dana 44 powr-lok side gear ring - axle install

I got my Dana 44 tapered axle back from the shop which put my powr-lok in. When I go to put the axle shafts in they get to where the outer edge of the outer bearings are 1/2" from being flush with the ends of the axle housing and stop - still 1/2" farther out than they should be.

I replaced the clutches and had axle shafts in place to align the splines on the side gear and side gear ring when I torqued the limited slip case bolts down.

I can look in the axle tubes and see the buttons are still installed but I cant tell if the splines are still aligned. Is it possible for these to come out of alignment with the case torqued down? I was going to pull the cover tomorrow and see if there is any way to rotate the side gear and side gear ring slightly to get the splines to line up w/o pulling the differential back out. Does anyone know.
Jon

 

It's common for the clutch rings and side gears to rotate as the case bolts are torqued down. If the axle(s) slid out a bit and were no longer fully engaging both the clutch ring and side gear while torqueing this could be your issue.

You might try lightly tapping on the end of the axle with a mallet and see if it will go in. The splines might be misaligned just enough to be tight.

Sent from my iPhone

 

What Nickmil said was basically correct, I pulled the carrier out and looked in, the splines were still aligned. Tapped the axles with a mallet and they went in. I dont think the axles slipped out on tightening. I think the 2 gears just rotate ever so slightly while torquing to not be exactly straight in alignment, even with the axles installed.

Jon