Changing Ring & Pinion, Need Advice

[CrewCabDiesel]

I am getting ready to change gear ratios from 4:10s to 3:54s, and I am going to do this myself #ad
. I just bought two new torque wrenches, inch pound and a 250 foot lb. Anyone have any advice or recommendations before I get into this ? This is one area of the truck that I have yet to tackle and have never set up a rear end before. I just bought 2 sets of gears/bearings/shims/seals etc. I intend to use synthetic gear lube, but should I start with regular lube for break in ? Also anything special I should know about the front axle ?
Thanks, Kyle

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1985 DODGE 1 ton Crew Cab(imported from California with no rust) W/8' box converted to 4X4 in 1999. Converted to a non-intercooled 1991 Cummins Turbo diesel & rebuilt 5 speed Getrag in 2001(wife can't drive a stick . Freshly rebuilt and Balanced Cummins, Rebuilt NP205, Rebuilt Injector pump and tweaked, Matched Injectors, 3" New Mandrel Bent Exhaust,no muffler, Borgeson Steering Shaft, K&N Air Filter, 4:10 gears, limited slip rear end, 16" Goodyear GSA Wranglers, 16K Reese 5th Wheel Hitch,and LE Package and a Sony CD Stereo. Next add-on some “Banks” toys ! If you want to know why I did all of this, 2 kids, one on the way and I can't stand F**d and Ch**y. Kyle Hoover ,Fruitport, MI.

 

[BigRig]

HI crewcab, I've done some work to a Dana 60 in an old '79 dodge rear diff. and I needed to have a differential housing spreader. Sounds weird, but it basically looks like a picture frame that has 2 big short pins mounted in the frame that fit in the 2 big, (I'm thinking 3/4 inch) holes that are in the housing, one on each side of the diff. cover. It then pivots in one corner and has a jack in the other corner that spreads the housing about . 005 to . 010, just enough to take the preload off the bearings once you pull the bearing caps off. I couldn't find anyone that had one , nore could I rent one either, so I made one, good thing I work in a machine shop. Without this thing you Might have a real hard time trying to get the carrier out. good luck , Scott

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Scott Voigt 31D 29975

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

Does anyone know where I can get a Axle Spreader. I have been looking for a while with no luck.

 

[BV]

According to Randy's Ring & Pinion site he recommends a break in oil and easy use for the first 500 miles.
http://www.ring-pinion.com/

 

[paccool]

Easy use for the first 500 miles? I think I may be in trouble! #ad


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Stan
93 2WD extended cab, Banks Power Pack, K&N air filter, PW Injectors,rebuilt and tweaked pump, auto w/3. 54 rear with limited slip, US Gear Exhaust Brake, 3-1/2" Exhaust, 5K air bags, Boost/Pyro/Tach Gauges, Green/Silver, new 40-20-40 bucket seats, 151K

 

[paccool]

The question about gear lube is very much like the one I asked. Didn't get much of a response. I'll change out after a few thousand miles to synthetic.

I decided to have my gear changout done by a shop. I didn't have a spreader and had not done a rear end before. The cost for new gears, carrier and pinion bearings, new clutch pack in the limited slip, a sleeve on the pinion area, and labor was $869. Took the truck in at 8:30 and picked up at 4:40. Was alot easier than doing myself!



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Stan
93 2WD extended cab, Banks Power Pack, K&N air filter, PW Injectors,rebuilt and tweaked pump, auto w/3. 54 rear with limited slip, US Gear Exhaust Brake, 3-1/2" Exhaust, 5K air bags, Boost/Pyro/Tach Gauges, Green/Silver, new 40-20-40 bucket seats, 151K

 

[fastmark]

Crewcab, I have done a lot of macnic work (as you have). I felt confident in my crew cab conversion and have been blueprinting motors and restoring cars for a long time. Setting up ring and pinions is not a job for a person without the proper tools. A case spreader is nice but you can get by without one. You must have these things: a pinion depth kit, a dial indicator and mag base, a shop press, bearing pullers and a service manual. If this is something you want to do more often, then spend the $800 or so on these tools. If not, let someone else do the job. I waited until I had a real need to do alot of rearends before I bought all of this stuff. I am racing a 440 with an 8 3/4. Gears should last around 150 passes at the most.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

You won't need a case spreader. You will need the Dodge factory service manual and you can find some useful tips [I hope] in my Tech Topics article in TDR #24.

 

[pcorssmit]

No case spreader needed.

60's are kind of a pain, since the shims are under the pressed on bearings, you have to press the bearings on and off each time you change the shims during setup. I was lucky when I put the Detroit in the front 60 in my Blazer and got the shims right on the first try, however all I had to set was the backlash and not the pinion depth.

Pete

 

[Crash_AF]

A friend told me a really good way to get those shims done on any Dana axle. Take your old bearings to a machine shop and have a few thousanths milled out of the inner race so that they are a slip fit on the carrier. Then you can change your shims out without risking your new bearings.

Joe

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Joe Hinson, 93 D-350
Stock - For now