Axle regearing. Doing it myself. What tools

atblis

New Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2006
Location
SW VA
I am regearing axles. Never done it. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. Don’t care about F’ing things up, as I want to learn how.

What tools do I need, and what's a good source for them (read as affordable)? I don’t have an unlimited budget, but will spend the money if it is necessary.

Working on Dana 44 and Dana 30.

Things that I think I’ll need and don’t have.

Dial indicator. Need one. What's a good source, and what
exactly is backlash?

Bearing pullers or clam shell type bearing separator. What size bearing separator do I need, 6”?

Inch pounds torque wrench. How low does it need to go?

Common tools I am not worried about. Things I already have
Calipers
2/3 jaw puller
Shop press (friend has one)
Slide hammer for bearing races.
Race/seal driver.

I'll have more questions,

Thanks,
Andrew
 
atblis said:
What tools do I need, and what's a good source for them (read as affordable)?
Click to expand...
Harbor Freight will have what you need at an affordable price. Not high quality tools for everyday use but good enough for occasional useage. You'll need a dial indicator and a magnetic base, a clamshell bearing seperator, a press, inch pound torque wrench and 250 pound torque wrench, calipers or micrometers to measure carrier bearing shims.
atblis said:
what exactly is backlash?
Click to expand...
Backlash is the measurment of movement between the pinion gear and the ring gear when one of them is held stationary and the other one is rotated.
atblis said:
Bearing pullers or clam shell type bearing separator. What size bearing separator do I need, 6”?
Inch pounds torque wrench. How low does it need to go?
Click to expand...
6" should work fine. You will need an inch pound torque wrench that will read as low as 2-4 inch pounds.
 
If this is something you want to learn to do and continue to do on a regular basis, I'd suggest going ahead and getting an extra set of Carrier Bearings. Hone out the inner race so that it slides on the carrier with out having to press them on. Save them and mark them as "Set-Up" Bearings. Use them when setting up the gears. When you are within your tolarances, then use the final/New bearings and press them on.

It'll save you time and frustrations of pulling bearings, and you won't need the bearing seperator.
 
All you need is a pipe wrench and a broom stick. Anything else is cheating.:flipoff2:
 
I have been a part of several gear set ups and the first one was without setup bearings, the rest have been with setup bearings. Making setup bearings will in the long run save you time.
 
When replacing bearings, use WD-40 on the shafts, bearings will go on much smoother. I used a DBH and a flat piece of aluminum to seat the carrier bearings. Afterwards check the gap with a .002 (or smaller) feeler gage to be sure bearings are seated.

If your pinion shaft uses a crush sleeve (D30 does) you will need a stout breaker bar or a stout impact. It takes some ass to break it loose, then a little more ass to crush it.

When crushing new sleeve crush it until it's close (app 1/32) of play. Crush new sleeve in very small increments after this. Your first couple of small increments may be a 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn. It may get smaller as you get close. Reason being for this if you over crush the sleeve, odds are you can't reuse it. Most kits come with 2 for this reason. If you do over crush sleeve, they are cheap (2-3$), but you'll most likely have to wait for the UPS guy to get one.
 
setup bearings

Any reason I can't make the setup bearings from the old bearings?

I've asked this before but didn't get a clear answer. I have a complete axle with the gears I want. Should I try the shims out of the axle from which the gears are being removed, or should I try the shims from the axle they are going into?
 
Use a Dremel or sandpaper wheel to remove just enough of the inside of your old bearings to use as setup bearings. I'd try the shims that come with the R&P that you will be using first.
 
Better

I picked up a neat trick from that book I bought.
Brake cylinder hone. It's like 15 bucks at just about any automotive store.

aec2.images_amazon.com_images_P_B0002SQUG8.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_V45551252_SS500_.jpg
 
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