Nothing Special Posted June 14, 2022 Author Share Posted June 14, 2022 That is excellent progress, Bob! That's a really BIG step. And it is all tucked up under there very nicely. Good angles, good protection, and lots of clearance. And I'm reminded that I really like my welder. The MIG unit at work has the power to get decent penetration on thick metal, but I was never a decent welder when I was using it. And I'm not again. Oh well, it ain't pretty but it'll hold. And no, I'm not going to give you the photographic evidence! Now on to the insides! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 14, 2022 Share Posted June 14, 2022 And I'm reminded that I really like my welder. The MIG unit at work has the power to get decent penetration on thick metal, but I was never a decent welder when I was using it. And I'm not again. Oh well, it ain't pretty but it'll hold. And no, I'm not going to give you the photographic evidence! Now on to the insides! Been there, done that, and didn't record it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 Been there, done that, and didn't record it either. Not a lot of progress today, but I got to a point worth documenting, so... Yesterday after welding everything up I made a tool to hold the pinion yoke so I could get the nut off (and back on later). I don't know if that was necessary, but the only other time I tried to remove a pinion nut I had a heck of a time holding the yoke. It wasn't hard to make so it seemed like a good idea. With the tool and an impact wrench the nut came off easily. Then I pulled the cover off. Do you notice anything missing? I knew the junkyard had opened the axle, removed the spindles and pulled the axle shafts. That's why they also sent the '78 axle. But I hadn't realized that they had pulled the ring gear and carrier. It's not a big deal, I'm going to put my OX locker in and I knew I needed to change gears (this was a 3.54 or 3.73, I forget which, and I need 4.10). But I had hoped to get the shims, both to have a starting point for the rebuild and just to have more shims to choose from. Oh well, at least they left the bearing caps! (and I hope they put them back correctly!) After that I pulled the pinion out, knocked out the races for the pinion and pushed the axle seals out. To get the seals I took a socket that was a close fit in the axle tube and used a piece of wood to push it through from the outside. That not only pushed the seal out, it also broached most of the dirt and gunk out of the tubes. Then I used engine degreaser and a hose to try to clean the tubes out even better. So now I have the axle housing ready to build up! Well, I still have to clean out the pumpkin. And I can't start putting stuff in it until I get the OX out of my old axle. But the housing is ready, and that seemed like enough of a milestone to be worth a report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 Not a lot of progress today, but I got to a point worth documenting, so... Yesterday after welding everything up I made a tool to hold the pinion yoke so I could get the nut off (and back on later). I don't know if that was necessary, but the only other time I tried to remove a pinion nut I had a heck of a time holding the yoke. It wasn't hard to make so it seemed like a good idea. With the tool and an impact wrench the nut came off easily. Then I pulled the cover off. Do you notice anything missing? I knew the junkyard had opened the axle, removed the spindles and pulled the axle shafts. That's why they also sent the '78 axle. But I hadn't realized that they had pulled the ring gear and carrier. It's not a big deal, I'm going to put my OX locker in and I knew I needed to change gears (this was a 3.54 or 3.73, I forget which, and I need 4.10). But I had hoped to get the shims, both to have a starting point for the rebuild and just to have more shims to choose from. Oh well, at least they left the bearing caps! (and I hope they put them back correctly!) After that I pulled the pinion out, knocked out the races for the pinion and pushed the axle seals out. To get the seals I took a socket that was a close fit in the axle tube and used a piece of wood to push it through from the outside. That not only pushed the seal out, it also broached most of the dirt and gunk out of the tubes. Then I used engine degreaser and a hose to try to clean the tubes out even better. So now I have the axle housing ready to build up! Well, I still have to clean out the pumpkin. And I can't start putting stuff in it until I get the OX out of my old axle. But the housing is ready, and that seemed like enough of a milestone to be worth a report! Yes, it looks quite bare in there! Glad you can work with that. But it is a milestone to get all set up, ready for the installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 Yes, it looks quite bare in there! Glad you can work with that. But it is a milestone to get all set up, ready for the installation. im not sure about the year axle or model number you have. but i know on the dana 44 high pinion there is a "carrier break" where the carrier is one part number for 3.73 and under and another for higher gears. i used a 4.10 in my bronco 2 build and had to consider that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 im not sure about the year axle or model number you have. but i know on the dana 44 high pinion there is a "carrier break" where the carrier is one part number for 3.73 and under and another for higher gears. i used a 4.10 in my bronco 2 build and had to consider that. True, but not an issue I need to deal with. I'm using the OX locker from my low pinion Dana 44 which was ordered for the 4.10 gears, so I know it's on the right side of the carrier break for the 4.10 gears I'm putting back on it. I didn't take it as a given that the diff from the low pinion 44 would work in the high pinion 44. But "they" said it was the same diff (people on a Bronco forum talking about swapping to high pinion axles). And I checked it with OX who confirmed it's the same diff and cover for both axles. Edit to add: And to answer the implied questions, I'm going from the stock '71 low pinion Dana 44 to a high pinion Dana 44 out of a '77 F-150. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 True, but not an issue I need to deal with. I'm using the OX locker from my low pinion Dana 44 which was ordered for the 4.10 gears, so I know it's on the right side of the carrier break for the 4.10 gears I'm putting back on it. I didn't take it as a given that the diff from the low pinion 44 would work in the high pinion 44. But "they" said it was the same diff (people on a Bronco forum talking about swapping to high pinion axles). And I checked it with OX who confirmed it's the same diff and cover for both axles. Edit to add: And to answer the implied questions, I'm going from the stock '71 low pinion Dana 44 to a high pinion Dana 44 out of a '77 F-150. I assume that you are lifting it also. normally done for more ground clearance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce moose4x4 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 I assume that you are lifting it also. normally done for more ground clearance Oh well, at least they left the bearing caps! (and I hope they put them back correctly!) Bob, on the Dana axle they stamped a letter on the cap, and the same on the gasket surface beside the cap. One is usually laying down and the other standing up. They should match the ones on the gasket surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 I assume that you are lifting it also. normally done for more ground clearance I'm not lifting it now. Before I bought it a previous owner put about a 3" suspension lift (2.5"? 3.5"?) on it and a 1" body lift. With 33" tires it already higher than my wife wants (she said she'd be done 'wheeling with me if I put 35s on it!). So it's staying at the height it is. This project was mostly about improving the worst place I get hung up (getting rid of the dropped radius arm mounts. That requires cutting off, rotating and rewelding the Cs to fix the caster. If I was doing that I might as well also cut off the wedges and fix the pinion angle that's giving me front driveline vibration. If I'm doing all of that it might as well be on a high pinion axle. Oh, and now that the dropped radius arm mounts aren't hanging down below the transfer case I really needed to do something to raise and protect it. "Snowball", aka "scope creep" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 I'm not lifting it now. Before I bought it a previous owner put about a 3" suspension lift (2.5"? 3.5"?) on it and a 1" body lift. With 33" tires it already higher than my wife wants (she said she'd be done 'wheeling with me if I put 35s on it!). So it's staying at the height it is. This project was mostly about improving the worst place I get hung up (getting rid of the dropped radius arm mounts. That requires cutting off, rotating and rewelding the Cs to fix the caster. If I was doing that I might as well also cut off the wedges and fix the pinion angle that's giving me front driveline vibration. If I'm doing all of that it might as well be on a high pinion axle. Oh, and now that the dropped radius arm mounts aren't hanging down below the transfer case I really needed to do something to raise and protect it. "Snowball", aka "scope creep" Man after my own heart! My theme song: Might As Well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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