My Dana 30 SAS

[982WDRanger]

Building the 30!

Finally had time to get my Dana 30 geared up. Got a few patterns set, still not quite set, going to post up pics tomorrow of the build. Going to do a write up on how to set it all up step by step to help out any of those in need.

Be back tomorrow, hopefully all done!

 

[982WDRanger]

Almost got it done!

So got the Dana 30 all done today! So here is what I did to set-up my axle, though I am no expert but have done lots of research and had help from other whom have done this before.

I'm running an E-Locker from Eaton so there are some differences in some things during the install but nothing major.

When I got my install kit I took the time to pull out all of the shims and mic them and right on the shim with a sharpie, what the shim thickness is. In my case the carrier shims were no good to me for they would not fit over the shoulder of the locker. So..I had to use Dana 44, GM 7.5/8.5 or Ford 7.5 shims instead. Was able to use the pinion pre-load and pinion depth shims though.

First I put my ring gear on my wood stove and the locker(carrier) in the freezer so I could install the ring gear easily. Adding heat will expand the ring gear and cooling the locker will shrink it; science is wonderful. After a few minutes of heat and freezing I dropped the ring gear over the locker and it fell right on. Put my bolts on and torqued them down with red loc-tite provided.

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Before I could install the ring gear I had to remove the stator on top, which engages the locker to"lock". It was easy, just pull off the double wrapped snap-ring and it comes right off.

After the ring gear I made a set of setup bearings. Simply bought a duplicate set of carrier bearings and ground them down so they slide on and off the carrier easily, saves from pressing them on and off the carrier.
Also made a setup bearing for the outer pinion bearing by doing the same thing as the carrier bearings. Need to take the inner race that holds the pinion depth shims and grind the outside down so it can be easily be popped in and out of the housing.

Now before I began to put things together I had to drill a hole in the upper left corner of the axle housing for my wires to go through for the locker. There is a nice little pocket in the housing that worked as the best spot for the wires to go through.

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Put the new pinion in first, set up with stock shims and all my set-up bearings. Here is how the stock pinion set-up looks.

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Dropped in the Carrier:

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Checked the backlash:

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Sorry can't read the dial, but it was off. Added a few shims to the carrier side and took a few away from the ring gear side and did it again and again until I got it to 7.5. Then ran my first patterns.

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Wasn't quite right, too far away, added more shims.

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Much better...but me and a buddy of mine messed up. We did another pattern after this one and noticed when we pulled the pinion the main oil slinger was loose against the inner pinion bearing.! So we put the race on it and pounded it down just a little bit more and seated it all the way. So back to where we started!

Set it all back up and just to cover our asses, set the pinion preload with no shims just with a in lb dial torque wrench to give us the best results.

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Better!. Decided to recheck the backlash and adjusted that a bit and moved it up to 9. Centered up the pattern a bit. Added another shim and ran it.

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Yeah best so far. Probably going to run it with this. Went a head and decided to wait on final assembly until I have a friend of mine check it out and see what he thinks, he has done a few axles before. So went on and set up my bearing preload shims.

So I put in my stock preload shims and torqued down the pinion nut to check the preload. But... pulled the threads on the stock nut! Shit. Luckily a friend of mine had tore apart a few Dana axles and went an stole a few castle nuts that would work and have more bit to them.

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Put this nut on there and presto! was able to torque it to 200 ft. lbs. no issues. Still don't have the preload set yet, need to remove more shims to tighten it up. Will post up more as I go. Its not a how to guide but a good reference for someone who just needs a little push in the right direction.

 

[982WDRanger]

Want your opnion...

So this goes away from where my thread is going but need some input. Was measuring and lying under my truck yesterday trying to figure where all this stuff is going to go.

So I decided on how I'm gunna do..

Long arms, going to set them at half, which means I'll have plenty of adjustment in and out on both the long and short arms. Then bolt up mt mounts on the end of the long arms, raise them up to my frame and where they lay,tack them up and start from there. Adjust as I need. I'll have to wait until I get my coils to adjust most of it but it would be a good starting place I think...?

 

[dangerranger83]

I used my coils as my line up then has the arms adjust the exact same based on the number of counts turned on every threaded arm. Then I mounted the and to common spots that both sides of my frame had and mounted them. After that, did the fine adjustments. I didn't do a frame trackbar mint till after the axle was under the truck and the weight of the truck was on the axle, suppose to do that anyways. Street your child's break in them you can do a final centering for the axle. Lucky for me my coils were used so I got away with using a stock xj track bar.

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[982WDRanger]

Pinion Preload?

So I finished up re-gearing my Dana 30 the other day after hours of pulling the pinion in and out to get the depth and preload correct. Finally got an awesome patter and a good number on the preload, so I tore it all down cleaned it all up, put in my new inner pinion race and bearings, installed the final shims, slingers, and seal. Tightened down the yolk to 200ft. lbs. and....! my prelaod was way off! Now my dial indicating torque wrench is reading like 45 ft. lbs., instead of the 14 I had during the set-up WTF! Anyone have an idea of what happened? I said f*ck it and just run it. All bearings are new, races, and seals. I figure its because everything is new? I dunno. Any input would help.

 

[brinker88]

I had the same problem w/ the preload on my D44. You compressed the shim pack completely when you pressed the new bearings on. I ended up removing the bearings ( I know it sucks) and adding equal amounts of shims per side to tighten everything up.

As for you pre-load, did you oil the new bearings and tap the pinion to seat the bearings? There is no specific torque spec for measuring preload. You need to SLOWLY tighten the nut checking the pre-load often. They tighten up quickly.

By the way, your pattern looks a little deep to me in the last photos.

 

[982WDRanger]

Yea I oiled everything all up and with a Dana 30 it says to put in all your preload shims then assemble and torque your pinion nut to 200 ft lbs and check the preload.

Maybe loosen up my yolk and just slowly tighten it until the preload is in range instead of torquing it.?

The pic is a bit off, I checked it again when it was all together and was just right.

 

[brinker88]

Remove your carrier and start the preload over. Remember, you base your pre-load measurement off of JUST the pinion turning, not the carrier and pinion turning.

 

[982WDRanger]

Yea I did all of that. Then took all those shims I used for set-up and put them back in with new bearings and it is way off. I figure with all new bearings and races and not being oiled for that long it would loosen up. I dunno. It's all together now, hub to hub, hate to pull it all apart again.

 

[brinker88]

You HAVE to pull it apart again. If your pre load is THAT loose, you're going to get all kinds of deflection on the ring gear when you put a load on it, and you WILL grenade your brand new gears. Do it right the first time.

 

[982WDRanger]

The preload isn't loose, its seems to be too tight! It was all good during set up, with new bearings I bought and made specifically for set up. Added and subtracted preload shims too the pinion as I needed until it was right. Disassembled it, put all my new bearings in and reassembled it with all the same amount of shims, and torqued it down with the new nut, now it isn't reading right like it did before, the preload is to tight now not loose.

Not trying to argue or be a dick, but loose isn't the issue, tightness and pressure is. I have researched and found so many readings on preload, from 10-15 all the way up to 30! Going to fill her up with oil and let it set until my install and check it again.

Thanks for the input though.

 

[brinker88]

Ah okay I read it wrong. I would try to see if you can seat the bearings on a little further.

 

[escort_gts]

Did you buy setup bearings or did you make them yourself?

Are you checking preload with the carrier installed?

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[982WDRanger]

I bought a second set of all the bearings that I needed for the install, all nice quality bearings, Timken. I ground down the inside a bit so it would slide on and off with just a little force to ease set up of the gears. Then used the brandy new bearings; unmolested and used them for final assembly. And I did each time check the preload without the carrier installed, just the pinion.

 

[escort_gts]

I bought a second set of all the bearings that I needed for the install, all nice quality bearings, Timken. I ground down the inside a bit so it would slide on and off with just a little force to ease set up of the gears. Then used the brandy new bearings; unmolested and used them for final assembly. And I did each time check the preload without the carrier installed, just the pinion.

Hmm? Something went wrong. I highly recommend you disassemble and check everything.

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