Tools needed to install gears in a advantec axle. Things have changed in the dana 44 m220 m210

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

Tewltalk Tuesday
Its cheaper to buy the tools than to pay someone to do a gear install. Would you do it?

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[Tommydogg]

What branch are you in, brother?

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

Air force

 

[Tommydogg]

Thank you for your service, I'm retired Navy. My little brother is Air Force, he just transfered to Guam. I hope to go there some time, I did time in Pearl.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

In many cases I will buy the tools and do it myself.

Gears?

Negative.

This is a situation where, imo, 100% skill is necessary. 90% skill and meh it's tight enough does not cut it. The difference in price between paying for true skill and paying for tools and a weekend of work is simply not worth it if you are a first timer. Especially if it is your DD or you go places that are remote. The potential damage could cost FAR more than you saved.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In many cases I will buy the tools and do it myself.

Gears?

Negative.

This is a situation where, imo, 100% skill is necessary. 90% skill and meh it's tight enough does not cut it. The difference in price between paying for true skill and paying for tools and a weekend of work is simply not worth it if you are a first timer. Especially if it is your DD or you go places that are remote. The potential damage could cost FAR more than you saved.

A friend of mine had his 66 convertible that he shoe-horned a 360 into at the Kenosha reunion about 6 years ago. He blew out the pinion bearings and some other stuff up there. He had a friend who supposedly knew his stuff rebuild the differential. A few miles out of Kenosha, it blew out the pinion bearings. He got another rear end swapped in and brought the one that had been fixed but blew out again to me. He was really lucky - there wasn't a scratch or mark or chip on the ring or pinion gears. Bearings were toast. It was a limited slip differential............
I pulled it all apart and was shocked at what I found. The supposed rear-end guy had the limited slip all screwed up - plates and disks out of correct order, some of the plates were BLUE, others really scored and galled badly, the wave disks were in the wrong spots, it was all messed up. I found other things that made me wonder how many of those differentials that guy in Kenosha had actually ever done. I ended up putting a full kit in it, all new plates and disks in the limited slip, all new bearings and, new crush sleeve, seals, basically I replaced everything but the ring gear, pinion, spider gears and the carrier housing itself. I even replaced the axle bearings.
That was a while back. My friend has been running that differential back under his car since, no issues (and I know that 360 isn't stock). He was lucky that thing didn't do a full lock-up.
I just see so much scary stuff.
I'll do differentials, but only the older ones I'm familiar with. And I don't ask for them or advertise.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

A friend of mine had his 66 convertible that he shoe-horned a 360 into at the Kenosha reunion about 6 years ago. He blew out the pinion bearings and some other stuff up there. He had a friend who supposedly knew his stuff rebuild the differential. A few miles out of Kenosha, it blew out the pinion bearings. He got another rear end swapped in and brought the one that had been fixed but blew out again to me. He was really lucky - there wasn't a scratch or mark or chip on the ring or pinion gears. Bearings were toast. It was a limited slip differential............
I pulled it all apart and was shocked at what I found. The supposed rear-end guy had the limited slip all screwed up - plates and disks out of correct order, some of the plates were BLUE, others really scored and galled badly, the wave disks were in the wrong spots, it was all messed up. I found other things that made me wonder how many of those differentials that guy in Kenosha had actually ever done. I ended up putting a full kit in it, all new plates and disks in the limited slip, all new bearings and, new crush sleeve, seals, basically I replaced everything but the ring gear, pinion, spider gears and the carrier housing itself. I even replaced the axle bearings.
That was a while back. My friend has been running that differential back under his car since, no issues (and I know that 360 isn't stock). He was lucky that thing didn't do a full lock-up.
I just see so much scary stuff.
I'll do differentials, but only the older ones I'm familiar with. And I don't ask for them or advertise.

This is why you pick a reputable shop. If a casual mechanic can do better he chose poorly.

 

[Tommydogg]

If you ever get a chance and gave time take some automotive courses at a comunity college. You can have relaxing fun and learn to set up gears and many other fun things while building confidence. If your lucky enough to be in the military, spend tim at the auto hobby shop!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you ever get a chance and gave time take some automotive courses at a comunity college. You can have relaxing fun and learn to set up gears and many other fun things while building confidence. If your lucky enough to be in the military, spend tim at the auto hobby shop!

That's my degree. One whole section was differentials, transmissions. And I've done them for decades since - it's just not one of my "druthers". Never had a failure, never had one with any whine or bad sounds, no "come-backs".

This is why you pick a reputable shop. If a casual mechanic can do better he chose poorly.

The guy was supposed to be good at differentials. Not a casual mechanic, but a guy with a shop.

But it's like so many other things - "reputable shops" can be just as bad. One example is the one other guy in the country that does Prestolite wiper motors - oh, he's reputable......... just because people aren't smart enough to know better. I've seen his work, in fact, I've fixed two of those he has done.
And there's a reputable well thought of 4x4 shop in our area - but I've seen their work, too........... rough edges on things they cut to fit, won't pass my inspection so it's a shop I'd not go to for differential work. And the extremely well praised performance exhaust shop in the area - after having two jobs done by them.......... well.......... I don't know if it's the employee or that people simply don't know better and because things don't fall off, they do great work.
Too few people would know the difference these days so a reputable shop may only mean no one knows better and they are the best in the area - which in itself can be scary.
Reputable shop means nothing to me because no one knows enough to know the difference. It didn't fall apart? They are a great shop, then! There's a difference between right, and getting by.

 

[Brfertig [HACKED ACCOUNT]]

This is my 5th or so axle. You have to be really bad to mess an install up. Even worse if you go into it with no one helping you. I am sharing what I learned. I'm several hundred miles into my 488s. I'm going to check them at 500 miles and change the fluid. I did arb air lockers and bigger axles too. It will be good to share my findings since I am the first to do this in a Gladiator.

 

[Scratch]

I consider myself a pretty competent shade tree mechanic. I was one of the first to put an XJ Aw4 into a TJ. The mechanical part wasn't hard it just bolted up. Figuring out the wiring took a bunch of patience, thoroughness and hours looking at schematics.
I consider gears the same way and I have bought the tools. The mechanical part of is not difficult at all. Everything just bolts up. Being very well organized, thorough, and having the patience to do it over and over, 10 times or until it is perfect is what it takes to do gears. Don't forget extra crush sleeves. The first few times it will take you a few crush sleeves to get your preload set right. It is not hard as Brandon stated and hard to screw up if you take your time.
That being said, I will pay someone to do the gears on the JT. Sometimes the process goes real easy and sometimes not so easy. Without a lift it is a lot of time crawling back and forth and up and down on the concrete. My bones hurt just thinking about it.

Thanks for the video.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I consider myself a pretty competent shade tree mechanic. I was one of the first to put an XJ Aw4 into a TJ. The mechanical part wasn't hard it just bolted up. Figuring out the wiring took a bunch of patience, thoroughness and hours looking at schematics.
I consider gears the same way and I have bought the tools. The mechanical part of is not difficult at all. Everything just bolts up. Being very well organized, thorough, and having the patience to do it over and over, 10 times or until it is perfect is what it takes to do gears. Don't forget extra crush sleeves. The first few times it will take you a few crush sleeves to get your preload set right. It is not hard as Brandon stated and hard to screw up if you take your time.
That being said, I will pay someone to do the gears on the JT. Sometimes the process goes real easy and sometimes not so easy. Without a lift it is a lot of time crawling back and forth and up and down on the concrete. My bones hurt just thinking about it.

Thanks for the video.

That's one area I REALLY take my time - the pinion preload, because for my cars, you can't find crush sleeves. Good luck finding them for an AMC 20 or 15 (AMC eventually sold their differential business to Dana, I believe)
If I find them, I buy them, but so far, I've been ok and used only one per diff. The 20s are harder to find them for because of so many folks re-gearing their AMXs and Javelins. (2.87:1 sucks for racing LOL)
It takes some muscle to get those sleeves started crushing but watch out as once they do - they go a lot easier and many folks keep on cranking. I'd rather check 10 times and use one sleeve than rush it and crap, no extra sleeves on hand.

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