D70HD Pinion Torque; This Sound Correct?

[Gunny65]

I was doing some reading and have two, actually three, conflicting torque requirements for the pinion nut. I believe it is because of the differences bewteen the D70s and D70HDs. Or, it could be mixing with the 14bolt requirements.

Several build threads on here and pirate say the "drive pinion nut" should be torqued at 260 Ft Lbs. Then I saw a manual that states 470 Ft Lbs. AND, just to add to it, I was told to torque it at 360 to 380 Ft Lbs.

Anyone know enough about the D70HD to help pinpoint the correct torque?

The service manual says 470 Ft Lbs for the drive pinion nut. I tend to go with this value but sometimes requirments change and I may have seen an old manual that has been outdated.

 

[90'K5]

This says not beyond 300lbs, Lots of good info here.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6060784&highlight=pinion+torque#post6060784

I have no way to measure that much torque, so I torqued mine down with a 3/4 breaker. Just the same as every axle I've built.

 

[Gunny65]

Yeah the manual listed in that thread is the Model 70 Maintenance Manual and says 260 Ft Lbs. I did previously read it but thanks for the link.

I just bought a dial torque wrench off ebay 100-600 Ft Lb. If it is in as good a shape as the pics show and narrative describe, it will be an awesome buy.

This is what I read yesterday: Dana Spicer Service Manual AXSM-0053, 70HD, 276, 80, 286, Version: April 2001
It says the torque for the HD pinion nut is: Drive Pinion Nut....470 Lbs Ft - 637.2 Nm

I assume the difference between the two is one is standard model 70 and the other is the 70HD? Anyone know for sure?

 

[Gunny65]

So, any of you mechanics out there have a definate on which torque is correct?

 

[thatK30guy]

Wow. I wasn't aware of the nut needing to be that tight. I only know about the rolling torque which is what you need an inch lbs. torque wrench for.

 

[4X4HIGH]

My info also says 260 ft/lbs.

 

[thatK30guy]

Does it say anything about rolling torque to check for once the nut has been tightened to the 260+- spec?

 

[4X4HIGH]

Does it say anything about rolling torque to check for once the nut has been tightened to the 260+- spec?

There is a spec for pinion bearing preload and it's 20-40 in/lbs for new bearings and 10-20 in/lbs for used bearings.

 

[howdiy]

I just impacted mine down

 

[Gunny65]

Well, both manuals look official. However, 470 ft lbs sounds way to high. 280 to 300 sounds closer to what I expected. I suppose I can torque it on the low side to start out and keep checking pinion rotation resistance until it is the new bearing range.

 

[90'K5]

Well, both manuals look official. However, 470 ft lbs sounds way to high. 280 to 300 sounds closer to what I expected. I suppose I can torque it on the low side to start out and keep checking pinion rotation resistance until it is the new bearing range.

The bearing pre-load is decided by shims, torquing on the low or high side will have no effect on it.

Also, I don't know how much experience you have setting up axles - But, if I could make a suggestion - use a non-locking nut to set everything up or grind the lock out of the old nut and replace with a new, never used locknut at final set-up.

 

[Gunny65]

Okay, thanks. I will use the old nut for setup. I have a master build kit which has a new pinion nut. I was reading the manual and read the preload incorrectly. thanks for the input. Lots of stuff going around in my head and not in any worthwhile order at the moment. LOL

This will be my first axle rebuild. Well, I tore a 14FF down but it was pretty easy to put back together since I reused original ring and pinion and carrier bearings and races. Basically, I took it apart, cleaned it, put everything back together using a manual and what I have learned on here and P4X4. I also made a lot of notes and took pictures as I tore it down. I figured it was good practice. I replaced hub bearings and seals, welded new perches (spring and shock), put a pinion guard and a heavy duty cover on it, along with disk brake mounts and rotors on it. I decided not to use the 14FF after I tore it down because I decided to go with the D70HD and D60 DRW set.

 

[90'K5]

Good luck with the swap, if you have any questions be sure to take pics and post up.

Are you planning to swap the 14b hubs on to the 70hd?

 

[Gunny65]

Man! I spent the whole day setting up the initial outer pinion shim set, inner shim set, and carrier shim set. I did a lot of double measuring and triple checking since this is my first complete attempt from scratch. New everything except case. I am using a master bearing kit along with brand new gears.

I opened up the ID of the original carrier bearings, the OD of the original inner pinion race, and the ID of the outter pinion bearing and am using those as a master install kit.

I measured pinion widths, and section lengths, carrier, etc to help get my initial shim settings as close as possible. I also used the Pirate D60 thread to help fill in blanks from the D70 Manual. Hopefully I got close. I will find out tomorrow. If I remember I will post the starting shim stacks and the final shim stack.

Tomorrow is adjust shim stack day. Feels good doing it myself though. I was so caught up in getting everything correct I didn't take any pics. That is the reason my original build thread came to a dead end. I just get too caught up in what I am doing and forget pictures.

90'K5: No, I am leaving them DRW axles and using H1's with either IROKS or Rockers. The more pics I see of the rockers on vehicles though the more I am not sure I like the width of the Rockers. Esspecially on H1s. The IROKS are a few inches thinner. I don't plan on any heavy rock crawling or mudding but want something that can do well in both. Probably stick with IROKs at the 39.5 size.

 

[90'K5]

The DRW 70hd is ~4" narrower than the DRW D60 front. If you switch to the SRW 14B hubs, the 70hd will match the 60 at ~77".