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D44 Pinion Loose

L

LouisianaZJ

NAXJA Member #1362
Location
Louisiana
my D44 pinion is a little loose (2-4mm play up and down the pinion shaft) an it whines when I let off the gas. There is no whine when I accelerate, just when coasting/stopping. Should I tighten up the pinion nut so the yoke does not have the play anymore, or will i be causing more problems??

I plan on a full re-build of the axles f/r with all new seals/gears/lockers and shafts... but was saving up so I could do everything f/r at once (~$1.5k)
 
A Dana 44 rear end does not use a crush sleeve, it uses shims. You can tighten that nut as tight as you want without worrying about too much pre load. (if it was installed correctly in the first place)

If it's working loose, you may want to use some loc-tite or peen the threads so the nut can't back off.

HTH, Dan
LouisianaZJ said:
my D44 pinion is a little loose (2-4mm play up and down the pinion shaft) an it whines when I let off the gas. There is no whine when I accelerate, just when coasting/stopping. Should I tighten up the pinion nut so the yoke does not have the play anymore, or will i be causing more problems??

I plan on a full re-build of the axles f/r with all new seals/gears/lockers and shafts... but was saving up so I could do everything f/r at once (~$1.5k)
Click to expand...
 
most likely, the pinion bearings are shot, hence the whining of the gears when you decell.
Tightening the nut probably wont accomplish anything but you can try.

factory torque is 210 ftlbs ... the D44 uses shims for pinion bearing pre-load, so there is no crush sleeve to help tighten up the play.

Sounds like new bearing time to me.
 
I've seen some axles where the pinion came loose and the cause was that the bearing spun against the pinion depth shim grinding it smaller than it should be, causing it to lose preload. I would at least buy a overhaul kit with shims to fix it.
 
I think waht I am going to do is mark where the pinion nut is now, tighten it and if that does not solve it I am going to pop open the diff and re-shim it till the pinion nut is where I marked it.

Does the inner pinion bearing have to be pressed on or is this something I can do myself?
 
First try tighting the pinion nut.

If this doesn't work you are going to have to remove 1 (.005) preload shim on the back of the pinion and try again. This will require pulling the axles, carrier, and partially removing the pinion to get the bearing off the back of the pinion. The pre-loads are under that bearing.

Basically this will buy you some time, but is most like this is a sign of things to come.
 
LouisianaZJ said:
I think waht I am going to do is mark where the pinion nut is now, tighten it and if that does not solve it I am going to pop open the diff and re-shim it till the pinion nut is where I marked it.
Click to expand...
Wrong,just torque it to spec,if you still haver a problem after that you will probably need to replace the bearings!
 
BrokenXJ said:
First try tighting the pinion nut.

If this doesn't work you are going to have to remove 1 (.005) preload shim on the back of the pinion and try again. This will require pulling the axles, carrier, and partially removing the pinion to get the bearing off the back of the pinion. The pre-loads are under that bearing.
Click to expand...
That is incorrect,the pre-load shims(Item #6) are just under the front bearing!
40582625.gif
 
Last edited:
The depth shims are under the front race. The pre-load shims are installed on the back of the pinion, and are under the back pinion bearing.

You can have compression in the bearings (partial failure) which will cause the play. Removing pre-load will buy you some time.
 
you guys are confusing eachother. no more front back talk because it doesn't sound right.

the pinion depth shims are under the inner pinion bearing cup.(the bearing cup is the outer race that "cups" the inner bearing cone) As in between the inner bearing and the housing.
the pre-load shims are positioned on the pinion shaft between the two pinion bearing cones. the pre-load shims are used as a stop when tightening up the pinion nut. removing shims add preload by alowing the bearings to be pulled tighter together. adding shims loosens preload.
sounds like your outer pinion bearing is shot. and if its bad enough then debris could have also caused damage to the inner pinion bearing.
 
I bought the rig used with the SYe and D44 swap already installed. So i was not 100% sure with what I was dealing with originally.

I took the shaft off and got a better look at the pinion area. The yoke looked relatively new and there was a brand new pinion nut on there as in less than 6-12 months old and the seal looked in good condition as well... ..so I am taking a guess the pinon nut must have just backed off a tad... So I just went a head and tightened up the nut till there was no more play plus mabey 20ft lbs after that.

took her for a test drive, no more noises at all and it does not clunk into D or R like it used too...

btw, I think I forgot to mention this, but I did have the diff covers off aprox 3 weeks ago and the gears did look in good condition with no weird scoring or wear marks and there were no chunks in the fluid or anything like that.
 
it started leaking from the pinion today :( but no vibes or groaning) so I guess I am going to go ahead and replace the outer bearing and seal for now. should I buy a new race too or will I need just the bearing and seal. Correct me if I am wrong, but once I remove the pinion nut, the seal just slides off, then I can pry the old bearing off.. slide the new bearing on, slide on seal, and install nut to 200 ftlbs? and I should not need to crack open the case at all.
 
its gonna be a real bitch to get the outer pinion bearing out without tearing the whole rearend appart. jsut try a new seal for now. I don't think that you want to open the case and do a full tear down.
 
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