ripped the rear end out today!!!!
 

well....................... a friend of mine's dad told me after I put the DD clutch in, that there would be another weak link somewhere, & I'm pretty sure I found it today. I was playin a little bit & revved her up in 2nd gear & stood on the brakes & when I let the clutch out she groaned a little then "POP"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! limped it home a couple miles in 4x4 & pulled the pumpkin cover & I found the remains of my spider gears, got everything apart & ready for a 3:55 chunk in the morning, now I need to find a matching set of 3:55's for the front if anybody knows where I might find a set, the chunk I have to put in it is an open diff. , so I would like to find a full set of 3:55's front & rear with a limited slip chunk for the back, or I might even go with an air locker for the rear if I could just find a set of gears for the front, what would be best?????? Dusty

I personally think the factory limited slip is the best thing you could have unless you are rock crawling. I love mine. Spins them both all the time unless one really gets in a bind and the other is free.

Eric

wow you broke a d70? nice job, post up some pics of the carnage.

I think he broke a Dana 80! I busted the pinion all to pieces on my Dana 70. And I dont even know how [eyecrazy]

Eric

You must have dropped the cluthc pretty hard then huh? :confused:

yeah it was ( notice that's past tense :rolleyes: ) a Dana 80, & no I really didn't dump it hard, revved her up to about 2800 rpm's & then started easin the clutch out & when it started puttin power to the ground & the motor really started to grunt it just let go, with one helluva bang!!!!!!! I had been noticing a slight vibration in the truck, but couldn't locate it, thought U-joints, but they all felt good, & I never really took the time to trace it down, but I wonder if it wasn't somethin in the rear end now, didn't seem like tranny or Xfer case cuz going down the road it didn't make any difference if the truck was in gear or in neutral, & it done it the same in 2wd & 4wd, so I think I might have located the problem :) , I think I am gonna just try & locate a good set of front & rear gears w/a L/S diff. after pricing the ARB I don't think it would be worth the $$ for my needs. does anybody know how much gear oil a Dana 80 takes, I'm fixin to head to NAPA & get some gasket maker, brake parts cleaner, & oil, but wasn't sure how much I put in the last one I broke, (10.25 sterling in my 90' Ford F-250, & put gears out of an F-350, 1 ton Dana 80 back in it, & they fit perfectly), just wondered if anybody knew off the top of their head???? thanks, Dusty

I have a limited slip, for the Dana 60 front, 3.54 gears, that I would be glad to sell. If you are interested, PM me for details.

FYI, guys - limited slip unit in a Dana declutching front axle is not a good idea for street use.

Why?

Left hub drives its axle, driving the left axle side gear and spider gears, which drives the right side gear and declutched axle.

Left axle spins forward, right axle spins reverse.

Carrier does not spin.

This froths up the lubricant, lowering friction and allowing the side and spider gears to spin more freely.

Low friction, low driven mass = good fuel economy

With limited slip unit, the side gears rotating in opposite direction heats the clutches, locks the unit up, spins the differential, pinion shaft, drive shaft and transfer case drive train.

This can eventually destroy the axle, bearings and all.

Limited slip\locking units are workable in the early Dana front axles, because each axle drives a separate locking hub - only the hubs spin in unlocked 2wd.

But - maybe you already knew this.?!

Ouch. I know that sound. I stripped most of the teeth of the pinion in my D80. But that was from a bad carrier bearing that I did not notice in time.

If you go to a locker what will be the next weakest thing in line? Axle shafts?

I agree there

My D80 grabs hard, and pulls with both really well... And it hasnt let me down yet...

Tx

just an update...................had to go get a couple of shim packs this evenin, now I'm trying to pull the bearings from the carrier, already totalled two!!!! :p still got a couple of good ones if I can get them pulled, gonna get 2 new bearings, but I wanted a couple of straight ones to hone out the centers, that way I can slide them on & off easily while I shim the carrier to the pinion, then when I get my shims right I can press the two new bearings on & that way they'll be right the first time, oh well, like everything else this has turned out to be more annoying than I expected, but hopefully it'll be worth it when I get it straightened out, can you say "better fuel mileage"???????????? oh well better get back after it, Dusty

post up some pics of the broke stuff

I've torn the spyder gears outta my Dana 80 3 times. All the times was from power braking... That was with stock power.

Now, over 500, they are still holding up fine...


Merrick

I'll try & get some pics of the chunks this weekend, gotta pick up some bearings in the mornin & hopefully get it back together by lunchtime or so, yeah the spider gears don't care much for powerbraking :p , they stood lots of boosted 3rd gear launches, but I only powerbraked it a few times before they cut loose, oh well, guess if you're gonna play, you're gonna pay!!!!! sometimes I wonder if I do more payin or playin though?????, try & hurry up on the pics, although theres really not alot too see other than chunks of gears, l8er, Dusty

is this more common with dana 80s or have you guys busted up 70s doing this too ?