I have used white latex paint to paint the ring gears while checking and adjusting for the patterns. Works good.

 

Make sure and check the inside of the housing for wear. On those 70's, if the carrier bearings lose their preload, the races like to turn and chew up the housing where they sit. Before you know it, you have a quarter inch of end play on the carrier. That's usually why they will break a tooth.

 

Thanks for the tip, the housing looks fine, the only visible damage is on the inside of the cover from the broken pinion tooth as it went around the case at least once and took out the exciter ring at the same time. Just for the fun of it, I am going to ask Dodge for the cost of a new ring.

 

Graig93 Take from me my 97 2500 was misin 8 teeth wen we took it out .I was 80 miles from home owell. It was a slow ride home. 4 weelheaven in NY. had 410 geers shems bearings race crushsleav all the parts 300. bucks to the door and DANA parts mine you. Allso ther a pain getting mesh right pay -PAY sumbody to do it right.

 

Pay somebody , I am almost done! I've found it's a straight forward job as long as you take your time, can read and have the correct tools ( which I do, or have borrowed from work )I've got the correct backlash, ran a pattern last night, needs to get off the heel somewhat, so will add shims as required, the pre-load is too easy, again adding or removing shims as required. I am saving about $800, learning, which is invaluable, and have the satisfaction of knowing it is done right.

 

i agree with you craig93 i had my gears changed out and it lasted1000 miles, i did it again myself and its been allmost 8000miles and the gears look realy good, it just takes time ( i spent 6 days on it but not much hours a day ), and knowing its done right it the best time i spent,
jman

 

So what direction did you go? I just bought new bearings for mine got out of it for less than $200. Only thing that was a booger was getting the yoke off. Never had one so tight. Broke one puller and ended up having to use heat to get it to move. Finally came off ok after about four hours of lousy ego.

The ring and pinion was good and usable, the pressure side of the carrier had started to pit and it had spun some but no damage other than cleaning the metal of the housing.

Had to make a yoke installation tool from an extra pinion nut and some threaded rod. With any luck the preload will come out ok, if not I will be a while getting it set up.

 

I'm almost done the rebuild. Taking my sweet time about it, took it off the road for awhile while I rip around in my little Nissan 5 spd, ( great of gas this thing, but ugly as heck ).
No problems getting it apart, Pro Trac Gear installed the rear pinion bearing for me. Freddy2pipes lent me a hub nut and factory manual which has come in handy ( thanks Gerry ). Pulled the drums, good thing I did, it was time for new shoes, put them on last night and will put on new pads today, and of course the drums are too thin to turn so am shopping for best price on a new pair as well as a new exciter ring for the ABS pick-up.
With a bare housing, I was able to give it a real good cleaning, better than a shop would have done down town that is for sure.
I've run the pattern a couple of times, and will need to shim the pinion towards the toe of the ring gear a bit, it wasn't bad, but I want it as good as I can get it. Fun part about adjusting pinion depth is having to remove the bearing race to do it.
Backlash is within the gear manufacturers ( Motive Gear ) spec of .008 -.012 @ .0115, but I want to bring it closer to .008 so when I swap the carrier bearings, I will move a shim over. My only concern is ensuring the replacement bearings are the same size as the existing bearings so my pre-load doesn't change. As torqefan said, too loose will cause the race to spin in the housing, I would try and tighten yours up if you can.
I am going to measure my new races and bearings very carefully, the new races are .003 thicker than the old ones. I am pulling the bearings at work tomorrow and will pick up a selection of side and pinion shims and will get back at setting up for a better pattern and backlash.
Pinion pre-load is the easiest to adjust, at first check it was a bit light so will remove a shim to tighten it up. I had a yoke tool made at work to hold it while I hit 250 - 270 ftlbs on the yoke nut, a check with a 1/4 dr torque wrench and adjust as necessary. So hopefully after a careful break in, it won't whine or howl or do anything funky.
I had a closer look at my pinion gear, it was only a matter of time before several other teeth were about to shear off, glad it happend close to home is all I can say.
Hope I haven't rambled too long, I blame it on the coffee .

 

Thought I'd update this thread!...the diff is still spinning, no issues at all after 8 years!

 

Thats impressive...most professional shops would envy that record. How many miles?

 

She's got 428,000kilometers now ( 256,000 miles or so ), about 70,000 miles on the new parts ( I'm retired, don't drive as much ).

 

This is why my coworker loves to rub ford 9" pinions in my face.

 

Why is that, the ease of rebuild?

Cause I can send you a few busted 9" parts to rub right back in his face.

Letting 1000 plus Hp go with a trans brake on a 3800 Lb car tends to find the weak spots.

 

great to hear.

Strange thread reading from the beginng. Dan60's are shims and so are 70's. What's the talk about a crush sleeve? They go in Dana 44's.

Excess backlass will break a tooth. Proper setup, lash and pattern- it will be quite and last a long time. I did mine and it has 5,000 miles on it. It does take patience. D250 has a 70U not a Dana 70. Dana 80 has bigger carrier bearings and replaceable thrust surfaces.


Michael