D44 Rebuild

Still fighting it....Tore it all apart again, removed a .010 shim from the inner pinon stack (from .030 to .020)....As expected, the backlash increases so I had to move some of the shim stack from the tooth side to the bolt side...Here is the best result I found with the new pinon position and a backlash of .008 (I had trouble finding a backlash of .010 or so, it seems to jump to .012 and beyond very quickly).
Drive side is not horrible - it definitely further away from the toe, but I think its a bit too high up the tooth...



the coast side is not very good - its high and toe:


So, I am thinking of driving the pinon out again and going with an inner pinon stack somewhere in between the two attempts (something like .025).

 

After reducing the inner shim stack by .010 above, and deciding it was too much reduction, I added back .004, then another .002 and finally, another .002 for a total reduction from starting point of only .002. This puts me around a total shim thickness of .028. The drive side is starting to look pretty good - its nicely centered between the root and top. Its a still a bit towards the toe, but that is less important (FWIW - BL is .006):



I think one of the reasons its tempting to run the pinon even close to the ring gear centerline is the coast side...this image is not the best and kind of over emphasize the issue, but its still pretty high and towards the toe. I looked at some ghost patterns and they do look better - though not as good as the deeper position I did very first and which was similar to what it came out with.


So if going only off the drive side, I like this set up...if taking the coast side into consideration, not sure where the best compromise is. As i said, the ghost pattern seems to indicate its not as bad as the above photo, and maybe with a bit of usage, it will 'wear-in' a bit more and a larger, more centered contact patch will develop. Its also possible that increasing the backlash just a bit from .006 to .008 or so would help - and maybe would be a better target given the used gear set?

 

Having lots of fun here....first, upon more inspection, I would NOT recommend the yukon rebuild kit I bought...the carrier bearing races were not correct. The kit included 25520 races instead of 25523 races (the bearings are correct 25577) and the pinon oil slinger was not correct (too large an outer diameter).
included is on the left, correct is on the right:


I finally got a pattern I liked with good BL:


But after swapping out the set-up bearings for the new bearings, everything went to hell - at least in terms of backlash and getting the additional preload shims installed. I stopped taking pics, but the clamshell puller really helped as I had to pull the new bearing a couple times to fidget with backlash (pinon depth seemed okay). I ended up with the backlash on the tight side (.006), but a .002" shim swap to the tooth side seemed to take it to the loose side. If these were new gears, I'd be happier running them on the tight end - and maybe I should have run them on the loose end given they are used, but it is what is....gonna run it and see what happens. all wrapped up and painted etc:


Axle shaft bearings pressed on....turns out my press isn't big enough to fit the long side so did it with BFH and some pipe...


Inner oil seals go in the axle (seat against a little lip)....


Next i have to get the axles installed and outer grease cups/seals and shims etc....I've never done the axle shims before (not used on the 30spline D44), so need to review how to do that....Also got distracted working on the leaf springs in preparation for reinstalling the axle - a few questions which I'll post in a new thread.....

 

did they run 19 spline flanged axles - as this kit is specific for 19spline? Guess I assumed all flanged 44's were 30 spline? Also, at least for the jeep 30spline flanged axle, it uses a different carrier bearing as the case journal is slightly bigger. Maybe other (not jeep?) companies ran slightly different 19spline 44s....Basically, next time, I'll just order all the parts individually...oh wait, hopefully there won't be a next time.

 

if they existed, they are plugged with paint now - I did a bunch of inspection as I wire wheeled the entire thing and wiped it all down with MEK for paint prep etc....never saw those outside the oil seal....

Anyway...continuing on....axles are in and shimmed. Like everything on this axle, its a bit tight - if I had another really thin shim, I would have used it, but there is a 2-3 thousandths of end play.

New brakes going on! Right rear - looking good. got the self adjuster and cable to the rear, parking brake cable access is low to the front, and the long shoe is to the rear:


Lets do the left....dammit, something is wrong....Looks like the backing plate from R&P was never drilled for the 19slpine pattern?


Here I laid the grease seal over it to show the missing holes - It needs the two holes at the top (in the shadow of the parking brake bar) and the grease drain at the bottom.


I can fix this, but its annoying to buy parts that need to be fixed....oh wait, it'll probably get political so don't comment! Actually, this whole backing plate is a little ugly and pitted, even though it has been cleaned up and painted. It'll be totally functional, but seems like it should have been in the discount bin. Rich at R&P has usually taken very good care of me - but this one seems a bit off. And I am probably too rushed and tired to fight it....I'll just drill it out and mount it up as my shop time is running out quickly.

 

I'd probably just buy everything separately, although I haven't listed the part numbers for the various shims etc. If I get a chance, I'll see if I can track those down (along with axle shims etc) and add them to the parts list. Also, maybe give Yukon a call and see what they say - I ordered this kit 8 months ago and just didn't want to deal with the time delay etc. I was able to get the races locally for $42 day of so just went that route....I need to finish ASAP....my work season is starting.

 

sorry - I was confused...yes I have those...I put toothpicks in those when painting so they are nice open to accept dirt and water into the wheel bearings....going to leave them as is


Drilled the needed holes in the left side brake backing plate and finished mounting up the brakes:


So its getting pretty darn close....


work tomorrow morning and then should have a few hours in the afternoon to see if I can clean up the new to me leaf springs and see if I can get that set-up reasonably soon. Going to wait on mounting the hubs until the axle is on mounted on the leafs as getting the parking brake clipped in is probably going to be a PITA - kind of wondering if I am going to have to disassemble the brakes anyway just to get that parking cable attached....