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Gonna lock the dana 44 and need help

carpeonnel

carpeonnel

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jul 12, 2005
Posts
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Location
Sylvester, Georgia
Just got screwed on buying a mid 70s 3/4 ton Dana 44. Thought i was getting a hell of a deal but evidently not now. Checked it out, gears seemed fine, everything seemed tight until I got it home and realized that the drivers side axle splines and/or spider gear is f**ked. Called the guy back up and told him the problem (AFTER he promised me b4 I went up there the axle was in perfect working condition) and basically the panty stain won't help me out and I'm screwed:mad: . SO, can somebody tell me how to remove the axle, and the spider gear that's possibly stripped. Don't know that much about tearing down a front axle and I gotta get this thing back in good working condition
 
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My guess is it's prolly just a broken axle. Get you a Haynes manual and go to it. You will prolly need a decent magnent on a string to get the lil piece of shaft out of the axle tube. Kinda shove it in there with a broom or something. Careful not to shove a pile of dirt inside the carrier housing. Vaccuum it out first. Also carful of the seals that are on each side of the carrier. Just be nice and you’ll get it. Only special tool you need is the hub socket. $15 - $20 at the store. Well, a torque wrench would be nice but not a nesessity. What did you pay for it?- If I may be so bold.
 
Man that really blows. There are some real money grabbin' idiots out there these days.

A haynes manual would be best to have. They have pretty pictures and stuff like that. It helps sometimes. And I use the one I got for alot of crap. They're pretty handy.
 
Well, you can hold on to the axle joint behind the rotor and spin the pinion and it'll make this really bad clicking/grinding noise and the axle won't rotate. I don't know that much but let put it this way; You can hold both axle joints and turn the pinion and it'll make that awful clicking sound. Seems to me that it shouldn't be turning at all if you've got both axles immobilized. You can hold the spider gear associated with that axle and the axle will turn without the spider gear turning
 
Well, that would consitute a problem. Carry on now and good luck. Hopefully it is something cheap and easy to fix.
 
Well, my friend's about to come over and help me tear it down but it doesn't seems like it's cheap and easy, but you never know. Lesson learned: some people will try to screw you with anything
 
I've got a friend with an 8 lug 10 bolt fer sale reasonable if'n ya don't git that one straightened out..........:wink1:
 
best case scenario is that the axle shaft is broken. they neck down right behind the splines and thats were they break. If will break fairly clean but will definitely make some noise if you are spinning the pinion and holdingthe axle still. you will know as soon as you pull that side of the axle apart. its a common break and lots of people have spares. I may even have one that I could send you.

in the mean time, relax. a 44 with 4.10 gears is a fair deal if its 8 lug even if the shaft is toast. if it has a passenger side flat top knuckle, which it should, then you got a great deal.
 
dontoe said:
I've got a friend with an 8 lug 10 bolt fer sale reasonable if'n ya don't git that one straightened out..........:wink1:
Click to expand...

Please keep the parts offers to PM's, were trying to cut down on the open trading in Le Garage. Thanks brother, I know you have the best intentions. ;)
 
Well, I couldn't tear it down today, but hopefully this weekend I can. Yeah it's got a flat top knuckle on the pass side. I don't think it's a broke axle though cuz you can spin it and sometimes it'll catch and spin for a minute then start clicking and clacking.
 
You got the cover off? You should be able to see what is making those sounds. Hell even a pic or too for those of us that want to help ya.
 
I didn't see much metal debri in the oil or in the bottom of the diff but that doesn't mean much cuz I think the oil had been recently changed when I popped the plate. It looked very clean. With the plate off you can turn the ring gear by hand and everything turns except the affected spider gear and axle. Hold the opposite axle joint and try to force the power to the affected side and the spider gear of that side will turn but not the axle (the foreign/alarming sound is heard at this time :)
 
Also of note is what I mentioned earlier, that sometimes it appears to catch and the axle will turn for a little and then goes back to chattering and not moving
 
It's not the lockouts cuz you can see the axle joint not moving in the knuckle when it's chattering and moving when it stops chattering. I do appreciate all the help and I guess when I tear it down Sunday when I get off work I'll find out. Hopefully it's just the axle and nothing else. Thanks for the info. I'll post back when I figure it out
 
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