Should the carrier crosspin have this much play?

Leronious

Leronious

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Joined
May 22, 2020
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Location
Yuma, Arizona
Hello all. This is my first post. I've had my TJ for about year. I'm trying to right the wrongs committed by previous owners. I appreciate all the help I've already received by browsing the forum.

Previous owner replaced broken spider gears in the Dana 35. When changing the diff fluid, I noticed small metal chips in the bottom. I suspect the chips were from the original spider gears since the replacement spider gears seem to be whole. I noticed the amount of play in the carrier crosspin. Is that normal? Should I replace the pin and spider gear set? I'm running 33s on the Dana 35 so I'm trying to prevent damage if I can.

Here's a video of the amount of crosspin play:
 
Yeah, that’s carrier is worn out. You can still drive it, but start making plans on what you want to do.
 
I see. What can I expect to happen with a worn carrier?

I've already been thinking over options.

Let's say I get another carrier and bearings. Since I wouldn't be removing the pinion, could I just swap the ring gear over and shim for backlash? Or would the whole diff need to be setup?
 
Leronious said:
I see. What can I expect to happen with a worn carrier?

I've already been thinking over options.

Let's say I get another carrier and bearings. Since I wouldn't be removing the pinion, could I just swap the ring gear over and shim for backlash? Or would the whole diff need to be setup?
Click to expand...
You can do exactly as you stated.
 
Since the previous owner broke the spider gears and replaced them; I can't help but wonder what he was doing that caused them to break.
When you remove the carrier; do a thorough inspection of the carrier bearings, races, axle bearing surfaces and splines (twists, chunks missing or scoring) along with the ring and pinion surfaces.
 
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CharlesHS said:
Since the previous owner broke the spider gears and replaced them; I can't help but wonder what he was doing that caused them to break.
When you remove the carrier; do a thorough inspection of the carrier bearings, races, axle bearing surfaces and splines (twists, chunks missing or scoring) along with the ring and pinion surfaces.
Click to expand...

I'll definitely do that. From browsing the forum, it seems spider gear damage is pretty common on Dana 35, especially with upsized tires.
 
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Thanks for the replies.

Any last ditch efforts for extending it's life? I'm hoping it'll last until the local junkyards reopen. I'm starting my hunt for an axle (or axles) to swap in.
 
CharlesHS said:
I wouldn't drive it much otherwise you might end up with a catastrophic failure at the wrong time...
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What kind of catastrophic failure? It's not my daily driver and doesn't get highway time. It my gets me to my fishing spots through torn up agriculture roads, trails, and sand. When it fails, I expect it to grind to a stop. Then I get hauled back or maybe even limp home in 4wd. Am I off base here?
 
Leronious said:
What kind of catastrophic failure? It's not my daily driver and doesn't get highway time. It my gets me to my fishing spots through torn up agriculture roads, trails, and sand. When it fails, I expect it to grind to a stop. Then I get hauled back or maybe even limp home in 4wd. Am I off base here?
Click to expand...
If the spiders finally let go, it’ll bind like you have a locker and break an axle. Dana 35’s are c-clip axles.
 
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