2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission How to Remove Dana 60 Front Axle Gears

[Dave M]

I'm getting ready to replace my leaky front axle seals tomorrow (Sat Aug 8) and am wondering the tecnique used to prior out the front axle gears. Just how are they removed? Do you pry on the carrier and not the ring gear? I've had the hubs off before but never pulled gears. What kind of pry bars are used and how are they re-installed? This has got me worried a little.



Thanks in advance for the replies.

Dave

 

[Denis]

Case spreading tool

Dana axles tubes have a shallow hole where they connect to the center piece. A special tool fits into these holes and through a threaded rod the case itself is opened about . 010 or . 020" and the gears come out.

These tools are rather expensive; around 250. 00 or 300. 00. I made one and have used it several times. If you are intersted I can e-mail a picture.

Denis

 

[Dave M]

Dana axles tubes have a shallow hole where they connect to the center piece. A special tool fits into these holes and through a threaded rod the case itself is opened about . 010 or . 020" and the gears come out.

These tools are rather expensive; around 250. 00 or 300. 00. I made one and have used it several times. If you are intersted I can e-mail a picture.

Denis

I have seen case spreaders used to remove the gears and I don't have one but I have heard of prying them out and that's what I'm trying to figure out how to do. Just how are they pryed out if a case spreader is not available? I'm going to put off this task for 2 weeks while I get more tools.

 

[TBartlett1]

The differential should come out very easy due to the mileage. A case spreader should not be needed.

The shims are trapped behind the carrier bearings so do not worry about dropping them.

These carriers are fairly heavy and slippery so I would recommend the following technique.

The first thing to obtain are 2 long 1/2-16 carriage bolts approx 10 inches long.

Remove the bottom cap bolts first and install the carriage bolts in place of the cap bolts.

The carriage bolts will act as a third hand to support the carrier as you roll it out and reinstall it later.

Now remove the top bolts and slide the caps back and let them hang.

Now you can pry the carrier out and roll it back without the chance of dropping it.

As the carrier comes out grasp the bearings and hold the races on the cones so the inner bearing is not damaged.

Now you can easily lift the carrier out and set it aside.

Remove the old seals then run a rag through the tube from the inside to outside to remove all the dirt that accumulates, do this until the tube is clean then install the new seals.

Installation of the carrier should be easy. Set it on the bolts roll it up and into the saddles and using a soft mallet plastic or brass carefully tap the carrier into the saddles squarely until seated while being careful to align the gear teeth as the carrier goes home.



Slide the caps up to the bearings and torque to spec.



Tim

 

[Dave M]

Thank you Tim. That's exactly what I needed to understand how to pry the carrier out. The 1/2 inch -16 threads per inch 10 inch long carrier bolts are a very good idea. That should make it easier to do. I have read that the removal is not that hard and just want to be prepaed ahead of time what to expect.



Thanks for the replys.

 

[TBartlett1]

One additional note; when you install the axles try to keep the end of the axle on the top of the tube which is cleaner than the bottom.

If you push the axle in with the end plowing along the bottom any rust or dirt that was not removed will be pushed ahead of the axle and into the differental & could damage the new seal or worse.

 

[Dave M]

Thanks again Tim for the tip. I'll try to get the axle tube clean and keep the axle up as I insert it.



Today I got a 4lb deadblow hammer, the two 1/2 x 10 inch long coarse thread carriage bolts and assorted pry bars . In 2 weeks I'll start this project after I have a chance to de-grease the area which is a mess from an stubborn oil leak. I hope the thread pitch of these bolts will fit. I got them at Home Depot and they were listed as coarse not 16 threads per inch. Is coarse equivalent to 16 threads per inch?



Thanks all for the replies. I'll post when I start and complete. I'm planning on Aug 22.



Dave

 

[TBartlett1]

Yes you got the right ones. Coarse is 16 tpi.

 

[Dave M]

Thanks again Tim. You were a great help for me. I'm a little intimidated pulling gears but now I have a better idea what to expect, thanks to your help.



I'll resurrect this thread again when I do the work, and try to show pics.



Dave

 

[24Vpirate]

Dana axles tubes have a shallow hole where they connect to the center piece. A special tool fits into these holes and through a threaded rod the case itself is opened about . 010 or . 020" and the gears come out.

if you did that and really got . 010-. 020 you would break the houesing hopefully you ment . 001-. 003 per dana spec

 

[Dave M]

I just got the ring and carrier out ( it practically fell out with a nudge of the pry bar) but I did not see any shims on the side bearings. Are they inside the case? I'm not sure what the shims look like. The 97 service manual indicates they are in the case I think. It's hard to tell from the drawing. Anybody know where these shims are? I want to make sure I didn't lose the shims if they were under the caps or race.



Edit: My 97 Dodge service manual for the Dana 60 (248 FBI) front axle says

"Differential side bearing preload and gear backlash is achieved by selective shims positioned behind the differential side bearing cones. "

So are the shims in the case or in the carrier behind the bearings? As a reminder I have the Dana 60 with the CAD housing if the matters.



Thanks,

Dave

 

[TBartlett1]

The shims are behind the bearing cone which is pressed on the carrier, no chance of loosing them. The bearing cone is the part with the rollers that is pressed on to the carrier. The race is the part of the bearing that is seated in the axle housing.



As a note 0. 015 is the the desired spread limit when installing the carrier in the housing. The carrier is installed with preload to keep the carrier stable within the differental case when high loads are applied. The gears need to be kept in precise alignment to have a long and quiet life.





Tim

 

[Dave M]

Thank you again, Tim. I thought that was where the shims were but wasn't positive. I did not need a case spreader to remove the ring/carrier. I plan on popping it back in without the case spreader and using a dead blow hammer.



Today I'll be putting it back together and will post pics I took of the procedure.



Now for a little non-technical rambling:



It took me a little longer because I'm training my 15 year old son so he can learn to do his own mechanic work. He just bought a car and got his permit so now he is interested. I have 8 kids and 7 boys and all of them (for now) except the youngest (11) get craftsman tools and tool boxes for gifts like birthdays and Xmas. All of them can pull engines and rebuild them so I'm proud of them all. Two (17 and 19) are in Army bootcamp right now... . God Bless America.



So to change the ring gear backlash the cones have to be pressed off and on. Sounds like a lot of work to change backlash. I checked my backlash before removing the ring gear and it was around . 007 in.



Thanks for the help,

Dave

 

[mstephenson]

I have a semi-related question. I'm changing out the hub bearing on the driver's side. The axle came out a little far (for my comfort) when pulling the rotor/hub assembly. Is this o. k. ? Is it supposed to slide? I'm worried I have to take the differential off and line up marks or something.



I aplogize for my ignorance. I don't really know the anatomy of gears and such and the service manual doesn't really help me understand the whole picture.



Michele

 

[budnate]

no problem if its still in the splines slide it back in but dont go past where it rides!! or you will push crap into the seals and whipe it out, you dont want to do axel seals, there a pita!, if it fell out and is lying in the tube pull it, clean it and grease a little where the seal rides, DONT drag it in the tube, if it hits anything going in pull it and clean the end off again, the grit will kill things. like the old operation game any bumps is bad going in.

 

[Dave M]

I have a semi-related question. I'm changing out the hub bearing on the driver's side. The axle came out a little far (for my comfort) when pulling the rotor/hub assembly. Is this o. k. ? Is it supposed to slide? I'm worried I have to take the differential off and line up marks or something.



I aplogize for my ignorance. I don't really know the anatomy of gears and such and the service manual doesn't really help me understand the whole picture.



Michele

As noted above by "budnate" if the axle didn't come out far enough to fall into the axle housing then you are probably ok. If it come out too far it would be harder to get back in since you need to align the splines properly to engage the spines in the differential.



Don't panic yet just wait and see if a leak occurs. If it does you will see it dripping of the axle and lower ball joint. It may be fine because the axle can come out pretty far before it falls into the housing or rips the seal lip.



This is exacly what happened to me and why I'm pulling the differential. The drivers side axle seal is in the differential and the passenger side axle seal is in the CAD housing. If you pulled the passenger side axle too far then you do not need to pull the differential to replace it. Unfortunately the drivers side seal requires removal of differential. Removal of differential requires removing both axles to get the differential out so you might as well count on doing both seals.



If you are done and have put it back together just wait and see if it leaks on drivers side. If it does leak, sometimes the rubber lip seal being old will take a few days or weeks to reform and your leak will go away. Also, after it leaks it takes awhile for all the axle fluid to make its way out of the axle housing so wait a few weeks. Also be sure to not overfill the differential. Keep the level 3/4 inch below the fill hole or it may cause a leak to occur due to being overfilled. Keep an eye on the axle fluid ifill level f it leaks.



I waited 6 months+ for mine to stop leaking but it did not. I had replaced my front rotors and the axles came out too far or sagged onto the seals when they dropped in the housing. I hope you don't have a leak.



Dave