Dana 44 Rebuild Options

My ‘74 sat in a barn for 15+ years with water in the rear differential. The end result is that the teeth that were at the bottom of the ring gear are badly corroded. For my intended use (trips around town and mild off-road) I think the factory limited slip will be fine. Looks like it’s time for me to learn how to set up a rear end. Any suggestions in terms of parts and process would be appreciated. I intend to do R&P, bearings, and clutches while it’s apart. Anything else I should consider?

 

JMO - I would not put any money into a factory Trac Lock axle. What's your ratio? If it's 3.73 you can probably find a complete axle and replace it.

The Trac Lock is weak and will break. BTDT. Traction is ok when it's new but they wear out pretty fast. You'd probably be better off with a replacement open axle and install a lunchbox locker.

Looking on car-part.com, I found four axles near 20601 in the mid-atlantic area. Note two of these show 3.54 ratio, which is wrong for your year. Only 3.73 and 4.27 were available in the CJ in 1974. If it's the AMC Corporate M20 axle used from '76 on (which came with 3.54s), it won't fit. Make sure it's the right Dana 44 axle before you go to look at it.

You should also try the parts forum here and at other Jeep sites like JeepForum.

 

Unless you want to rebuild the axle immediately for practice, I see nothing wrong with running that ring and pinion as is for now.
Are some of the ring gear teeth corroded more than what is shown in the picture above? If so are they corroded into the area where the ring and pinion gears mesh (the wear pattern area)?
If its not corroded into the pattern its not hurting anything, the tips of the ring gear don't do anything IMO. Some light weight racing ring gears actually have the tips of the teeth removed.

 

That's the extent of the issue - just where they sat in the water at the bottom of the differential for a LONG time. I did actually apply some anti seize (closest thing I had on hand to simulate gear marking compound) and the outcome made me think I could get away with it for a while. I didn't see any contact at those points. The pinion also looks fine. The other issue - and I kick myself for not taking video before resealing the cover - is that when I move a wheel back and forth, there's a lot of slop when it changes direction. It seems generally worn out. The LSD clutches are, of course, completely shot.

 

They are 3.73. I am somewhat hesitant to throw in another used axle and potentially face other wear issues (flashback to throwing a junkyard rear in my old CJ7 as a kid and having it fail weeks later). A rebuild would last forever. Since it sounds like failure may not be imminent, I'm thinking that I'll keep my eyes open for a replacement and refresh it as needed before swapping. An open/locker would be a nice step up.

 

Since none of the rust is in the gear pressure area, I'd just run 'em if it was me.

 

2X. I see nothing there that would be a concern. You could always pull the cover after a few thousand miles and see how it is faring.

 

I would run the gears.Take a dremmel with a small stone and smooth off the edges of the chipped teeth. This will keep them from flaking.

Replace the trash lok differential. Badly worn TL's run the risk of the clutches disintegrating and the keepers being beaten out. Both issues are usually catastrophic. Take a backlash reading and swap it out for an open carrier. If you pull the carrier, be sure to mark the bearing caps for side and orientation. They need to back on the same side and in the same direction.

Spin the pinion by hand. If the bearings feel good, then clean out the carrier with carb cleaner or the like and button it back up.

 

I, Myself, have about 10 K on the TracLoc I installed a couple of years ago. It still works great , as I also use it for my DD & mild Fish'n trails.
You need to rebuild yours with new clutch packs & such. One tip is to soak 'em in Lmited Slip oil before assembly. A '74 CJ5 is a Series 3 carrier. Ask me how I know . ( or check my Media here )

Addmendment :
..... forget to add 3:73 gear ratio to one sentence.

 

I would dissasemble the whole thing for a good clean and inspection (bearing rust ? ). If any chunk of metal you could create more damage in a short time. Also as other point out, you can smooth off the end of the gear.

For the trac loc....i would bother rebuilding it. It only work the first few time but will worn out rapidly. You can better go with a lunch box locker or a selectable locker.

 

Thanks everyone. I did actually deburr the teeth a little before reinstalling the cover. The current plan is to run it while on the lookout for an open carrier (or complete d44) w/3.73 gears. I’ll add a locker of some sort and ditch the trac lok.

I put about 100 miles on it this past weekend and hardly thought about the rear at all.

I will be traveling from northern MD to Orlando and back next week. Anyone on the way happen to have parts?

 

Depends on the gear ratio. 3.73:1 is a 3 series Case. 4.27:1 is a 4 series Case. the Case break is 3.92:1 to 5,38:1 (4 series) and 3.73:1 to 2.54:1 (3 series) in a Dana 44.

 

There is a reason Trac-Loc’s are referred to Trash locks in the 4 wd community, although they fare ok in the car community. As an example, we had well over 30 used ones of them on the shelf from Dana 44’s and Corporate 20’s. I had to scrap about 75-80% of them because of excessive wear that precluded them from being rebuilt. If they work for you that is fine, but I will not willingly install them in anything I build, ever.

 

Thanks Nick......We all appreciate your vast experience & knowledge . I, Myself , have used your post's for reference , ever since I became a member here. I just try to help on any member post's that are in a similar situation as I have been. Also, often replying with my sense of Humor . Please don't ever think that I am ever trying to step on your toes.
You've run a business for many years .....& I want you to know that I Respect that.
....Richie

 

Lane Meyer ,
I have an open 3:73 Carrier , But I am way up here on Lake Ontario. (Soon to be in Lexington , NC )
It appears to me that you don't need a a carrier though . I believe that you really need a new 3:73 ring gear , going forward , & then when you do your bearing rebuild , you just need to find & install a New Locker of your choice ? Of Course, I'm often misaligned Myself


Addmendment :
I learn someth'n new , every day.....Although I can't transcribe my knowledge through a keyboard worth a Fiddler's Damn.

 

Showing my ignorance here, but since I currently have a Trac-Lok I thought that I needed an open carrier in order to ditch that unit. Current gears are 3:73.

Thanks!

 

You are correct, the only possibility for a current Trac Lock is itself, the Trac Lock. I am a member of the broken Trac Lock club; I broke spider gears in a brand new '73 4.27 axle. A piece of the gear went through the cover too. Nick has a lot more experience with these than I do - suggest you follow his advice.

You could put a lunchbox locker in an open axle, but not in a Trac Lock axle. I think this would be the cheapest route if you wanted a locker and can find a suitable used axle. No gear setup needed for this. Both open and 3.73 ratio would seem to be the least desirable/most common from this era, and the same rear axle was used '72-75.

Looking at just the open case on Randy's, it's about 3x the price I remember it (ca $60 -> ca $180). Even if you have to go through it, I think buying a used replacement axle will be cheaper in total.

There are several limited slip or locking cases that you could substitute. You could also substitute a new open case and gears and fit a lunchbox locker. Anything with new gears or a new case would require gear setup.

 

I like others have seen the broken Trac Lok cases first hand.
The first was a new Jeep that had about 6000 miles on it in 73.
Under warranty, the owner got another new one, along with ring and pinion etc.
The off road Jeep folks here in So Cal just hated them.

 

What is exactly a "lunch box locker" ? I should already know this.

 

Replaces the spider gears and cross shaft in an open differential, turning the open into a locking differential. No gear setup needed.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D3KX9KH/