Reinstall same ring gear after clean up?

[Tigger4X]

Quick back story . . . I bought what was supposed to be a set of "ready to run" axles. I know, I know, famous last words. Sure enough they bit me. So did "garage stored". A few days after the the deal was done I found that the (inner) axle seals were missing. Since I had already planned on replacing the tie rods I dove into it neck deep making the semi-short trek to BJ's Off Road and came home with my boxes of adventure. As I got into the axle I found that the axle tubes have some rust in them. I figured I'd save myself some money having a shop tear it into and I cobbled together my own tube descaler. I've never torn into a diff other then to change a gasket & didnt realize how it was set up. Which brings me here to ask a noob question . . .

Can I remove the ring gear, clean up the axle tubes, flush them out, and then reinstall the old ring gear? I honestly don't have the funds to buy a set for the hd44/d60 and have a shop install them.

[SJTD]

Responded to your other thread. Short answer is yes.

[joe]

If R&P are good yes you can reinstall the old matching set. They still need to be set-up "correctly" though. On the plus side the axle isn't under the truck.
It's MUCH easier to do with the axle on a bench or at least on jack stands than it is laying under the the truck. Takes some specific tools and note, it's an "EXACT SCIENCE". "Close enough" won't wash and you'll be doing it over w/all new parts...$$$$. If your skills or ability to follow directions are in doubt... pay a pro to do it. LOT cheaper in the long run.

[Tigger4X]

Rather relieved to hear that this can be done. After checking BJs for prices on a R&P and seeing how much the install kits are I am breathing much better knowing I wont have to pay a shop to get this done.

Tomorrow I will pull the ring gear out, leave the pinion in place and get down to descaling the axle tubes. Once I flush the tubes clean I'll wipe out the diff and get it all reassembled. Then comes the fun of reassembling the rest of it with all of the other new parts ending up with a nicely refreshed axle with new tie rods, ball joints, and brakes.

Thanks for your input guys!

[Kaiserjeeps]

Providing it was all assembled correctly beforehand, like at the factory or by someone who knows how to do a R&P, you will be fine removing the differential carrier WITH the ring gear attached to it. I assume you mean that when you say removing the ring gear. While taking the carrier assembly out, keep the bearing cones with the side they came out of. Don't swap them. The carrier should need to be pried gently out of place and should not just pull out with no effort once the bearing caps are removed. Be sure to keep the bearing caps in the exact order of how they came out. There might be a stamped letter on the bearing cap and on the gasket surface right next to it. It will probably be an "A" and one side will have an upright A and the other side the A will be stamped sideways. You must keep these in order. Meaning don't swap sides or even turn one upside down. Look for the marks or letters before taking it apart. You will have to remove the cover gasket to see the marks on the axle housing gasket surface. Before putting the carrier back in, wipe the bearing bores out real well. No dirt or metal shavings.
You may need to coax the carrier back in place with a rubber mallet. Lightly smacking it on both sides so it goes in nice and even. Don't cock it sideways installing it. That makes shavings that keep the bearing cone from seating correctly. Other than that, no sweat....

[Dave Jeeper]

check backlash before disassembly, check preload

Before removing the carrier, measure the backlash between the pinion and ring gears if possible. If you are not able to measure the backlash, then at least be very very careful to keep the shims (thin metal rings) separate for left and right sides. Put the left set in one labeled bag and the right set in another. The left shim stack and the right shim stack are chosen within 1 or 2 thousands of an inch to correctly align the ring gear ft and right in relation to the pinion. The pinion is also shimmed, but if you are not removing it then you can more easily replace the carrier. If the backlash is within spec and the wear pattern on the ring gear is in the center of the teeth, then you should be good. Differential housings (the pumpkin) can stretch over time and increase the backlash. This is usually more of a problem on a smaller axle like a dana 35. I had this happen on a dana 35 in my xj and the arb locker self destructed due to insufficient preload (squeezing of the carrier and shims by the differential housing). When a differential is set up for a ring and pinion set, first the shims are determined to correctly position the ring gear left or right and the pinion in or out to align the gears. Then another 10 thousands are added, 5 on the left and 5 on the right of the carrier to squeeze the bearings together. This is called preload. The same is done for the pinion. After the bearing caps are removed (label left and right, and label top of each cap), the carrier should be very difficult to remove due to the preload. If it comes out easily, then the housing has stretched and you will need to add shims to the left and right equally to re-establish preload. If the carrier is difficult to remove, the correct tool to use is a differential housing spreader (you can rent these). You must be careful not to overstretch the housing or you can ruin it. I don't have a spreader and I usually wrap a length of rope around both sides of the carrier and then use a slide hammer to yank on the rope and pull the carrier out of the housing. I do this on a bench so the carrier lands on the bench after being pulled and does NOT fall to the floor. When reinstalling, I use a rubber hammer to tap it back in. The outer shims on a dana 44 are thick and have tapered edges. These shims can be inserted part way before hammering in the carrier with the bearings and thinner shims. There are lots of articles on this if you want to read up on it. Measuring backlash requires a dial indicator and magnetic mount. These are available at harbor freight tools for around $30 to $40 total. An analogue or digital indicator will work.



Hope this helps and you haven't pulled the carrier yet.


David

[Tigger4X]

I'm glad I didn't get the chance yesterday to pull the ring gear/carrier. I really appreciate your advice on how to pull it and what to look for. I had planned on being very meticulous on where the pieces parts came from to be 110% sure that they go back the same way. If my observation is correct this carrier is OEM and hasnt been removed before. The pinion isnt going to be touched one bit so that will save me a LOT of !! I will check with my local McParts store ahead of time to make sure a spreader is available before I dive in. Other than that I think I'm ready to git r done. Thanks again!

[Tigger4X]

MY KINGDOM FOR A DIFF SPREADER

I checked all of the McParts store websites in their loaner tools and none of them rent a spreader. Dang things cost over $600 to purchase.

[SJTD]

Have you checked HF and Jeg's for the spreader?

Great that you're actually looking for one. Most guys just pry it out. I'll be in the same boat as you some day. My 44 might end up with the right ratio but the 60 needs new gears.

[tgreese]

MY KINGDOM FOR A DIFF SPREADER

I checked all of the McParts store websites in their loaner tools and none of them rent a spreader. Dang things cost over $600 to purchase.

Pretty common thing to make if you can weld and need it. Check your local Jeep/4x4 club forums and see if someone will lend you one.

[SJTD]

Just checked. Coulda sworn I saw it in a Jegs or Summit catalog but nothing on their sites.

Amazon to the rescue. Or ebay. About a hundred bones.

I'm about as cheap a bahstid as you'll find but I think I'd buy it for $100 before I'd make it. Prolly $50 in material alone.

[Towtruck]

Quick back story . . . I bought what was supposed to be a set of "ready to run" axles. I know, I know, famous last words. Sure enough they bit me. So did "garage stored". A few days after the the deal was done I found that the (inner) axle seals were missing. Since I had already planned on replacing the tie rods I dove into it neck deep making the semi-short trek to BJ's Off Road and came home with my boxes of adventure. As I got into the axle I found that the axle tubes have some rust in them. I figured I'd save myself some money having a shop tear it into and I cobbled together my own tube descaler. I've never torn into a diff other then to change a gasket & didnt realize how it was set up. Which brings me here to ask a noob question . . .

Can I remove the ring gear, clean up the axle tubes, flush them out, and then reinstall the old ring gear? I honestly don't have the funds to buy a set for the hd44/d60 and have a shop install them.

Great advice here. I was looking at video on this same subject last week and came across this one. While it's for a Jaguar diff, the basic info is applicable and Paul does a good job of illustrating the steps. There are some other good ones for solid tube axle versions. By the way, Paul cautions against using a stretcher.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+differential+repair+dana+44&view=detail&mid=4141A44171F3FECE591A4141A44171F3FECE591A&FORM=VIRE