Ring /pinion Lash

[dave]

ok so i replaced the pinion yoke last weekend because it was leaking a little bit.. when i retorqued the yoke.. i notice there is quite a bit of lash in my dana 44 4.56 R&P .. does anyone know what a normal amount of last is pinion yoke turn wise? I have an LT1 / 4L60 combo in and i'm not horrible on the throttle.. think the d44 with alloy shafts and an ARB will hold it? is this much lash normal? is thier a stronger R&P set that someone makes? right now they are spicer gears and were set up professionally. TIA

[Matt]

To make any kind of meaningfull measurement you have to pull the cover and check it like you were installing the gears...

Fix the yoke to something - or just hold it firmly; set your dial indicator on a ring gear tooth so you are measuring the amount of distance the ring gear moves back and forth when you rock it...

Zero the indicator in the middle of its travel and then holding the yoke still rock the ring gear back and forth you should come up with a number of thousands - usually 6-9 thou is OK but refer to the specs for the specific axle (I don't know the D44 specs off my head) you have...

It can be a little tricky to get a clean reading when there is lots of gear oil on the R&P so you may want to wash it down with brake clean to get a nice crisp reading...

Of course if it is too loose can you deal with it by swapping shims around or do you just need to know so you can take it in to be adjusted - Good luck :D

Matt

edit - It may not have been a faulty install just opened up a little over time if something was not seated as firmly as it could have been - also when you replaced the pinion yoke did you do anything about the pinion bearing preload (measure turning resistance/ feel and match to feel with shims or just pop in the new yoke?) - your new yoke may have made the preload setting a little less accounting for some of the slop you feel - just a thought...

[dave]

the slop was there prior to changing the yoke.. i had a mechanic friend of mine with me and he was the one worrying about bearing preload.. when it comes to setting up gears i am a retard. i wont even pretend.. i'd just like to know if i am in any danger.. the rear doesnt make any noise, i just dont want to be on the trail and kill the r&p if i have to get heavy on the throttle.

[Matt]

If it were mine - especially with that powertrain combo I would pop the cover and check it to make double sure everything was kosher - plus you need you change your diff oil (come on I know you need to :D )

Matt

[dave]

i planned on popping both covers and checking the R & P combos for damage/wear before a run i am taking on sunday at paragon... so i will be chaging the diffs . i need to remind myself to run normal gear oil instead of synthetic cause she'll probably get a little wet ;D thanks for the help matt.