dana 35 cluster f**k

[sloth69mustang]

so i have been fighting this for awhile....i will tell the whole story so everyone is on the same page.

i blew up my dif housing in the dana 35. there was a huge hole in it so i bought one from someone on here. and since i needed to rebuild the front i decided to get yukon 4.56 gears and install kit and a detroit locker front and rear.

so i went to install all the new stuff in the new dana 35 housing that i got but the problem i ran into was shimming the pinion. it wouldnt be a big deal if i was using the same housing before bc i would just use the old shim.

but it turns out the tool to measure the shim spacing on a dana is like 600 bucks. and it is kind of a b****h to putting on and pulling of the pinion bearings over and over and over every time you guess what shim size it is.

i know nathan has some easy simple way to fix this as soon as it sees the post lol

i started this a month ago and had some guy lined up to build the front end a 3 weeks ago and then he ended up in the hospital and i just got internet again so i need my daily driver back. and i missssssssssssss my truckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk lol

 

[martin]

What I usually do is make an assembly bearing from the old one (assuming you didn't destroy it removing it) by just carefully grinding the inner of the bearing so that it will just push on and off the pinion shaft and use it to establish a starting point for what shims you need. This method will often get it right the first time.

 

[-Nathan-]

Hahhaa I love that you said that about me in your post. Yes, as stated above, make a set of assembly bearings. That is, take a dremel or die grinder and remove enough material as so that it just barely slides on the pinion by hand. In the case of the dana 35, you can also shim out the race if you want to do it that way...4o you could also make a setup race if you wanted. You don't need some expensive tool to measure stuff. Its a trial and error thing. Let me know if you need more help.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

And try the old shim as a starting point anyways...It's usually a good spot to start.

 

[sloth69mustang]

we actually had the idea too but my buddy who has all my shit at his work is lazy and never wants to put that much time into it lol. but since its been sitting on his box at work for a month he is finally getting tired of looking at it. so i think that is the route we are going to take. just sucks bc it is currently installed with the bearings all pressed in so its going to be a bitch to get it back apart without f'in up the new bears . should have thought ahead. but thanks again guys and whenever this project is done i am going to put up pics

 

[sloth69mustang]

And try the old shim as a starting point anyways...It's usually a good spot to start.

and the old shim wasnt in the case i bought. and the shim in the old case i would assume doesnt help bc the cases are not exact. thats why we started from scratch. but if worse comes to worse we will take out the shim in the first case and try that

 

[4x4junkie]

Still should be close enough to get a starting pattern to look at, then you'll be able to go from there.

 

[sloth69mustang]

lol so i feel asleep for 5 hours after that last post and woke up to the sound of my roommate dropping the front dif on my bedroom floor going "done bitch" and i guess he was dead at work and finished it for me . thats awesome. so my truck might actually get done for next weekends trip to wellsville

 

[sloth69mustang]

the more i look at it the more i think the gear pattern is wrong... but i dont have the paint to check it out. i cant tell if the markings are old markings and if he fixed it or not....

but according to the marks i see the pinion may be a little too close. which i dont feel like listening to the thing hum all winter

 

[RangerSVT]

www.summitracing.com Has marking compound for like 2.99...Check some of your autoparts stores/mechanic shop, someone may have it and either let you use it or sell you some...
SVT

 

[sloth69mustang]

i am sure there is some left over somewhere if not i still have the rear to do so i can use some of that but ty

 

[AllanD]

Thus it is revealed why I refuse to work on Dana diff chunks.

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