Dana 30 shim Location

mistermeeseeks

mistermeeseeks

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I'm re-gearing my Dana 30 right now. When I pulled the diff out the shims were located under the bearings. I'm assuming that when I reinstall this I should just relocate the shims to the outside of the bearings correct? Chances are good that I will need to adjust the shims and I cant be pulling the bearings on and off to adjust the shims. I think so anyway. Just looking for a sanity check here guys. Thanks!
 
There are different types of shims, you'll be able to tell by the inside diameter. The shims that go behind the bearing will pretty much just fit over the journal, whereas the outside the bearing type are essentially the same diameter of the race. The advantage to the outside kind is that you can press on your bearings and then add the shims to set your backlash, but you have to hammer them in which I don't love. The advantage to the inside kind is that you don't have to mash those bearings in, but you instead need to make setup bearings (or get a clamshell puller to remove your real bearings several times) to allow for changing the shims.

IDK if the shim style is a manufacturer preference thing of if all Dana 30's are going to shim the same way or whatever.
 
hear said:
Having got to see one of these in action yesterday, that tool is amazingly handy for this job. Like blow your mind amazing.
Click to expand...

It is not perfect (does not work on all carriers) but it absolutely is a must if you do gears frequently.
 
That seems crazy to me! And thats a very expensive bearing puller! What's the risk of just placing the shims outside the bearing? Every single tutorial I look at has the shims outside the bearings.
 
mistermeeseeks said:
That seems crazy to me! And thats a very expensive bearing puller! What's the risk of just placing the shims outside the bearing? Every single tutorial I look at has the shims outside the bearings.
Click to expand...

Every tutorial for a Dana 30?
 
mistermeeseeks said:
Seems to be the most popular. I'll rephrase.... I cant find a single tutorial that says to put the shims under the bearings.
Click to expand...


hear said:
There are different types of shims, you'll be able to tell by the inside diameter. The shims that go behind the bearing will pretty much just fit over the journal, whereas the outside the bearing type are essentially the same diameter of the race. The advantage to the outside kind is that you can press on your bearings and then add the shims to set your backlash, but you have to hammer them in which I don't love. The advantage to the inside kind is that you don't have to mash those bearings in, but you instead need to make setup bearings (or get a clamshell puller to remove your real bearings several times) to allow for changing the shims.

IDK if the shim style is a manufacturer preference thing of if all Dana 30's are going to shim the same way or whatever.
Click to expand...

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
mistermeeseeks said:

Seems to be the most popular. I'll rephrase.... I cant find a single tutorial that says to put the shims under the bearings.
Click to expand...

Shimming outside the bearings is usually for certain aftermarket carriers like an ARB and requires the use of a case spreader to ensure adequate preload. If I do not have access to a bearing puller I use dummy bearings as that is the easiest and most economical.
 
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Ok guys, I didn't understand what setup / dummy bearings were. I had to look it up. I'll link a video for anyone that might be looking for this info later on. Makes a lot more sense now.

 
Blackjack said:
Shimming outside the bearings is usually for certain aftermarket carriers like an ARB and requires the use of a case spreader to ensure adequate preload. If I do not have access to a bearing puller I use dummy bearings as that is the easiest and most economical.
Click to expand...

The two 35's I've had apart had a factory shim outside the bearing, and the shims in the master install kit have outside shims as well.

EDIT: I'm dumb, this is a thread specifically about the 30.
 
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