Rear Dana 44 upgrade/locker question |
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Posted: 22 Oct. 2018 at 5:02pm |
I have a '50 3a with a Dana 44 rear axle. With the blessing of my wife, I am planning on upgrading it to full float using Herm's kit. (The Jeep will be flat towed quite a bit.) Herm's kit converts the carrier to a 30 spline. Once that is done, will any 30 spline Dana 44 locker work? I would love to put an Eaton E locker in it. The Jeep will be driven by my wife on the road, so I would like to have a selectable locker. Any input is appreciated. Thank you.
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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nofender
Member Sponsor Member x 3 Joined: 10 May 2016 Location: Maryland Status: Offline Points: 2035 |
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yep - if you are going with a full case locker, you can order up an D44. Just make sure you get the correct carrier break. If I recall correctly the break is 3:73. So there will be two part numbers. Just make sure you get the right one.
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46 CJ2a rockcrawler
46 CJ2a - 26819 46 Bantam T3c "4366" 47 Bantam T3C - 11800 68-ish CJ5 |
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Thank you for the response. I don't what to do any work on the axle until I know exactly what I am doing and have all the parts. I do not want to tear into it twice.
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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Ol' Unreliable
Member Joined: 25 Sep. 2016 Location: CO Springs CO Status: Offline Points: 4226 |
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Aw c'mon, where's your sense of adventure?
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There's a reason it's called Ol' Unreliable
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Fair point. However, I am a hack mechanic so everything takes me 4 times as long everyone else. That is the adventure, figuring up something completely foreign to me.
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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Bruce W
Member Joined: 29 July 2005 Location: Northeast Colorado Status: Online Points: 9651 |
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A couple of years ago, I converted a '55 CJ5 Dana 44 to full-float axles and an E-Locker for a friend. I had to do a lot of grinding inside the D44 housing to make room for the E-Locker. Also had to do some modification to the cover. The check/fill plug hit the E-Locker. Worth the trouble, though. BW
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It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.
Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You! We Have Miles to Jeep, Before We Sleep. |
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Ol' Unreliable
Member Joined: 25 Sep. 2016 Location: CO Springs CO Status: Offline Points: 4226 |
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You're just careful and thorough. Some things shouldn't be an adventure.
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There's a reason it's called Ol' Unreliable
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Some would argue that I am just slow, but I like to think I am careful and thorough. I have learned that I hate doing things twice.
Bruce, thank you for the tips. That is very helpful!
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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Mark W.
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 09 Nov. 2014 Location: Silverton, OR Status: Offline Points: 7986 |
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If you do not have the experience of setting up gears you might be ahead of the game to find a local shop that specializes in it to do that part of the job. I took rear end class 3 times in my Auto tech college major back in the early 80's and I still had a local shop do the assembly on my rear gears. getting it close is just not the same as getting the preload, contact pattern and such perfect. My cost here was $250
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Chug A Lug
1948 2A Body Customized 1949 3A W/S 1957 CJ5 Frame Modified Late 50's 134L 9.25"clutch T90A D18 (1.25") D44/30 flanged E-Locker D25 5.38 Since 1962 |
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Mark - that is a very good point. I will likely take your advice, I just want to be armed with as much information as possible before I head done this road.
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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Greaser007
Member Joined: 16 Jan. 2018 Location: Anderson, Calif Status: Offline Points: 850 |
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You can Do This ! _ _ _ make Set-up bearings with your old ones. :)
Pinion depth is critical, and with set-up bearings it is a breeze really. I have always set up my own differential builds. Like grandpa mentioned, I take my time and do lots of research ahead of the re-assembly. It really is a piece-of-cake, once you do it 4-times on your first set-up. I have never used a Dial-indicator for lash, because you can "feel" .004 clearance with your fingers. If your mesh pattern is good, then your Lash can vary, and doesn't need to be exact. Look how crude this unit is. Setting up is much easier if you take your carrier and pinion shaft to the local machine shop and ask the fella to pull the bearings with his bearing separator, and then to put them on the Rod-hone and hone the cone out to slide easily onto your carrier and pinion. Presto, you have now at your disposal, a pair of Set-up Bearings to determine your shim-pack thickness. Your pre-load when installing the carrier into the housing should be Snug. Bearings are tough, and they can take a lot of punishment. Very important is to take note of the numbers on the end of the Pinion shaft on the gear-end. Those numbers tell you correct pinion-depth and how to add or subtract shims to set pinion depth without a proper-depth-gauge. Pay attention to the shims that came out with the bearing race on the gear end of the pinion. And again, make a set-up bearing to slide onto the pinion gear end to make the job easy. I have successfully set-up all sorts of rear-ends up to and including Dana 70's which are just bigger and bulkier than the Dana 44. You can Too. Recruit a buddy for confidence ( the wife ) hahahaha _ _ I do. :) Chiltons motor manuals have a real good explanation of how to determine the shim thickness with the markings on the pinion and all of this. I learned using the chiltons, and have the wife check your Math ! This really is a job you should tackle just for the Gratification and familiarization of the process. It is all on the internet somewhere. Checking the Wear-Pattern is like finding TDC on an engine. Shim both ways and pick the pattern which is the median of the wear-patterns and again pinion depth comes into play here also. I'd bet there is probably a good Link here on the forum to a good Tutorial for this, or Herm my have one on his page. Good god I have flat-towed my CJ-7 over to the Rubicon trail many years, and always wind-up getting myself into a bind, and wind-up having to either un-hook or skid the front tires while attempting to back-up out of a dead-end street. All fun stuff yes, and have Fun with your Floater :) |
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Thank you for the information, Greaser. It helps a lot.
I have one more question. I was just reading a build on the Pirate 4x4 website that Herm's website linked to. The builder was planning on converting his 44 to full float and then changed his mind because a friend told him there are always problems with the axles after they have been converted (like leaking seals and broken axle tubes). Has anyone experienced similar problems? I really want to do this, but not if it will cause more problems down the road. Thank you all for the responses and advise.
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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Rick G
Member Joined: 17 May 2015 Location: Amarillo, TX Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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I have a 47 CJ2a with the original Dana 41 rear axle. I put Herm’s full floating D44 axle kit in mine with new seals and haven’t had any issues whatsoever. You can watch my videos to see how I use mine and determine whether it might work for your application. I highly recommend this mod if you are going to flat tow and/or wheel pretty hard. In fact, I have a ‘51 CJ3a that has the D44 in it and I’ll probably do the same thing to that one.
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Fltfndr
Member Joined: 01 Nov. 2013 Location: Clive, IA Status: Offline Points: 796 |
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Rick,
Do you have the number of the outer axle seals that you used with the Herms floaters on your 44? Fltfndr |
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Fltfndr
1948 CJ2A Restomod "Six Pac" The object of war is not to die for your country, but make the other bastard die for his. George S. Patton |
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GrandpasOld50
Member Joined: 31 Oct. 2017 Location: Ogden, UT Status: Offline Points: 84 |
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Rick, thank you for the response. I am glad to hear a success story. It gives me more confidence to forge ahead.
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'50 3a with f-head motor
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Rick G
Member Joined: 17 May 2015 Location: Amarillo, TX Status: Offline Points: 1467 |
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Sorry, I don’t have the number for those seals. I ordered them from Herm when I bought the axles and either forgot to note the number or they weren’t marked.
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chasendeer
Member Joined: 24 Feb. 2012 Location: Napa,CA Status: Offline Points: 1086 |
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Herm will sell them to you. Looks like $12 each. Scroll to bottom of page. Jay |
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