root due to compound build up.
Reapply and re-run before changing anything.
Your profile shows you having rubi 44's front and back. Is this for the front axle or the rear?
The reason I ask, is that the coast side looks maybe 1-2 thou shallow, but the drive side looks pretty good. I would experiment by adding 1-2 thou and see what happens. You are all but there. If this is for the rear axle, it's most likely good.
It's the front. Im happy to mess with the shim stack, but all the shims i have are in 5 thou increments... should I try to find some smaller (thinner) shims?
You don't have any 12 or 3 thou shims in the existing shim stack? Mixing and matching to come to a specific number is the name of the game. They don't make a 1 or 2 thou shim, so to get 11 thou would require a 5 and two 3 thou shims. It's a big puzzle. If 5 is indeed the smallest increment you can make, then I would leave you depth exactly as it is. It's really close, and it's the front. If you want to buy another shim pack that includes thinner shims, then that works too.
Understood. Unfortunately, no. I have a 15, a 20, and 4 10's. That's all that came in the shim pack.
I have a ton of different shims for the carrier, but they are not the same size as the pinion shims.
Well, to wrap this post up, I finished up this project today. Got the locker and gears installed, and drove it home! The gears arent making any noise, but I have a new loud rotational whine coming from the transmission tunnel area when driving. Also, I have an air leak somewhere, because the front locker pump just runs, and doesn't engage.
Ah, damn. So it goes.
I'll see about figuring the whine from the transmission tunnel, and figure out the air leak once the new gears are broke in.
Ah, damn. So it goes.
I'll see about figuring the whine from the transmission tunnel, and figure out the air leak once the new gears are broke in.
Found my problem. Pulled the rear diff cover, and there's my noise!
Looks like I'm getting to do another rebuild on the rear axle. At least I know what I'm doing now. Seriously, a big THANK YOU! to @hosejockey61 for all his input on my front axle. It is now setup nicely, and I just need to fix the air leak in the front locker and I'll be good.
Gonna just pull the rear axle and set it up on my bench since school starts next week and I won't have access to the lift anymore.
Im much more confident going into this one, and will post pics in a week or so once I start running patterns.
Now off, to order parts!
Looks like I'm getting to do another rebuild on the rear axle. At least I know what I'm doing now. Seriously, a big THANK YOU! to @hosejockey61 for all his input on my front axle. It is now setup nicely, and I just need to fix the air leak in the front locker and I'll be good.
Gonna just pull the rear axle and set it up on my bench since school starts next week and I won't have access to the lift anymore.
Im much more confident going into this one, and will post pics in a week or so once I start running patterns.
Now off, to order parts!
Well, rear axle is out and on the bench. Gonna start tearing into it in the next couple days. Unfortunately I'm working a ton of overtime over the next few weeks, so the progress will be slow.
Went out in the WJ with a Toyota buddy. Got a ton of scratches, but I dont care much about the paint on this rig anyway.
I will say, 32's, a mild lift and a rear lunchbox locker is an extremely effective combination. This was my first real wheeling in the WJ, and I had zero issues keeping up. The trail we ran was an unnamed trail that climbed about 2500 feet over 3 miles. If I was comparing it to similar trails ive done, I'd say it was a level 4 or 5, and the WJ walked up everything without stopping. Just goes to show that picking your lines is super important.
Went out in the WJ with a Toyota buddy. Got a ton of scratches, but I dont care much about the paint on this rig anyway.
I will say, 32's, a mild lift and a rear lunchbox locker is an extremely effective combination. This was my first real wheeling in the WJ, and I had zero issues keeping up. The trail we ran was an unnamed trail that climbed about 2500 feet over 3 miles. If I was comparing it to similar trails ive done, I'd say it was a level 4 or 5, and the WJ walked up everything without stopping. Just goes to show that picking your lines is super important.
Pulled the locker and the pinion today. This was in the oil channel for the pinion.
Locker looks OK, but i have an issue. It looks to me, based off of the "M" stamped in it, that the passenger side bearing cap was installed upside down. Should I change it back to match the stamping, or continue to use it as it was? Im leaning towards moving it back to it's original position. Im wondering if that is part of the reason the ring gear failed.
So I can remember in a week when I start the rebuild:
Pass shims: .083
Drive shims: .235
Pinion shims: .072
Pinion tail shims: .044
Locker looks OK, but i have an issue. It looks to me, based off of the "M" stamped in it, that the passenger side bearing cap was installed upside down. Should I change it back to match the stamping, or continue to use it as it was? Im leaning towards moving it back to it's original position. Im wondering if that is part of the reason the ring gear failed.
So I can remember in a week when I start the rebuild:
Pass shims: .083
Drive shims: .235
Pinion shims: .072
Pinion tail shims: .044
That looks to be an old generation 3 piece ARB, not a factory locker. I would put the bearing cap back to the correct orientation, but now you have to deal with the notch that was cut out. I'm not sure where the Yukon airline goes, so take that into consideration.
It is a ARB 3 piece. It has been functioning fine, so im considering just refreshing it and continuing to use it. New seal housing and o-rings, new bonded seal, new bearings, and run it. If I can figure out how to route the air line with the notch on the inside, that is.
It amazes me that people will work on diffs and yet still somehow either not know or care that the bearing caps go on in a certain orientation.
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