More On My Rear Dana 44....

I’ll wait for someone to chime in with a second opinion before I wholly accept the liability for this.

 

So I'll ask a stupid question.....how do you check the gear mesh without being able to turn the gears. Obviously I've never installed gears before.

 

HI Mike,
Not a stupid question at all., but these are the side gears inside the case. I think the gear mesh that you are asking about , refer's to the ring & pinion gears
after the case is installed ? I am in no way an expert either ; that is one reason I ask questions to our forum members. There is a lot of knowledge & experience here.

 

According to the manual for a Dana 60/70 Powr-Lok, it should be at least 40ft-lb and not more than 200ft-lb to turn the axles with the case stationary:

https://media.spicerparts.com/cfs/files/media/ahd5WcQ3TvJismpvQ/5315-3.pdf?store=original

You can see why limited slip diffs cause slippage when turning on slick surfaces.

 

Got it! I was thinking ring and pinion.

 

Sorry I'm really late to see this topic.

Here is a little hint whenever setting up a new ring gear or using a different case.
After setting up several differentials I taught myself this new trick.
If you'll notice the ring has 10 bolts to hold it in place.
This is time consuming but if you try the ring in all 10 positions then you can test lateral gear runout at all 10 of the positions.
The trick is to start with minimum runout and hopefully it will be virtually zero.

 

I gave this some thought...
If you can put the other axle shaft in the top and try to spin that with a pipe wrench while the other shaft is in the vice, it’ll give you 1:1 leverage on the clutches. By trying to spin the differential case, you’re locking the clutches tighter as you apply force. I’ll bet it’ll spin if you let go of the case and spin the opposing axle.

 

Ryan, Thank you so much. Makes perfect sense....... I Just tried that , with a 16" pipe wrench . Does not move , just made the axle in the vice slip.
I was the Joint's arm wrestling champ , 40 years ago. I don't know how much torque I'm applying ..... My geusstimate is ~ 100 ft pds ? According to our TSM, if over two hundred is applied & it does not turn, something's wrong. Of course , that's for a Dana 60 ?
I'm glad I did not start the picture below , yet. I think I will have to take it apart again ?

 

Thanks Ken,
Did you , by chance , ever post this trick before ? It seems that I read that somewhere or sometime ?

 

Hi Again , Gents...... Just found this :
" Typically, if the breakaway torque value is below 50 ft-lbs, the differential needs to be rebuilt or simply re-shimmed. A good range for street use that still provides decent performance is between 110 and 140 ft-lbs of torque. If the clutch pack is shimmed tighter, it produces poor on-road manners during slow, tight-turning maneuvers. These poor manners are exhibited by tire wind-up during a low-speed, tight turn maneuver (such as pulling into a parking spot). Also, the differential will act more like a locked differential and the vehicle can tend to under steer or plow.

For all my bench testing & checking, Does any one have 2) , 30 Spline axle shaft cutoff stubs? Should have looked for these before I started

 

ITLKSEZ is right. There are ramps on the cross shaft that squeeze the clutches tighter as you rotate the case relative to the axle shafts. This allows the Powr-Lok to increase lockup based on how much torque is being put into it. To get an accurate measurement, you should put the other axle in the top and measure that torque from that.

It's been too long since I've done free-body diagrams in physics to prove it, but it might make a difference.

 

I think I likely posted that trick once before.
Getting the ring gear on straight as possible can definitely make .005 or .006 thousands of difference on the lateral runout.

 

New Trac- Loc is in . Waiting on a Dial indicator back from my Pal. It " Feels " like very little backlash. Lateral runout on the ring gear will follow,
But i'm feeling a bit better. Axles are all rebuilt with new bearings, retainer's , & seals, and are ready to go in. I'm into the Trac-Loc for only 300 Bucks , Including new Timken's & cone's. Aggravation & disappointment are often priceless , though. With you guy's support , I kept moving forward. Let's hope my Jeep does too.

 

Thanks.
BTW, I feel that He is usually right......He's kinda a mechanical & woodworking genius , IMHO.
Oh yeah, it's not a Power-lok that I've been working with.

 

Trac-Loks do a similar thing, but it's the spiders on the cross pin themselves that push the outer spiders against the clutch disks as torque is applied to the case. I suspect it's not as well controlled as the ramps on a Powr-Lok.

 

So..... Lateral run out at 10 ring bolt positions is zero to 0.001 Baclkash is 0.005 , same as the open case was.

I've Got A Limited Slip in my Jeep ..... YaHoooo Torque test worked with one 31 X 10.5 on the ground & The other up . Cranked hard , maybe ~ 140 lbs, & the pinons turned a bit ! ( I knew I did it correctly, but I was starting to doubt & )

I searched all over my '75 Dana 44 axle tubes .... no vents ? I do have grease Zerks for the wheel bearings. I was reading in Moses Ludell's CJ5 re-builders manuel, & he showed how to vent the housing cover ? I need to do that before I put it back on , fill it. Then I'll break in my new LSD when the weather
( Road Salt ) clears in the next couple- three days.
Anyway , would you think that would vent the tubes , also ?
Thanks for all your support on my endeavor...... I learned a lot of lesson's on this one.

Oh yeah..... Next is the Lock-Right in the front Dana 30, 27 Spline. That's going to go full steam , straight ahead. I'm psyched.

 

Congrats Richie!
I’m glad you pushed through it for a successful outcome!

 

Sounds like it's set perfect. Nice job! This article has good Dana 44 vent location info: Is Your Dana 44 Vent Destroying Your Axle? – Slickrock 4X4