Dana 18 end play

Hey guys, I'm rebuilding my transfer case and can't get the end play set. I've got the entire shim kit from the Novak kit plus my original .010 and still can't feel any movement. It all turns fine but I can't get the .004 with the end cap on. Any thoughts?

 

You may have to pry up on the shaft with a washer bolted on the end. When they are fresh and have a little oil in them it is sometimes hard to get a feel by pulling by hand. Place a washer on the tip of the output shaft where the yoke goes and run the nut down and then pry against this with a small pry bar or large screwdriver.

 

Thanks Mike I'll try that tommorrow night. That's about my luck, I had to order a new bearing spacer for the tranny because it had to much play, now I gotta squeeze the transfer case

 

Well tonite I tried again to get this set. Still no movement. Called Novak and talked to Eric, gave me another thing to try, still no dice. Finally I cut myself a gasket from some thick stock and got it set up but the shim stack and gasket is about .105" . That just seems to thick considering I only had .020" worth of shims at teardown. I think its the bearings. I'll call them tommorrow and double check this. Oh and has anyone ever seen a case with a hole, breather?, drilled in the top above the input gear? No threads just a 3/16" hole?

 

Didja make sure to pull that race back out slightly before clamping down the end cap? It may still be putting pressure on the bearing if you didn't skootch it out some first.

Are you sure that you have the other race set in all the way, no crap under it?

 

So tonite I talked to Novak again and decided to pull the output shaft back out and measure the bearings. Couldn't find any thing to cause the problem and the bearings are pretty close to the same thickness as the old ones. After cleanig the new bearings I laid them on a clean flat surface and spun them with my finger. One bearing makes a growling noise. Checked both races and bearings and the noise follows the bearing, even in the old races. But how could this cause the original problem of setting up too wide?