Rear Axle: Dana 44 rebuild

[23 cratae]

Hi All,

i picked up this free Dana 44 rear yesterday 3.54 gears .

few new parts required if anyone who has some good experience rebuilding these i sure appreciate a few tips, torque settings or other best practice advice - id love to hear it

The rear came out of 56 two door wagon with a 350 chev in it , guy i got it off said the car did do very good burnouts until it stopped .....

thanks

[DEEPNHOCK]

I would humbly suggest contacting your local 4X4 off-road shop.
They work on Dana 44's all the time, have the right tools and parts, and are used to them.

[Mike Van Veghten]

What Jeff said.

An offroad shop (Currie) here in SoCal did a fine job with my 44.
Narrowed the housing 3", a new Truetrac posi unit, new 3.70 gears, all new bearings and seals.

Don't recall the cost, it was done a few years ago.

Mike

[yeroldad]

There are many places that do the Dana 44. Needless to say, the one in the pic is totally shot, junk. Here in the west, I use Randys Ring and Pinion. Good prices and good parts. They can set you up with new carrier, spiders, ring and pinion of your choosing, and even limited slip, "Twin Track". And you should replace the axle bearings and seals while you're at it.

[enjenjo]

It looks like he did a lot of one wheel peel.

[Topper2011]

My carrier in my GT was also damaged. Both ends couldn't hold the side bearings, they literally would fall off. I ordered a complete unit made by Auburn that fit my ring gear.

https://www.differentials.com/auburn-gear-limited-slip-differentials/

[Topper2011]

The hardest part was making test fit bearings. Races are made of very hard material!

[blackhawk]

The hardest part was making test fit bearings. Races are made of very hard material!

Topper, what do you mean by “making test fit bearings”?

[Topper2011]

I ground a set of bearings that could slide on so I could shim the backlash easily. Here is a good video on Dana44s.

https://youtu.be/OurJHaiy6kI?si=1iolnH_qvnOAbHzD

[blackhawk]

Thanks. I’ll take a look at it. ~ Dale