Best narrow track Dana 30 iteration questions

Note that you need an inch pound torque wrench to set pinion preload.

 

Yes, thank you.

 

I actually had a difficult time finding an inch lb wrench in Reno. I guess they aren't used all that much.

 

I used to have one, but i never used it an gave it away. The only answer is to be a hoarder i guess.

 

made a case spreader today out of random junk.


maybe now i can get something done.

 

Awesome!

 

x2!

 

So, since i don't really have a number that is legible on the pinon I have just guessed and started with the old shim pack and basically set the preload and went from there. I also started with the old shims for the carrier and removed some to get my backlash to .005 in several places on the ring gear. pretty consistent within .001 or so. I need to add .015 to set preload. Right now I can tap the case in without the case spreader. I have read all kinds of stuff bout how to do this job. what i gather is that no matter how you do it, its the pattern that matters. I happen to think that is akin to reading tea leaves or some sort of voodoo magic. You guys have this experience, not me, so here is both sides of the ring gear.

 

Reading tea leaves is about right. I don't really consider myself competent enough to read your pattern, but if I had to guess I'd say maybe, and this is a big maybe, the pinion is a little too deep. The pattern in the first pic looks pretty good (drive side?) the second looks a little deep. But that could just be the angle of the pic. How do you like it compared to the illustrations in the instructions. Hope someone with more experience than me looks at it and chimes in. The last one I did I took to a friend who knows and had him tell me my pattern was OK.

 

I have looked at all kinds of pattern examples. sheesh, they all look about like that, but i have no clue. I could be totally wrong. these *seeem* to be about right according to the pattern examples. hopefully someone will devine if this is right or what.

even so, these are with setup bearings and I bet they will change somewhat after press on the real bearings....

 

The first pic looks like the coast side and is ideal. Unfortunately that's not the side that you normally drive on. The second pic looks like the drive side and indicates the drive pinion is too deep like Posimoto said. Sometimes the two patterns are a compromise but the emphasis should be on the drive side.
Move the drive pinion out. You should not be off the toe of the ring gear teeth like that. Toe is the inner part of the tooth and heel is the outer part of the tooth.

 

Alright Mr Nickmil, I will take out .002 or so and see how it looks. I bet it will put my backlash more in spec. I have .005 right now.

 

Took a couple thousandths out of the pinion shim pack.


coast side is pretty light. The backlash went from .004~.005 to .009~.010. It looks ok when I compare it to the directions. What do you guys think?

 

If you haven't set your preload on the case yet you can tighten up the backlash, if you want to, when you do that. The last one I did I set it up a little loose on the backlash until I had it pretty close, then added my shims behind the bearing on the backside of the ring gear to get my preload, that pushed the ring gear over just enough to get thye backlash where I wanted it. Your pattern looks fine from here.

 

hahah, every job i do looks fine from My house. I took that read with preload on the non ring gear side. I read that backlash should be 8~10 thousandths. I bet when I press on my new bearings this will get closer.

 

Pattern in the last two pics look as good as it's probably going to get. Go with it.

 

Thank you, I shall.

 

Installing my ball joints and the adjuster seems screwed in real far. Via search, FSM says
Dana 30 CJ
Lower ball joint nut 1st to 80 ft lbs
Upper ball joint stud seat 2nd to 50 ft lbs
Upper ball joint nut 3rd to 100 ft lbs. Tighten until pin can be installed.

I tried to go 50 lbs on the stud seat, but that wasn't happening. Just kept screwing it in. Broke my homade spanner trying to unscrew it. Took it all apart to get the seat out. retorqed the bottom ball joint to spec and screwed in the seat until the ball stud wouldn't turn when the knuckle turns. Torqued the top nut to 100 lbs. This seems like the threads are screwed in too far and does not look like the other side that still has the original seat installed.

 

bought u joints for axles and installed them

spicer 5-260x

these are the kind with the clips on the inside of the yoke. You really need a press to get them out. Some guys i am sure have done it with a vise or a hammer or maybe even their bare hands, but i couldn't. In fact one of the yokes had a hard metal like substance keeping the cup from being pressed out. I had to take a burr gun and grind it out to get the cup out.

 

The spindle on the left is a dana 25, the one on the right is a dana 30 for drum brakes. The length of the spindles are the same, so is the diameter. They use the same bearings for inner and outer. For me this is important because I have a disk brake conversion on my Dana 25 and since the measurements are the same, even for the seal area on the spindle, the hub with the disk assembly from the Dana 25 should just fit right onto the Dana 30. I would have just compared the dana 30 hub to the dana 25, but I don't have an extra Dana 25 hub kicking around. I have been told this is the case, but I have also been told to "trust, but verify".