Dana35 Axle Housing Left Tab Broken??

[ScottW]

Hello Hello. I'm new to the forum here and also new to in depth Ranger work. As we were taking out my 4.0 to put in one with a non leaking head gasket and actually runs good we noticed my front differential had a leak, I didn't think much the other day but today I took a closer look and found that the front axle housing/case was cracked, specifically the far left tab that the pinch bolt goes down through. The metal on the left of the pinch bolt is pretty much cracked/coroded right through and I could knock it out with a screw driver if I wanted. So we have a parts truck which this motor was coming out of and I checked #'s and sure enough, everything is the same3.73's, Dana part number, etc...but when I looked at the same spot on the housing of the parts truck it appears the same thing is happening there but I'm not sure. It looks like their is much corrosion which I just got out from under and scraped a bunch out and put my fingers through the access in the left side of the LH support arm assembly and it feels like a crack/separation is starting but not complete, nor is their any leakage.

According to the exploded view in the tech library the left(driver) side of the axle housing looks like it's supposed to be totally flat on the left side, IS the picture correct and the side is supposed to be flat?

Is this a common problem?

Just looking for a little background and input from those more familiar than I. I love my Ranger, but today/yesterday has been a nightmare! I'm just hoping my parts axle housing ins't shot too, but I believe it is.

Scott

The first two pics. are from my truck which is definitely broken, the last two are from the parts truck which I believe is breaking also. It's such that it's real hard to see, but you'll see where I stuck my fingers from the side, and where my fingers are I feel a ridge the seems to be uneven and somewhat jagged seemingly starting to push out just as the other one did.

 

[Evan]

Scott,

This isn't too common of a problem but I have seen it happen before. As far as I know, you should be able to run the diff just fine with that outer tab broken. Just don't overtighten the pinch bolt...torque it to spec or even a little under as it does not have as much support with that broken tab.

 

[ScottW]

I went out and checked a 94 Explorer we bought last year that I believe has the same housing but I'll check the sticker tomorrow...either way, I stuck my finger in from the side and it feels like it shows in the blown up diagrams, no edge, just flat on the drivers side so that one appears to be good. I'll have to double check tomorrow. If the explorer is a match I reckon I might as well go with the housing that isn't broken at all as compared to crossing my fingers and going with the already malfunctioning part.....but if worst comes to worst I might have to do that! Thanks for the suggestions Evan.

Scott

 

[ScottW]

Finally getting on this project....

Well summer passed by and we had other things to do than fix this, but I'm taking a trip in a couple weeks that I'm hoping to have my Ranger going. Just trying to get an idea really how big of job it will be to replace the aluminum front diff. housing cover along with changing my 3.73's into the new housing I'm putting on which is out of that explorer and has 3.27's. We have a hoist in our shop and a plethera of tools but just have to convince my dad that my truck is doable over the course of this weekend and the next week of evenings after work and is more important than his projects he wants in the shop. Any idea? Or would we be biting off more than we wanna chew in that time period? Take into account we gotta take it outa the parts vehicle and we'll be puttin it into mine without the new motor in (that'll go in as soon as this drivetrain problem is done). I also plan to switch out my auto locking hubs with manuals off of the explorer as mine act up sometimes and sort of ratchet and don't lock in solidly and what not.

Also, are there any tricks to taking front axles and the whole works apart as we've never dealt with this area of a Ranger before? Figured it never hurts to ask those who've done such.

Thanks much. ScottW

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Here's a really good example of why you should get a new center section. That bolt and part of the housing are very structural for the axle housing.

As for taking it out. It's fairly simple.
Undo everything besides the radius arm nut and the pivot bolt.
Lower the assembly to drop the coil from the bucket, then remove the pivot bolt and radius arm nut.
Using an impact gun and a nice extension go inside the coil to loosen the nut, swing the radius arm out of the way.
To get that bolt out it my require a torch to heat it up. You can see where I torched mine off. That sucker gets really stuck on there for some reason.

With a decently set up shop, some common sense, and air tools, it can easily be done in a weekend. Me and my brother swapped my housing(the one now broken in the pic), changed out a bent pivot bracket, did the external c-clip eliminator, did the full circle clip mod(x3), and new wheel bearings. All in one friday night, actually 6pm to 2am.

 

[ScottW]

Thanks for the info, I didn't think we'd have much problem with all that, it's just the switching of the gears and what not from my housing into the new one that I think will probably end up having us bring it to a shop somewhere.....any idea how much it'll cost to get them switched? I think I wish I just had the problem you did.....just swapping that left arm doesn't look like it'd be too bad.

Thanks for the info. Anyone else?

ScottW

 

[Captain Ledd]

Of the 4 housings I've disassembled, every single one of them has had that tab broken. I've never gave it much thought. I actually thought it was very common.

As long as there is still a little bit of a lip there to catch the bolt it should be fine. Unless you're doing really hard wheeling, in which case you'd be living on borrowed time. It's just a thin piece of cast aluminum, it's not THAT strong.

You could drill it out and stick a slightly larger bolt through it to help catch what's left of the lip a little better.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

...Unless you're doing really hard wheeling...

Oh no, not me...

 

[ScottW]

Of the 4 housings I've disassembled, every single one of them has had that tab broken. I've never gave it much thought. I actually thought it was very common.

As long as there is still a little bit of a lip there to catch the bolt it should be fine. Unless you're doing really hard wheeling, in which case you'd be living on borrowed time. It's just a thin piece of cast aluminum, it's not THAT strong.

You could drill it out and stick a slightly larger bolt through it to help catch what's left of the lip a little better.

So you just put those housings with teh broken tabs back on? And they kept going eh? I just went back out to my truck and climbed under with a light and I see where the oil has continued to leak as it's been sittting and I reckon it might be coming out of the left axle seal and such, possibly not where the tab is broken.

I don't do a lot of what I would call hard wheeling by any means, just a lot of fairly hard backwoods trail driving while I"m trapping/hunting and a lot of bumpy/potholey dirt roads like anyone else in the country.

If nothing else, I'm now definitely leaning toward putting my new motor in and worrying about this problem after the truck is actually running and I take a better look at where the leak is truly coming from.

If anyone see's a 94 Black STX Ranger broken down in ND, MT, WY, SD, or MN in early November, please help...it'll be me! lol Hopefully not the case.

Scott

 

[4x4junkie]

The oil leak would have to be the axle shaft seal, as it's nothing but solid aluminum in the immediate area of that tab.

If the bolt is good & tight and the diff cannot wiggle up & down within the tabs of the beam, there shouldn't be much to worry about. It's only when the diff is loose (not actually clamped) or if the bolt is left out entirely that the whole assembly flexes, leading to the cracked beam failure above.
I'd strongly suggest putting something on it if possible to help slow down the corrosion however.

 

[ScottW]

Any particular suggestions for slowing the corrosion on the aluminum?

You don't know how jealous all of us up north in super-salted winter road country are of all of you in the "rust free" areas!

Thanks. Scott

 

[Nhaz]

Seeing that i live in Canada. Stopping corrosion around here usually requires that you oil spray the entire undercarriage of the truck.

Or. Make sure your truck leaks oil on everything. all the time. => It has advantages of keeping the corrosion down. And it costs about the same to replace the oil in the truck over time as it would to get a professional to spray it =>

One of the disadvantages of using a oil spray is by the end of winter the bottom of the truck is coated in a black and gray gunk(oil and road dirt mixed into a cement!) that is hard to get off. And makes life miserable when trying to work on you truck.

 

[AllanD]

My method is to abrasive blast the corrosion out of there

Soak the area with Loctite "Wick & Lock" (also sold in bulk quantities as "porosity sealant") and let it soak in (this fills in the cracks)

After that wipe away any excess with a rag soaked in acetone
then paint the housing, I prefer a base coat of "Self etching primer"
followed by engine enamel.

Last step... wire brush the bolt and slip a piece of heat shrink tubing over it and shrink it into place.

THE reason it corrodes is not the salt, it's the dis-similar metals wetted
with salt and water.

SO the solution is to isolate the steel from the aluminum...

BTW, that presumes that the diff case IS aluminum, I've seen several that weren't....

If they aren't aluminum what are they you ask?

AluMag.

a Magnesium/aluminum alloy that's far more magnesium than aluminum.

Magnesium corrodes in fresh water.

Hell, magnesium corrodes in humid air.

AD

 

[bhawk]

I just removed my front diff a few hours ago from our 94 Ranger 4x4. I wouldn't worry about that part of the housing showing some cracking. As stated above, it is solid aluminum or magnesium and that part of the housing merely acts as a guide for the bolt that is called a "pinch bolt" in the service manual. It pinches the top and bottom of the axle housing together to prevent flexing.
Mine showed signs of oil leakage behind that area of the housing also, but when I got the pig out onto the floor, it was merely the axle shaft seal in the pig that seeps oil onto the case and it flows down wherever it can.
I agree with the others that you should try and stop that corrosion. I'll try and take a pic if you want to see what it looks like.