Carly's 96

[hobbyturnedobsession]

So a few packages showed up. Two more to go. Yes I'm going to attempt a regear on my own. I have the Dana 44 service manual and a how to guide on Dana axles with lots of pictures. It's an open diff but all Yukon except for the ring and pinion. They come in Sunday and are Dana gears. I figure when I was a diesel mechanic moons ago thats what the owner always installed. Hopefully they won't be too big a pain to set up.

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[Becks_Bronco]

Awesome man! Post up how it goes. I've never re-geared anything, but i figure with a good manual and the time to spend on it, it shouldn't be too awful.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Thank you I will document. I have a dial caliper and mag base, calipers, impacts and two manuals. One is the Dana 44 service manual and the other is a how to on Dana and Chrysler axles. Only thing I don't have is a spreader. I'll try with rubber mallets and pry bars but I may have to make one. That tool is pricey. Also I went with gears from Dana. They weren't overly expensive and when I was a diesel mechanic we always used Dana gear sets when it was a Dana axle.

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[hobbyturnedobsession]

It's been too long so I decided to go ahead and tear down the diff. Ring and pinion are out (shop press works well for a spreader. Don't worry I didn't use much pressure and didn't over deform the case) along with an initial cleaning before all the seals bearings and races are out. I've been doing some reading and none of it made sense at the time. Now it's starting to come together.

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[entity-unknown]

Lookin good. The D44 is difficult to setup but not impossible. Much harder than say then 8.8.

I did years of research before I hit the D44 but I'm glad I did and all is VERY well just like all the research on the 8.8 I did

By far the best article is from Pirate4x4 and while it's specific to the D50, it's the same for the D44 and relative to any other diff. Step by step, there is no difference for what you're doing but the bonus is the diagrams/examples are all for your axle. I knew 90% of the stuff here but it answered a few questions I didn't know. Finally, the 2nd link is a youtube video for the Ford/Jaquar D44 rebuild. Same thing but in video and while it's not a truck, it's still a D44 so it's almost 100% relative.

https://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OurJHaiy6kI

[entity-unknown]

The most important thing I did for all my diff setups, was take my old bearings and grind the mounting surface of the bearing or race, which ever one gets to be installed by a press/driver required to check setup. Basically use a Dremel to get close to slipping it on but not quite, then sandpaper smooth to finish so finally your "setup bearing" will slip on with just the perfect angle but be VERY difficult otherwise. You should spend no less than 30 minutes here with detailed/maximum effort. If it slips on at any angle, you ruined your setup bearing. If you do it right, you have setup bearings for life!

Don't pry your carrier out. Stuff the gears with a rag and turn the gears so it sucks the rag in. The diff will pop out every time

Once you got your setup bearings, then the rest is a breeze...

The clamshell puller mentioned in the Jaguar video is needed if you want to keep your carrier and if you need those bearings for setups. eBay. Basically get it because even if you replace everything, you can't do the setup without it unless you have setup bearings because you will need to re-shim since the 1st time will never be good on a D44 since it has 4 points of adjustment vs. the 8.8 which has 3. DO NOT sacrifice time by using your old shims cuz the pattern "looks close" but DO use your old shims to start with your first PATTERN CHECK. Waste the time to set the pinion too close and too far and the carrier too far left/right so you can read the contact pattern.

Don't repaste your with new pattern grease each check. Just brush 4-6 teeth at 3 points. Just use the same brush maybe with a tiny dab of new grease to re-paint the old pattern. Run it thru 3-5 times before a recheck.

Now you know what you want in between because you researched a proper pattern. If it takes you 2 weeks, do it. You do NOT ever want to unbolt this thing again cuz you had to tear down the whole front end right?

You don't have the setup bearings unless you pull em proper from your old diff or you have a friend that has em. That HF bearing puller will not work this time even if it did at the rear. So, waste the money, it's worth it

Have fun!

[hobbyturnedobsession]

The most important thing I did for all my diff setups, was take my old bearings and grind the mounting surface of the bearing or race, which ever one gets to be installed by a press/driver required to check setup. Basically use a Dremel to get close to slipping it on but not quite, then sandpaper smooth to finish so finally your "setup bearing" will slip on with just the perfect angle but be VERY difficult otherwise. You should spend no less than 30 minutes here with detailed/maximum effort. If it slips on at any angle, you ruined your setup bearing. If you do it right, you have setup bearings for life!

Don't pry your carrier out. Stuff the gears with a rag and turn the gears so it sucks the rag in. The diff will pop out every time

Once you got your setup bearings, then the rest is a breeze...

The clamshell puller mentioned in the Jaguar video is needed if you want to keep your carrier and if you need those bearings for setups. eBay. Basically get it because even if you replace everything, you can't do the setup without it unless you have setup bearings because you will need to re-shim since the 1st time will never be good on a D44 since it has 4 points of adjustment vs. the 8.8 which has 3. DO NOT sacrifice time by using your old shims cuz the pattern "looks close" but DO use your old shims to start with your first PATTERN CHECK. Waste the time to set the pinion too close and too far and the carrier too far left/right so you can read the contact pattern.

Don't repaste your with new pattern grease each check. Just brush 4-6 teeth at 3 points. Just use the same brush maybe with a tiny dab of new grease to re-paint the old pattern. Run it thru 3-5 times before a recheck.

Now you know what you want in between because you researched a proper pattern. If it takes you 2 weeks, do it. You do NOT ever want to unbolt this thing again cuz you had to tear down the whole front end right?

You don't have the setup bearings unless you pull em proper from your old diff or you have a friend that has em. That HF bearing puller will not work this time even if it did at the rear. So, waste the money, it's worth it

Have fun!

Thank you. It is a bit more complex than an 8.8 and most definitely will be sanding the inner bit of the carrier bearings for ease. The funny part was, I have both the Chrystler / AMC & Dana differentials book that has the instructions and plenty of pictures. For the life of me it didn't make 100% sense. Once I got the carrier and pinion out, it clicked. Crazy how that tends to work. Most definitely on shim method. First, both pinion gears have the depth markings which takes alot of the guesswork out of figuring pinion depth. Preload on the pinion bearings is very important so there will be some time getting that right. I had figured measure all shims removed and start with the same (only new shims) to see where it all lands. I have a new carrier so I know I'll have to move around the backlash. Also, I have the Dana 44 manual, which I have found at this current point, to be the best piece of information so far. The pictures suck but between that manual and the other book I have, I have been able to figure out what is going on. Luckily I am in no rush. Also, I have the 8.8 to do and a Dana 60 solid axle to do as well, so I am making sure to take my time and record how I do it. The labor to have them done would take me some time to come up with.

[entity-unknown]

Yeah that's why I shared a couple resources cuz it took about 3 separate stories telling you 3 separate ways of doing things. From there I just took the bits here and there and came up with my own 4th process

Patience is key, strength only really comes involved with that pinion preload nut :\

Lookin forward to your results

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Yeah that's why I shared a couple resources cuz it took about 3 separate stories telling you 3 separate ways of doing things. From there I just took the bits here and there and came up with my own 4th process

Patience is key, strength only really comes involved with that pinion preload nut :\

Lookin forward to your results

Thank you! I've been definitely racking my brain on this. I feel I've read so much that I think its harder to decipher which way to do it rather than actually getting the measurements right . I'll post more pictures and share my usual mistakes. That's why we do it right? Besides, I guarantee at least one of my screw ups someone else has learned from!

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Ha first rooky mistake! When I ordered the bearing kit I opted for the kit with the seals and forgot to order a shim kit. Boy was I shocked when I saw that. Surprisingly AutoZone can get Yukon parts so I ordered the shim kit and I'll be moving forward Saturday. The case is clean inside and out, all seals, bearings and races are out and all seal material removed. Tomorrow I'll move over to the new carrier since I won't be able to install the pinion gear just yet.

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[Becks_Bronco]

Ha first rooky mistake! When I ordered the bearing kit I opted for the kit with the seals and forgot to order a shim kit. Boy was I shocked when I saw that. Surprisingly AutoZone can get Yukon parts so I ordered the shim kit and I'll be moving forward Saturday. The case is clean inside and out, all seals, bearings and races are out and all seal material removed. Tomorrow I'll move over to the new carrier since I won't be able to install the pinion gear just yet.

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Once you figure it all out, you can do mine

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Lol it's been fun. I tore down the carrier and the thrust washers and gears show signs of wear so off with the old assembly and in with new gears pin etc. Also drilled and tapped the case for a 1/4" not drain plug. Also noted threads are only done about 3/4 the way down so the plug bottoms out. I should have the shims tomorrow afternoon and the gear replacements for the carrier Sunday. At least the only thing left is the caps and bolts. Everything else will be new.

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[hobbyturnedobsession]

Also, I checked the carrier bearings and they were still tight so I'll be spending some time with a Dremel so I can use them for setup bearings. Pressing bearings on and off is a pain.

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[entity-unknown]

Even if you never do this again, you'll be so thankful you make setup bearings. You'll guard them so close, you won't even want to let your friends know you have them....

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Even if you never do this again, you'll be so thankful you make setup bearings. You'll guard them so close, you won't even want to let your friends know you have them....

Oh yeah I can see that already. I picked up a small carbide bit more for sanding along with some grinding stones for my Dremel. I couldnt cough up 100.00 for the presome setup bearings. I'll keep them around for sure. I'll have to do the same for the 8?8 and Dana 60 in my 350 if they're the same.

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[hobbyturnedobsession]

So setup bearings are done. Spent time with my knock off Dremel but it did the job and now once the shims and spider gears come in I can move forward.

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[hobbyturnedobsession]

Also does this look like -10 or +10? I know stupid question but I'm conflicted.

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[entity-unknown]

My understanding and at least the last 2 sets of gears I bought was the industry stopped marking the pinion depth because customers were focusing on that and just adding the difference in shims and sending it without actually verifying things then things explode. This resulted in a lot of unwarranted warranty replacements. So to fix it, they stopped stamping it.
Usually you should see a .XXX with XXX being 3 digits.
Regardless, that is meant to get you close and save you time if you don't have setup bearings. There's a pinion depth check tool from Ratech and since you have the concave cone in the center of the pinion, you can actually use that tool. It will save you some overall time but not needed. Just the dial calipers and dial indicator.

For the magnetic base for the dial indicator, I really love my Noga base. Takes just a couple seconds to get it set how you want vs. the ones with the lil screws that are more finicky.
Here's a video that shows this magical base in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTfMQs8mzJ0

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Ha that's the one I have. Well a knockoff from Amazon but it works good. I've got the markings figured out and am going to try using the shims per the pinion markings. Original was 0 and new is confirmed -10 so one .010 shim is needed. I'll find out when I check the marking compound to see if it is correct. Funny thing was only the baffle was behind the inner race with no shims.

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[entity-unknown]

Even a knock off should be good Just a suggestion but do what you're gonna do and get it in spec hopefully in 1 shot. Since you want this to be the last time you have to pull the diff, set it too far out, and then too far in and read patterns each time. You'll walk away knowing more but really, you'll have more confidence you did it right when you set the final depth because checking patterns never gives the same clear pattern the Photoshop quality pix and drawn images set your expectations to see. It's worth the extra 1-2 hours to do it a few times
P.S. only paint about 3-4 teeth in 3 areas, not the whole ring and just a dab of paint will do'er each pattern run