D44 bearing Q`s?

thought I`d drop this:

found out my rear driver side seal is bad on my MJ- then I discovered I had the dana44...of coarse, Ive been saveing dana35 parts for "repairs" for 6 years now...wasted time. :rattle:
Anyway, thought I`d stop by the local mechanic for a quicky price quote on seal/bearing replacement on my 44. Shaft pull x2, bearing x2 ,seal x 2....

$280.00

insert laughter here....I did. :laugh3:

Since Ive decided to do it myself this time (jeep only charged $70 a side last time-circa 1991 on a 35c)- Ive priced bearings and seals- I found I only need one seal per side? no inner seal to deal with?
And no one yet knows what a bearing collar is....guess i`ll have to pull(cut) one and show it to the partsboy.

quicky question- once all these parts are correctly aligned, does the bearing bottom out on *something* at the shaft end, or do I need a measurement from brake backplate to bearing face?
and whats a good pipe size for hammering down the parts-- ie: diameter of dana44 shaft/ metal pipe to go over it.

i bet PVC wont work...been saveing that too. way to much junk here....

opinions appreciated.
Ed->

The outer wheel bearings are sold as a set 10 with seals. they have to be pulled off then pressed back on with the retainer. there is a stop on the shaft and when you slide the hole assembly back in ther is a stop in the axle also (no measureing needed) If you know sone one with a press it'll be quick but if you don't it should be .5 to 1 hour of labor to pull and press.
Did it last week real easy with right tools.

Most good parts houses and machine shops will press on another set of bearings for about $20 around here. It takes all of 10 minutes if you have the press. I don't recommend hammering them on. It can cause the retention ring to stretch and then not hold the bearing on firmly.

sure enough, I did see several references to timkins "set 10" for the d44- only problem is, all i got close is a NAPA, and its not listed. They have the bearings/cups/seals under the napa brand name-but dont list the collar....have to dig into that. Shouldnt be that hard a part to find, if its not included. I wish they carried the complete rebuild set per axle-it`d be easier.

machine shops and parts houses are rare around here- thats why i was thinking a pipe-maybe heat the assembly a bit, and pop the axle in the river for an hour...i dont think it`ll fit into the freezer....but I havent tried either.

If I understand you correctly you're asking about the locking collar that holds the bearing in place. That usually comes with the bearings. (The Timken SET10 set has the collar). You might want to go back to NAPA and ask to see a bearing and check the box for the collar.

As far as heating up the shafts to get the bearings off, I'm no expert, but that sounds like a bad idea. I don't know how hardened steel reacts to heat. It's far easier to find a shop to press them off and on. The place I used to get bearings pressed off and on charged me about $35 (just for the labor).

Actually now that I think about it, you could ask the Napa store near you if they
press bearings or know someone who will. I found a Napa near where I worked this summer that could press bearings on and off.

~Brian

The correct way to get the old bearings and retainer ring off of the shaft is to cut them off with a cutting wheel of some type.

After which you press the new bearings on, with the new retainer ring. The Timken SET10 bearings does include the retainer ring with the bearing.

Have a shop cut the old ones off, and press on the new ones.

Edit- This will help. http://www.stu-offroad.com/d44/d44-1.htm

ya- gonna have a chat with napa today- see if they got the necessary info and parts handy before i go removeing stuff. I wish I had bought that arborpress awhile back...hindsight.

came across another thing- hope someone can figure it out.
the BOM on the D44 cover reads common-605325.8 -The tag says 307, but if its a 307, it should be a "12", not an "8"....I emailed DANAcorp, but i doubt they`ll answer me anytime soon....I found references to 12 being the 307, and 10 being the 354, surely I`m not higher than that.....
anyone got a dana BOM chart? maybe 410 hideing inside?