After rebuilding my Dana 30 and Dana 44 due to unexpected circumstances, I thought I would write down a few thoughts post-completion. It all started when I changed my gear oil in the 44 and found a set of spider gears looking like they had seen better days a long time ago.
I searched for a replacement Dana 44 axle on line locally and at local salvage yards. The only ones I found were from yards that did not have a great reputation, charged hidden fees and would not let me see the axles until I put down a non-refundable deposit. No thanks. There is not a local place that does re-gear jobs and the one I contacted was not too friendly. At that point I decided it was time to spend a little more money (which turned out to be a bunch more money) and rebuild both axles. I went with Revolution 4.88 gears and a Detroit Truetrac as the replacement carrier. That started off fine but then as the project moved forward, I decided to add chromoly axles (Revolution rear, Yukon front) and a Torq lunchbox locker to the front. The axle shafts and Torq locker took the budget, spit on it and tossed it in the middle of the road to get run over. God has blessed me and my family so it worked out and I am not eating Ramen noodles fo the next year.
These are my thoughts and tips, ignore them, hang on to them, bash them, I don't care, I have rebuilt both my axles and my Jeep is rolling along. Maybe I messed up and in another 1,000 miles I will have mass destruction but I caused it and didn't rely on someone else (I don't like other people working on my stuff, way too many times I get my vehicle back and it is not fixed correctly but I still had to pay). I really do not get the feeling I messed up, so far so good.
If you have a few torque wrenches, dial indicator, vernier caliper, hand tools, press, bearing puller, etc and know how to use them, you can do this job. If you think an oil change is a big job, this may not be the project for you. I have the tools, ability, stubbornness, determination and desire to learn new things so I jumped in.
Do a lot of reading and watching but don't think it is going be the exact way you are going to do your axles. Every one (person and axle) is different and depending on what parts you are using it may go together the way you think it is going to. There is a link to a website that has some good information but people who have never rebuilt and axle like to tell people to read the site and suggest that you will be good after that. If you are rebuilding a rear Dana 60 then maybe, anything else and all bets are off.
I spent a lot of time before starting the job by reading and watching and when I started I thought this was going to be a walk in the park. The job itself was not a bad job and it was kind of fun to a point. It is nice to learn how things work together and to know that now my axles are full of all new stuff that should be good and strong for a long time. There were many points along the way of frustration though due to not enough shims. Tools, talent and time were not the problem, a little piece of steel 0.005" thick stopped all progress.
I waited to receive the gears and master install kits so I could order and extra set of bearings and races to make the setup bearings. I ordered the same Timken part numbers that are laser etched and once they arrived I started the job. My Jeep is a 2006 with the Dana 44, as I was researching the job and parts I saw that the 2003-2006 44 has a different master install kit but it didn't register in my mind when I ordered the parts from Amazon (cheapest price and quick shipping) so when the kit came I thought I was good. As I tried to shim the 44 carrier, it was not working right due to incorrect shims and that delayed the job. Once I ordered the correct shim kit I was back to work. I don't know how many times I took that rear carrier out and put it back it but it was way too many times because I kept going back to everything I read and watched. The front was really quick because of everything I learned doing the rear and ignoring what I read and watched.
Do not think your setup bearings are the answer to an easy job. I had everything good and then switched to the final bearings and numbers were off so I had to do the job a second time. Setup bearings get you real close and make it easy to get there but they are not the final answer.
First tools needed, pen and notebook. You need to keep track of stuff so as you are doing the same thing over and over again so you know what you have done and what you have not. You will totally understand after doing the job. Write everything down. I measured and marked my shims. If I had a duplicate shim, I made an additional mark on it so when I was making my shim stacks I knew which shims I used. There is a difference between a 0.010' shim and a 0.010" shim when used in a stack believe it or not.
Other tools needed are patience and time, not something you can order from Amazon but hopefully you can find them cheap and close by.
Start with writing down all your torque values for the entire job on page one of your notebook. It will be nice when you are so into the job and focused on getting everything correct that you don't have to search online, in a book or in paperwork that came with parts. Make sure what you write down is correct. FSM says to torque ring gear bolts to 100 foot pounds but Revolution says 55 foot pounds (just as an example).
After doing all your reading and research, do not focus and follow other people. Do your own job. I spent so much time on the rear trying to follow the FSM. The front went together quick because I forgot all that FSM stuff and just put the parts in and adjusted from there. I checked backlash and the pattern and knew where the parts had to move. I adjusted and measured again, within three attempts I was where I needed to be. The rear was made up of too many attempts at the carrier and pinion to keep track of.
I really suggest ordering extra shims if possible. The shim kits I received did not cut it. They were in the Revolution master install kit which is supposed to be good according to others here on this forum but I struggled with the rebuild until I ordered additional kits. My master kit shims were few, duplicates and not enough variety. The extra kits I ordered were numerous, a few good duplicates and super thin to too thick (great in my opinion). The biggest hassle of the entire job (front and rear) was getting the preload correct on the 44 pinion. I had the following shims to work with .026, .026 (both were stock), .016, .016, .010, .010, .009. That is a crap variety and number of shims. I had to use a .026 shim as the starting shim because the kit shims had too small of an inner diameter and rode up on the radius cut of the pinion shaft and caused issues. I also had to try stacking the shims in different orders and different orientations to get the thickness to change (the thickness of a 0.026" shim is not as thick as a 0.016" and a 0.010" thick stack). I eventually got it but I am not crazy about the way I had to get there. On the inverse of that, I ordered a bunch of shims for the front (carrier in this case) and had so many to choose from that it was so easy to get right where I wanted it took no time at all.
I really suggest ordering extra shims if possible. Did I say this already? I mean it.
Look at the ring and pinion gears before you start putting marking compound on them. When they are lapped at the factory, there will be a wear pattern on them which will give you the place to aim for. When testing the pattern, look at the teeth you have the marking compound on but also look at the teeth that you didn't put compound on. There will be a reverse print on those teeth and will give you a lot of info on how things are lining up. Also look at the pinion gear, the marking will be on that and it will show you how the pinion in lining up with the ring. The compound should be in the same place the wear is from the lapping process.
When rotating the ring, put the pressure on the pinion, that really forces the pattern to show up, if you just rotate the carrier you will get a pattern but it is much harder to see.
If you have a friend that likes to do nothing for most of the time, invite him or her over. I did the job by myself but it would have been quicker and easier if I had an extra set of hands every now and then.
The crush collar on the Dana 30 is incredible. The factory service manual says to check every 5 foot pounds, they mean it. When I was doing final assembly and was crushing the collar, I tightened the pinion nut less than an 1/8 inch of rotation (on the nut edge) and it jumped the inch-pound measurement by 5 (10 to 15 is a big jump for not a lot of movement). I got lucky on that one.
Have an extra crush collar and pinion nut on hand just in case. Use your old pinion nut and run it up and down your old pinion to cut the threads a bit more so it is easy to put on and take off the new pinion.
I am sure there are a few more things I have forgotten about already but this is my start.
I searched for a replacement Dana 44 axle on line locally and at local salvage yards. The only ones I found were from yards that did not have a great reputation, charged hidden fees and would not let me see the axles until I put down a non-refundable deposit. No thanks. There is not a local place that does re-gear jobs and the one I contacted was not too friendly. At that point I decided it was time to spend a little more money (which turned out to be a bunch more money) and rebuild both axles. I went with Revolution 4.88 gears and a Detroit Truetrac as the replacement carrier. That started off fine but then as the project moved forward, I decided to add chromoly axles (Revolution rear, Yukon front) and a Torq lunchbox locker to the front. The axle shafts and Torq locker took the budget, spit on it and tossed it in the middle of the road to get run over. God has blessed me and my family so it worked out and I am not eating Ramen noodles fo the next year.
These are my thoughts and tips, ignore them, hang on to them, bash them, I don't care, I have rebuilt both my axles and my Jeep is rolling along. Maybe I messed up and in another 1,000 miles I will have mass destruction but I caused it and didn't rely on someone else (I don't like other people working on my stuff, way too many times I get my vehicle back and it is not fixed correctly but I still had to pay). I really do not get the feeling I messed up, so far so good.
If you have a few torque wrenches, dial indicator, vernier caliper, hand tools, press, bearing puller, etc and know how to use them, you can do this job. If you think an oil change is a big job, this may not be the project for you. I have the tools, ability, stubbornness, determination and desire to learn new things so I jumped in.
Do a lot of reading and watching but don't think it is going be the exact way you are going to do your axles. Every one (person and axle) is different and depending on what parts you are using it may go together the way you think it is going to. There is a link to a website that has some good information but people who have never rebuilt and axle like to tell people to read the site and suggest that you will be good after that. If you are rebuilding a rear Dana 60 then maybe, anything else and all bets are off.
I spent a lot of time before starting the job by reading and watching and when I started I thought this was going to be a walk in the park. The job itself was not a bad job and it was kind of fun to a point. It is nice to learn how things work together and to know that now my axles are full of all new stuff that should be good and strong for a long time. There were many points along the way of frustration though due to not enough shims. Tools, talent and time were not the problem, a little piece of steel 0.005" thick stopped all progress.
I waited to receive the gears and master install kits so I could order and extra set of bearings and races to make the setup bearings. I ordered the same Timken part numbers that are laser etched and once they arrived I started the job. My Jeep is a 2006 with the Dana 44, as I was researching the job and parts I saw that the 2003-2006 44 has a different master install kit but it didn't register in my mind when I ordered the parts from Amazon (cheapest price and quick shipping) so when the kit came I thought I was good. As I tried to shim the 44 carrier, it was not working right due to incorrect shims and that delayed the job. Once I ordered the correct shim kit I was back to work. I don't know how many times I took that rear carrier out and put it back it but it was way too many times because I kept going back to everything I read and watched. The front was really quick because of everything I learned doing the rear and ignoring what I read and watched.
Do not think your setup bearings are the answer to an easy job. I had everything good and then switched to the final bearings and numbers were off so I had to do the job a second time. Setup bearings get you real close and make it easy to get there but they are not the final answer.
First tools needed, pen and notebook. You need to keep track of stuff so as you are doing the same thing over and over again so you know what you have done and what you have not. You will totally understand after doing the job. Write everything down. I measured and marked my shims. If I had a duplicate shim, I made an additional mark on it so when I was making my shim stacks I knew which shims I used. There is a difference between a 0.010' shim and a 0.010" shim when used in a stack believe it or not.
Other tools needed are patience and time, not something you can order from Amazon but hopefully you can find them cheap and close by.
Start with writing down all your torque values for the entire job on page one of your notebook. It will be nice when you are so into the job and focused on getting everything correct that you don't have to search online, in a book or in paperwork that came with parts. Make sure what you write down is correct. FSM says to torque ring gear bolts to 100 foot pounds but Revolution says 55 foot pounds (just as an example).
After doing all your reading and research, do not focus and follow other people. Do your own job. I spent so much time on the rear trying to follow the FSM. The front went together quick because I forgot all that FSM stuff and just put the parts in and adjusted from there. I checked backlash and the pattern and knew where the parts had to move. I adjusted and measured again, within three attempts I was where I needed to be. The rear was made up of too many attempts at the carrier and pinion to keep track of.
I really suggest ordering extra shims if possible. The shim kits I received did not cut it. They were in the Revolution master install kit which is supposed to be good according to others here on this forum but I struggled with the rebuild until I ordered additional kits. My master kit shims were few, duplicates and not enough variety. The extra kits I ordered were numerous, a few good duplicates and super thin to too thick (great in my opinion). The biggest hassle of the entire job (front and rear) was getting the preload correct on the 44 pinion. I had the following shims to work with .026, .026 (both were stock), .016, .016, .010, .010, .009. That is a crap variety and number of shims. I had to use a .026 shim as the starting shim because the kit shims had too small of an inner diameter and rode up on the radius cut of the pinion shaft and caused issues. I also had to try stacking the shims in different orders and different orientations to get the thickness to change (the thickness of a 0.026" shim is not as thick as a 0.016" and a 0.010" thick stack). I eventually got it but I am not crazy about the way I had to get there. On the inverse of that, I ordered a bunch of shims for the front (carrier in this case) and had so many to choose from that it was so easy to get right where I wanted it took no time at all.
I really suggest ordering extra shims if possible. Did I say this already? I mean it.
Look at the ring and pinion gears before you start putting marking compound on them. When they are lapped at the factory, there will be a wear pattern on them which will give you the place to aim for. When testing the pattern, look at the teeth you have the marking compound on but also look at the teeth that you didn't put compound on. There will be a reverse print on those teeth and will give you a lot of info on how things are lining up. Also look at the pinion gear, the marking will be on that and it will show you how the pinion in lining up with the ring. The compound should be in the same place the wear is from the lapping process.
When rotating the ring, put the pressure on the pinion, that really forces the pattern to show up, if you just rotate the carrier you will get a pattern but it is much harder to see.
If you have a friend that likes to do nothing for most of the time, invite him or her over. I did the job by myself but it would have been quicker and easier if I had an extra set of hands every now and then.
The crush collar on the Dana 30 is incredible. The factory service manual says to check every 5 foot pounds, they mean it. When I was doing final assembly and was crushing the collar, I tightened the pinion nut less than an 1/8 inch of rotation (on the nut edge) and it jumped the inch-pound measurement by 5 (10 to 15 is a big jump for not a lot of movement). I got lucky on that one.
Have an extra crush collar and pinion nut on hand just in case. Use your old pinion nut and run it up and down your old pinion to cut the threads a bit more so it is easy to put on and take off the new pinion.
I am sure there are a few more things I have forgotten about already but this is my start.
