dana 44 carrier shim location Q.

ok i've set up a couple of dana 44's and found it easier to install the bearings on the carrier and get everything set up with the shims between the race and housing until i get all the numbers set the way i like it. then once i like everything, i pull the bearings off and install the shims between the carrier and bearing like they originally were.

but i started wondering. why can't i just leave the shims between the race and carrier like many other axles??? if i remember right, the dana30 is set up with the shims on the outside. and so is the dana35 and the old amc20's in the CJ's.

i mean they are still the same parts, same thickness, same diameter, etc... the only difference is which side of the bearing they are on. so is there a valid reason why i can't just set up a D44 with the shims on the outside to make it easier???

I don't think it would matter that much, other than where it sat on the bearing cap. Even still, I wouldnt say that would make a huge difference. I don't know though, I'm not a pro.

Don't those "other" axles have a "master" shim or something like that. I would think it would be very difficult to get some of those real thin shims in there without messing them up.

It's allowable as long as you don't f' it up.

But it's really hard if you're talking a .001 or .002 shim that's going in there. We did my D44 that way the first time (well, tried) but once we were close to how it was supposed to be there was no way to put the shims in without wrecking them. So we pulled the bearing back off, ground them out, then bought new bearings and use the originals as setup bearings and shimmed it the normal way.

so the only real problem that you guys can think of would be getting the thin shims in.

but at the same time, with a nice shim assortment it must be doable. after all, you can't tell me that the axles that get shimmed on the outside are never off by .001 or .002 or anything like that. and they still get done. i'll have to look in my garage. i have a box somewhere that i use as a little "shim collection" box. lol

You could always just figure out your final stack number and make it with larger shims and put the smallest shims in the middle....make a shim sandwich.