lock right pinion shaft retaining pin hole to small

'89 xj
dana 35 non-c-clip rear end
pinion shaft uses roll pin for retaining, not bolt

the pinion shaft that came with my lock right has a retaining pin hole in it that is smaller than my stock one. i dont think the roll pin will fit in it.

the manual for the lock right says I should re-use my pinion shaft anyways. is this true?

my stock pinion shaft has notches cut in it (no they are not WORN, they are clearly cut into the shaft), while the lock right shaft does not. what is the relevance of that?

i bought my lock right kit used, so maybe the guy just threw his pinion shaft into the kit and i should ignore it?

The notches in your shaft are for oiling - they allow differential fluid to get in between the gear and the shaft and then be drawn in for lubrication.

... I would never lock a d35, it's asking for trouble, but you should probably just use your cross shaft.

PS - that's the cross shaft, and you should ALWAYS use a brand new roll pin when installing! Several of my friends have had dana 30 axle failures recently due to reused roll pins, the roll pin breaks lengthwise then falls out, then the cross shaft slides out and high-fives the pinion gear. It's not really conducive to long gear lifetime.

kastein said:

PS - that's the cross shaft, and you should ALWAYS use a brand new roll pin when installing! Several of my friends have had dana 30 axle failures recently due to reused roll pins, the roll pin breaks lengthwise then falls out, then the cross shaft slides out and high-fives the pinion gear. It's not really conducive to long gear lifetime.

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Well, I can't argue with that.

But I _can_ explain how I half-assed it!

I didnt pop the roll pin out completely, just enough to get the pinion shaft out. That way I didnt have to futz with getting a new one back in that hole.

I dont see what stresses would cause the used roll pin to break prematurely. It comes out, it goes back in. tada!

acannell said:

I dont see what stresses would cause the used roll pin to break prematurely. It comes out, it goes back in. tada!

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I don't either, but for the cost of a new roll pin, I wouldn't try my luck. Two of my friends have blown up two d30s each this way in the last few months, it gets expensive after a while.

I have run Lock Rights for about 15 years in both Dana 30, 35C, and 44s. I have reused rollpins and threaded pins. I have NEVER had issues with the cross shaft or those pins. My issues were the 30 and 35C. Way to weak for the 32s, 33s that I was running with 4.56 gears.
That said I would agree that you should just get a new roll pin. I was lucky but also know others that were not.
Stukboy