8.8 Gear Contact Pattern

[Mickey Bitsko]

4:56's... love em'

 

[Captain Ledd]

A lot of people are afraid to gear 'em steep, but sometimes that's what the use of the truck calls for.

Glad you like them! And congrats on the nice work! (I agree, that pattern is looking pretty good. Anything more would be splitting hairs)

 

[bamfslap]

A lot of people are afraid to gear 'em steep, but sometimes that's what the use of the truck calls for.

Glad you like them! And congrats on the nice work! (I agree, that pattern is looking pretty good. Anything more would be splitting hairs)

Thank you!

I've still got lots to do on the whole truck, not just the 8.8 (and as you can see I haven't welded on the shock mounts or hooked up the park brake). Seems like a never ending list! But I enjoy it. I'm taking a 10 day vacation in a week and I plan on knocking out most of it.

 

[bamfslap]

Alright, so I am doing the D35 now. I damaged the shim behind the pinion bearing race when I was pounding the race out. (Not the huge slinger on the pinion) It is much wider than the shims my kit came with came with (that is, the inside hole is smaller). Is it needed or will the smaller shims do just fine on their own?

 

[bamfslap]

I went ahead and used the supplied shims and threw the old one out. Not sure if I am gifted or beginner's luck strikes again, but I nailed a text-book perfect pattern on my second try.

Man, it's difficult to get a good backlash reading when the housing is aluminum. But I got it.

Will I have to disassemble my whole front end again in 500 miles, or can I just drain the fluid out the axle shaft hole?

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

When I "had mine done" [ I wanted it done right ]I asked the mechanic to drill/tap and put a drain plug in D35. He wasn't big on the idea cause of the close tolerance but turned out perfect.

just sayin..

 

[bamfslap]

Damn that would have been a great idea. Too late though, I already put the little pig back in.

I've also seen a video where a guy takes a solid axle's D44 dif cover and cuts a hole for it on the beam. Not sure if it's possible on the D35 but it would be kick ass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zr55B1AtGM

 

[4x4junkie]

Man, it's difficult to get a good backlash reading when the housing is aluminum. But I got it.

A small piece of 1/8" strip steel bolted to the housing flange using a cover bolt or two would give you a place to put the magnetic base of a dial gauge.

When I did mine I recall fabbing a small bracket to attach the gauge itself directly to it.


Sucking the fluid out through the fill hole is fine, just be sure to run it at road speed with the hubs locked for 5-10 miles (t-case in 2WD is fine) so any particulates from the gear break-in are suspended in the oil so they'll be sucked out with it.
Also, I would suggest change the front diff oil after 200 miles or so of offroad driving while in 4WD (not sure if you were planning to just drive it around in 2WD with the hubs locked, this doesn't do much to break in the gears, they need to have a load on them to work-harden the gear teeth).

 

[bamfslap]

Sounds good, that will be a lot easier than tearing it all apart again.

The gears work great so far. The Aussie Locker and c-clip eliminator work well. I can't even hear the Aussie Locker "clicks." Thinking I might get one for the rear eventually.

 

[bamfslap]

So I got an alignment today. They got the front within spec. But they said the reason it's pulling to the right is because the rear is off. So I must have nudged the perch when I tacked it (forgot to double check before the final weld doh).

It's showing on the chart that I have -.21 degree thrust angle. I understand ideally it needs to be 0. But, is that enough to make the truck pull pretty hard to the right? I mean it's not yanking at my arm or anything, but it's definitely not a slight drift.

 

[4x4junkie]

Is the truck dog-tracking at all? (may need to get someone to drive behind you a ways down the road for an answer to this).

if not, then I would say no, thrust angle isn't the problem.

A pull/drift is almost always something to do with the caster and/or camber angles being off.

What are the front numbers on your sheet?

 

[bamfslap]

Camber
Left: -0.4 Right: 0.4

Caster
Left: 4.0 Right: 2.4

Toe
Left: -.02 Right: -.03

By spec I mean they're "green." No idea if that is actual spec.

 

[4x4junkie]

Not enough left camber, not enough right caster.

Find another shop (or just do it yourself). Them telling you the problem is the rear with those numbers screams of incompetence or outright laziness.

 

[bamfslap]

Damn it. I made sure to tell them multiple times that I wanted a "full" alignment. Seems all they did was a toe alignment. Waste of 70 bucks. I know how to do toe alignment, but I could never get the others right.

He did say I needed a caster bushing, but the kid at the counter said I needed it for the rear to fix the thrust angle. Or something. I never heard of a caster bushing for the rear so I assumed he meant the adjustable shim that moves the axle on the leaf. Morons. Why would I want a toe alignment when the others are off, if I fix those the damned toe will be off again. This is why I do everything myself (such as gearing). I never trust shops.

I do have a set of adjustable bushings, I believe they are moogs. Maybe I could set them using their readings.

 

[4x4junkie]

I do have a set of adjustable bushings, I believe they are moogs. Maybe I could set them using their readings.

Those readings certainly can give you a place to start if they were already in the axle when they were taken
(caster bushing to fix the thrust angle.... that's funny)

Assuming you read the whole link I gave (the pertinent info for aligning starts about halfway down), a wheel alignment isn't exactly rocket science. The only real reason shops have the big expensive machine they do is to save time (labor cost) by eliminating guesswork (a.k.a 'trial-n-error'). If you're willing to take on axle gear setup (by default a trial-n-error process, even for a good gearman), a full at-home wheel alignment using simple tools doesn't seem like it should be all that far out of reach.