Spiders welded to Carrier..now what

[tgfeller]

Im doing a frame off resto, when I popped the cover my 1977 Dana 44 K20 w/4.11 has the spider gears welded to the carrier...crap, this is supposed to be a DD type rig. I live in the Pacific NW, lots of snow. I can't justify not rectifying this issue now. There are 4 welds, one broke off from the carrier, looks sketchy.

My options as I see them:
1. Run as is, quirky possibly unsafe operations
2. Take out carrier and try to remove the welds and replace with new spiders
3. Go to a yard and look for a new carrier.

My inclination is #3, will any Dana 44 work to pull the carrier out and replace in mine? I would rather replace the guts since I've already blasted and painted the axle, bolted on springs with new bolts.

[andrewmp6]

I would replace the carrier and spider gears just to be safe.They made two different carriers based on gear size,One is a 3.73 down the other is a 3.92 up.You can get a brand new carrier for 153 bucks and new spider gears for 110 from http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/

[special-K]

#3 I wouldn't street drive a welded diff and it's not worth the effort undoing that cobble job. The heat from welding has surely compromised the spider gears,anyway. From what I understand,a Dana44 differential is a Dana44 differential.from/rear/any brand. The differences between brands and years is in the axle housing and outer parts This may not be true with current offerings,such as in Jeep Rubicons

[andrewmp6]

Yeah the old school dana 44 from the 80s back is the same,Some newer stuff have odd dana 44s the hd one which is a bigger diff.

[obijuan]

youve got other problems as well. you have a broken thrust washer behind the spider gear.

i have a nice 4 series carrier if you need one pronto.

[tgfeller]

Thanks for the responses, I'll be looking at getting a used loaded carrier, I guess I will need to get a master kit after all!

[LONGHAIR]

Just so you know, that is not a simple "bolt-in" install. You need to do some measuring before you take the original apart. You need a dial indicator to measure the backlash of the gears. Write that down somewhere, because it has to go back "exactly" at that point or it will howl/whine/fail pretty quickly.
The side to side adjustment for Dana44s is done with shims under the side bearings of the carrier....which means you will have to press them on/off a few times. This is not exactly fun for the average guy, who may not be equipped to handle it.

[DWilbur]

My friend Russ welded up his rear axcell and it was a lot of fun wheeln. the bad part was making a U turn on the pavement. it wanted to push the truck in straight line.

[Bigdav160]

I put an e-locker in the front of my Suburban. The open case and differential gears are at the shop if you want them. You shouldn't have a problem reusing your old shims.

[LONGHAIR]

I wouldn't bet on re-using the old shims. They are there to make-up for machining tolerances that vary from any one carrier, housing, or the gears themselves. Since you would be replacing one of the "variable" parts, the shims could change was well.
It's a good place to start, but don't depend on it.
I have never had one that didn't have to be pressed back apart at least once.

[andrewmp6]

Won't he need a case spreader too?

[Mike C]

That is NOT how to weld a diff. The spiders should be welded to the side gears after degreasing and not just TACKED to the cast iron case.

You can do a 44 without the case spreader. It makes it easier to get more pre-load on the bearings, but he should be fine.

44's have many variances over the years including to different series as well as 10, 19, and 30 spline versions as well as some of the later "specials" like the Wrangler, the Nissan Titan and the Isuzu/Honda Rodeo/Passport.

Most likely the shims will be pretty close. As mentioned above, measure the backlash before you disassemble. Put the ring gear on the new carrier and re-assemble then measure backlash. If it's the same, great, you're done. If not it's going to get a little more difficult and you'll have to get some more shims and figure out a way to remove the side gears.

The tools are expensive, but worth it!

[LONGHAIR]

Case spreader is Dana60 and bigger only, no need with D44 or any of the GM corporate stuff.

[tgfeller]

I've sourced a carrier and thanks to your advise advice I haven't removed the old carrier until I check backlash. When my replacement comes I'm having a knowledgeable friend come over and help. A 'minor' detour in my rebuild

[ND_guy]

I know I am late to the party but I have a 4.10 d44 open carrier sitting in the garage. You can have it for the cost of shipping if the one you got doesn't work out.

Nd_guy