Hey everyone, I am pretty new to working on differentials so please bear with me...
I am about to start pulling the Dana 44 from TJ#2 to put into TJ#1. I raised the back wheels just to verify gear ratio (which is correct). While making sure the gear ration was correct, I ran into what I think may be my first problem.
When I was rotating the drivers side tire, the passenger side didn't spin in relation to the drivers side. Sometimes it didn't move at all and sometimes it rotated the other direction at a different speed. more importantly, the pinon didn't rotate unless the passenger side tire was turning.
I went to the passenger side and when I spun that tire manually, the pinon rotated properly. However the driver side tire didn't turn at all. It does sound like the brake is hanging ever so lightly, so maybe that has somethng to do with it.
So I tried rotating the driveshaft by hand. When I did, there was a bunch of slop in it. It moves about 1/8" before I feel the pinon engage the ring gear. there is also some slop where the driveshaft hits the transfer case. The ujoints (which I plan on replacing anyway) do not have any play.
I will note that the PO told me the axle was replaced a couple of years ago.
I am about to go out to the garage and remove the driveshaft to isolate the rear end to determine the play but wanted to post to see if I could get some advice of what to look at before proceeding.
I am about to start pulling the Dana 44 from TJ#2 to put into TJ#1. I raised the back wheels just to verify gear ratio (which is correct). While making sure the gear ration was correct, I ran into what I think may be my first problem.
When I was rotating the drivers side tire, the passenger side didn't spin in relation to the drivers side. Sometimes it didn't move at all and sometimes it rotated the other direction at a different speed. more importantly, the pinon didn't rotate unless the passenger side tire was turning.
I went to the passenger side and when I spun that tire manually, the pinon rotated properly. However the driver side tire didn't turn at all. It does sound like the brake is hanging ever so lightly, so maybe that has somethng to do with it.
So I tried rotating the driveshaft by hand. When I did, there was a bunch of slop in it. It moves about 1/8" before I feel the pinon engage the ring gear. there is also some slop where the driveshaft hits the transfer case. The ujoints (which I plan on replacing anyway) do not have any play.
I will note that the PO told me the axle was replaced a couple of years ago.
I am about to go out to the garage and remove the driveshaft to isolate the rear end to determine the play but wanted to post to see if I could get some advice of what to look at before proceeding.