Rebuilding my '58 wagon Dana 44.

I am irritated....
put new pinion bearing and races in...now I cant get the preload right, supposed to be 14-19 inch pounds.

but test bearing stack completely off. Off the scale tight.
get new preload stack made. .061 nets 30+ inch pounds... .063 nets 8 inch pounds.
 
Boneheaddoctor said:
Ok...increased backlash to .018. Didn't really improve the pattern. Looking at the pattern I
Decided to remove .009" shim out of the pinion..and put the shim back over I just moved on the carrier.
Patterns cleaned up a lot. With carrier shims in as last night backlash is now .016"
I don't know if it's worth wasting time trying to improve on this. I can reduce the backlash new spec is 6-10 these are used not sure how much I'd want to reduce it to towards that number.
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Well, it is an improvement based on the fact that you managed to move the pattern to the center 1/3 of the gear, the strongest part. Assuming the pinion depth is correct and you're using the strongest part of that gear (the weaker gear of the two) I would say it's probably as good as it will get with this used gear set. All things considered I'd say you got pretty lucky.
 
Boneheaddoctor said:
one more attempt netted me 20 inch pounds..finally
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But the pinion depth, the most critical dimension, may have changed now. Set-up bearings can be riskier than damaging new ones while repeatedly removing and installing them unless they're exactly the same dimension as the new ones, and even then, results can differ. I tried making a set of set-up bearings years ago out of honed used bearings and got so discouraged with the results that I gave up trying. Others have had major success with the "red bearings" but not me.
 
I had a hell of a time getting the inner pinion bearing race in... but it's in. I'll try to get another pattern and check backlash again tomorrow before I do the carrier bearings.

As far as pinion depth...I never knew what it was to begin with... old gears were messed with by a previous owner and badly pitted.. replacement gears came devoid the housing and axles. I don't have that expensive tool nor know where to borrow one.
 
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OK.. got the carrier back in...checked the pattern..the coast side drifted closer to the heel (inner edge of ring gear) and the drive side is still good but closer to the toe. checking back lash now. Not going to have new bearings on this and back in before I have to start work at my paying job this afternoon.
That race was difficult enough to get in I don't know if it's worth damaging the race to try to get it better.
 
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This is new pinion bearings and races..setup bearings on carrier.
.014" backlash
 

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Liked the last pattern better but would likely need to get a new race before I tried to get that out. It would make a mess out of the shims and damage the race before I got it out and back in.
 
My guess is new bearing and race moved the pinion further towards the carrier. I'd have to reduce that shim stack probably by the ammount I added to it last time. I'll sleep on it about chancing removing that race tomorrow depending on the weather. I only have a couple hours in the AM before I have to put everything away before eating lunch and getting ready for work in the afternoon. If I did that tomorrow that's all I'd get done.
 
That's assuming I can knock out that race with the front pinion bearing and seal in place. I was in a rush and put that on Saturday.
 
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Boneheaddoctor said:
.the coast side drifted closer to the heel (inner edge of ring gear)
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The drive side contact pattern is too close to the heel now (the heel is the outer edge) so you might want to try to move the pinion a little closer to the ring gear, maybe 0.003". If you put another 0.003" shim under the pinion head cup you need to put another 0.003" shim behind the yoke bearing to keep the preload the same. They go together equally.
 
I hate this...I really, really hate this...added a .003 shim and now its almost on the toe.
 
Yes the race is seated
 

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That's all you did? Then the sweet spot is obviously right in between but closer to where it was before. So "go back" 0.002" and you should have it. Interesting how the coast side didn't react as much. What a difference a thousandth makes!
 
might be easier said than done. I have to see if I have a combination of shims that fall at that measurement. it has two .009" and one .003" shim under that bearing race.
 
Boneheaddoctor said:
might be easier said than done. I have to see if I have a combination of shims that fall at that measurement. it has two .009" and one .003" shim under that bearing race.
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0.009'? Aren't they like 0.031", 0.010", 0.005", and 0.003"? So, assuming you have two 10's and a 3 (0.023") the new shim stack for that location would be seven 3's (0.021"). The preload shims under the yoke bearings would need similar adjusting.
 
Boneheaddoctor said:
I hate this...I really, really hate this...added a .003 shim and now its almost on the toe.
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Now you know why "shops" charge so much (even though they often farm it out to guys who do it on the side). In the end, in a situation like yours, they call it close enough and hope the customer doesn't see the wear too soon, or they take a chance that it outlasts the customer. Your frustration now will yield high dividends down the line because you're taking the time to do it right (as possible with used gears). One reason I suggested 0.003" rather than 0.005" is because you're at the point where the smallest increments matter and I didn't want to overshoot too far, which happened anyway.
 
I hope I can get that race out without ruining those shims because I need them. I don't have enough left to get to the combination I need. didn't get anything done today due to other obligations before I start work at my paying job.
 
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