D44 bearing lock ring help

OK here is a dilema I ran into before I left for this job, I am heading home soon so I wanna finish the rear end when I get home. My dilema is the bearing lock ring. I am putting a set of summers brothers flanged axles into my 44. The lock ring that holds the wheel bearing on is larger than the OEM flanged axle. I have the means and material to make them however I need to know what the difference in ID of the ring vs. the OD of the bearing land on the axle, in other words I have to shrink fit it on but i need to know how much intereference there should be on the OEM flanged 44. Thanks ya'll..


BUBBA

 

Bueller?Bueeeeeeller? Haha.. Figured this one would be a tough one. I think I am just gonna shoot for .008 to .010 and hope for the best!


BUBBA

 

Yeah I thought that would be a problem.. lemme try again. On an OEM flanged D-44 there is a ring butted up against the wheel bearing to keep it from slipping off. The ring is heated and shrunk onto the shaft after the bearing is pressed on. I am using an aftermarket axle that has a slightly larger bearing ID so I cannot use OEM lockrings, I have to make them. I just wanted to know what the ID of the OEM ring is vs. the OEM axle so I know how much undersize i need to make the lock ring in order to get the proper shrink fit. Hopefully that makes more sense..

BUBBA

 

I'm not shure what the interference should be for the lock ring, but a light press fit is about .0005" to .0008" and a full press fit is usually .001" to .0015". I would think that any greater interference would simply split the lock ring or gall the axle. [disclaimer] WARNING - I haven't actually measured the interference fit of the lock ring. The numbers above are simply what I've learned from industrial machinery maintainence. [/disclaimer] Hopefully nickmil or mcruff (or others) will chime in on this one. They will be a better source of knowledge than I.

 

I installed new bearings on a Dana 44 last year and still have the instructions from the bearing manufacturer. It says the lock ring should have .004 inch MINIMUM interference fit. My question is: What kind of steel do you use for the lock ring? Would something like 1018 be too soft?

 

I am using 4018 cold roll, I don't think the OEM rings would be anything more exotic than that, Unless I can get my hands on some GE unobtanium 12 chrome.. hehe.. I am not gonna press em on.. gonna heat shrink them on. The procedure for removing has you drill and chisel them off to prevent any galling.

BUBBA