92betsy

My pinion bearing on my dually is knocking pretty bad right now so had to park the truck for now. I have only messed with 1 rear before in a old '68 C30 I had in high school so not to educated on axles. How hard is it to rebuild a rear by yourself, and what all is needed to do so? Should I look into a new ring and pinion also, or just a bearing rebuild kit? Seems straight forward from what I have read but still nervous. It will probably be around 2 months at best before I get a chance to do it since I'm going to be moving before summer ends, and between that and just blowing $800 to get my Mountaineer on the road money is tight. But I would like to to start trying to gather the parts needed to accomplish this. Also am I correct that I have a D70-HD?
Thanks in advanced.

user name

I have done a fair amount of axle work and would say Dana Axles are the most difficult to set up light duty axles. This is purely because of where the shims are at. Doing just bearings shouldn't require a reshim but sometimes it does and Dana's have been the most likely to be off after bearings in my experience.

Tools you'll need.
Dial indicator
inch lbs dial or beam torque wrench
something to hold the pinion yoke
0-1" micrometer might be helpful
gear marking compound
press for bearings
socket big enough for the pinion nut 1 5/16" comes to mind but that might be wrong.
And very helpful is a case spreader.

There might be a few things I left out but that's a pretty good start on specialty tools you'll need.

92betsy

Looks like rather expensive tool list. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a good used rear, or just source the parts out and have Six States or another local shop do the work. Might save some money that way, can't justify the press and spreader for how often I would use them. Thanks for the help.

Angry Johnny

I have seen home made spreaders. If you can get a pic of one you can see how it works. Be careful not to spread it any more than necessary to get the case in and out. Also you aren't supposed to spread them more than 7 times I think and don't leave the spreader on it for an extended period of time.

Either way Danas can be a PITA to set up right especially if you don't have the correct tools.

j_martin

Mike at NATCO doesn't use a spreader. He says it's tight, but possible, so I imageine if you have your shims right, a thou would be dead loose.

Angry Johnny

I've seen it done without a spreader and have even done it myself a time or two but it's still a PITA when you are used to just turning some spanners.

NJTman

Getting the diff apart is easy as a come a long to the hitch, and wallah. Putting it back in is the PITA.

Maybe one of the member can loan you the spreader, if they have it. I bought mine from Ebay for about $250 shipped, and it made life so easy

mknittle

I honed a set of inner bearing cones for my Dana 44s. worked great. I started with two empty housings and had no idea where t start. I knew that the carriers and pinions would be in and out several times

The honed bearings are just for set up and honed just enough for a tight slip fit.

thrashingcows

When I asked my brother if he had a spreader for when we do my D70 in the crew...he looked at me funny and asked why? He said for the 2 years he did diffs and TCases he never once used a spreader.

u2slow

Realistically, you have to count on adding some shim when you rebuild a diff with several hundred thousand miles. The case saver washers wear, and housing can even wear.

The last D70 I did bearings on (leaving shims as-is) dropped into the housing effortlessly. So much for pre-load. I'm driving it this way, but I know its not good.

The guys pounding/squishing their differential in without a spreader aren't getting the recommended 0.010" pre-load....maybe 5 thou at best.

sooty

ive taken all danas apart without spreader, 2 prybars at ring gear bolts and it wiil go, go to pirate 4x4 to see experts and apprentice options, ive got all the pullers for remove/install pinion depth gauge, its a lot to invest for just one, having someone do one is worth it, but you can find good used from car-part.com or clist if you want to look local, pm me, ill give you a search code

FlatNoseRose

You might want to drop the drive shaft and check the pinion nut. They can back off. If that is the case it's a quick, easy fix.

Before spending big bucks on your 70, consider looking for a later model 80. This is what I did rather than spend the bucks to re-gear my 70. The down-side of the 80 is that you will need to use your fab skills; it's almost a bolt in swap, but not quite.

1STGENFARMBOY

I also did not use a spreader, all the bearings and seals cost me around $375.00

92betsy

I'll stick with just rebuilding mine and source the parts myself to save money anyway, but still in debate on doing it myself. Next chance I get I will try and tightening the pinion nut, but with my luck it won't be that simple. If I do swap the rear I would want it to be a D80 dual with disk brakes to make it simpler with maintenance. Thanks for the help guys.

boeingguy

I ordered a kit for my dana 70 but it didn't have any shims for setting pinion depth (approx. 2 inches inside dia.) , anyone know where to get some, and what the p/n would be?