I always wondered about that clunk, I have had it in every dodge I have ever owned. Thanks

 

Very impressive work T man. You are a very resourceful individual and with this much knowledge about 1st gens you won't ever need to have another type of truck!

 

I was looking at getting a Yukon locker, whats the difference between those and the stock ones on our trucks?

 

I did mine this past year, but the side gears were damaged where the spiders rolled if that makes sense.
FYI it is always good to take a Backlash measurement to see where things sit- even if you didn't change any shims. Pattern if it's quite on coast and drive 35-55 mph- you have a good pattern.

I noticed quite a few of the axle rebuilder suggest bearing life on the dana 60/70's to be 125-150,000 miles. I re-bearinged my diff. The Timken set was from autozone online($150 + 15 gift card). I highly suggest bearing replacement before failure or spinning out shims.

That's strange on the clutch material failure. On a good note, traclok is the best of the dana LSD designs. Heavy beast ~60 lbs lifting it in and out.


Michael

 

The simple fact that your shims were damaged tells me that you need to completely re-set your diff, meaning that you need to start as if you were putting together a new assembly. Personally, I've never done it from scratch, but if I had to, the unit would get completely disassembled and every internal part would be replaced that was a wear item. I would only do this AFTER I determined if the housing itself had been damaged, as it is possible that the housing can warp or be bent due to previous use by a former owner.

Reality is, it would be a lot easier, and less expensive, to purchase a boneyard diff, replace the spiders on a bench if required, and install the used differential in the truck, tossing out the original one. If it was my truck, that's probably the way I would go, as it would be so much easier, and the thought of dumping all that money into a diff that could cause the same problem all over again just isn't worth it to me.

Ps: Replace the Ubolts with new when you do this. THey're really not designed to be reused, and at about $9 each well worth the investment.

 

I've been told by a local mechanic that the Trac Loc will outlast an aftermarket LSD, as it's designed for the long haul. Supposedly, other than the detroit locker, the aftermarket units supposedly have a limited lifespan.

 

Peronsally,

I'd rather build one than gamble with a used junkyard diff. If your diff has damaged shims, it's ussually on the thrust side. It depends solely on the condition of the bearings on if you'll need a new gear. You would need to check and see if the bearing race spun in the case which is the killer failure mode for the case. Then you would consider junkyard. But any diff with over 150k should be probably get new bearings and seals.

The original shims were soft- FYI the dana replacement shims are suppose to be a stronger steel. While a new gear is easier to pattern(Yukon or dana) an old one can be done with close look at the coast side.



Michael

 

Thanks for your reply. It is not really feasible for me to tackle changing the entire rear end due to lack of a proper work area although it may come to that.
I plan on using the truck only locally, not any long hauls or pulling. I live on the Texas coast and rust has not been nice to my truck. The motor,front drive train and tranny or still fine. Just hard to put her out to pasture!

 

Thanks for your help!

 

does anyone have pics showing the difference between good clutches an bad ones, tore mine apart today, not sure if I need to buy more or not.

 

Like this.

 

Those look nice, if that's the way there supposed to look I better replace mine , I have lots of wear patterens

 

The way I look at it is It is apart now. I really don't want to do it again if I don't have to.

 

Yes your right, on my way to east coast gears,

 

I need to put a set of clutch's in my truck as when you turn going slow thy pop and bang ken