Rear Dana 44 axle tube to housing seals????

[hakukamana]

I got a friends 89' 2WD Eliminator, it appears it was ordered with a Dana 44 for a towing pkg. Has 3.54 gears and a AW4 auto, also has Trac Loc carrier. The question is as I started the tear down, no crush sleeve on the pinion???, No preload shims on the carrier bearing caps, but the real head scratcher is what appears to be RTV between the axle tube and the housing. Right behind the carrier bearings, there is a gap which had orange colored what appeared to be RTV. Is that the reminents of a seal or is it really RTV? The funny thing is, it had what appeared to be a radius on the top of the material, thats why I thought it might be a seal. No indicator of a seal in the parts or FSM, any ideas????? We have no idea if anyone has ever been in here before. I am tearing it down due to howling, and growling.

[carnuck]

I got a friends 89' 2WD Eliminator, it appears it was ordered with a Dana 44 for a towing pkg. Has 3.54 gears and a AW4 auto, also has Trac Loc carrier. The question is as I started the tear down, no crush sleeve on the pinion???, No preload shims on the carrier bearing caps, but the real head scratcher is what appears to be RTV between the axle tube and the housing. Right behind the carrier bearings, there is a gap which had orange colored what appeared to be RTV. Is that the reminents of a seal or is it really RTV? The funny thing is, it had what appeared to be a radius on the top of the material, thats why I thought it might be a seal. No indicator of a seal in the parts or FSM, any ideas????? We have no idea if anyone has ever been in here before. I am tearing it down due to howling, and growling.

It may have been assembled by someone who didn't know what they were doing. See if the BOL number is stamped on the passenger's side axle tube


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HOrnbrod]

The MJ 44's don't have a pinion crush sleeve; they use shims. And if it's howling and growling, it probably needs rebuilding. The stamped number on the axle is the BOM (Bill of Materials) number, not BOL. If you can find the BOM number or the factory p/n (also stamped) you can use the below site to tell you how it was equipped originally. 

 

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/identify_a_dana_axle.shtml

[carnuck]

The MJ 44's don't have a pinion crush sleeve; they use shims. And if it's howling and growling, it probably needs rebuilding. The stamped number on the axle is the BOM (Bill of Materials) number, not BOL. If you can find the BOM number or the factory p/n (also stamped) you can use the below site to tell you how it was equipped originally. 
 
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/identify_a_dana_axle.shtml

Fat fingers! The iPhone keyboard is getting to be too small and twitchy for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MeanLemons]

That's the RTV that the factory applies to the axle tubes before they get pressed into the housing.  

[hakukamana]

Thanks guys, Mean Lemons thats what I have finally come to realize. I did have the BOM, from the original diff tag, I also have the parts drawings and the parts breakdowns. The ???? is the FSM MR277 indicates for both the standard duty & the HD rear axle a crush sleeve on the pinion. I spoke to Spicer technical support & based on the BOM, Hornbrod you are correct, there is not a crush sleeve, is utilizes shims. So even with FSM's and technical drawings, there are still little quirks to the assembly of certain components on these units. Thanks for the help, we are doing a complete rebuild of the carrier including the Trac Lok clutch packs, axle assemblies, R&P, I will reseal the axle tubes using RTV. Tubes were full of rust & scale, and they were a nightmare to clean. Brakeclean & a big nylon bottle brush on a long stick, along with rags to wipe out the tubes after the stuff broke loose. Talk about no maintanence.