Dana 44 worth keeping?

[littlee_domn8r]

Hey Guys & Gals,

I have a rearend problem for the second time in 8 years. I am running the stock Dana 44 which I put new ring & pinion in about 7 or 8 years ago. been hearing a strange clunking noise & found that the pinion has alot of play & the fluid is full of shavings, so it is pretty much shelled again. Not sure if the guy I had put it together did something wrong or not. What I'm wondering is should I spend the $1000 or so to have a pro rebuild it, or should I consider swapping out for another axle? I am running a mild 350 (280 horse) with a turbo 350 tranny. Is that too much power for the Dana? Any help I could get would be greatly appreciated!

[ANoodle]

Keep the 44 rear end and have it rebuild. If not put the axle up for sale as a lot of guys use that rear end for Rock Crawling.

[markeb01]

My 1960 GMC still has the original Dana 44 although it has had 3 different gear sets in 50 years. The original owner optioned the 3.90 gear set and it was in perfect condition 30+ years later when I had a used 3.08 and carrier swapped in (behind a 350/350). That setup was in perfect condition 15+ years later when I swapped in a Richmond 4 speed, and had brand new Dana 4.09 gears installed.

These rear ends are very popular with the 4x4 crowd and dependably strong. I don't know how true it is, but read once on a web thread comparing their strength to other popular rear ends, and they ranked it slightly above a 12 bolt and about equal with a 9" Ford.

It’s important the installation be set up accurately, but it also makes a difference which gear set is used. I used to have a link to a website comparing all the brands of gears, but my hard drive crashed last week so I lost the link. From what I remember nothing is a better fit nor quieter than OEM (which is why I bought new Dana gears). Richmond was the hardest to set up, noisy, and ran hotter than other brands. Of the rest, some were easier or harder to set up, and I think it was either Superior or Yukon were mostly repackaged various brands. The gears in the box could be their brand name or any other brand.

I certainly won’t be replacing mine with anything else.

[Brad54]

I had an original Dana 44 under my '62 Suburban, and it croaked... stripped the splines off one of the axles, and spun the carrier bearing.
It turns out the problem was the housing itself: Pull your housing out and look VERY carefully at the plug welds holding the axle tube into the center section. All of mine were cracked, and there was 1/16-inch of play where the tube met the housing, and 3/8-inch play at the axle flange. All that play came to bear at the end of the axle shaft, inside the differential's spider gears, and the lever-ing load from the play caused the carrier to spin the bearing in the housing.
The housing was junk, and couldn't be repaired.

I have a good friend in Michigan who has built rear ends for almost 40 years, and he said it's a common problem for older rear ends with cast centers and pressed-in tubes.

I couldn't find another Dana 44, so he built one. Naturally, I found another housing right after!

Check the plug welds and look to see if they're cracked.

-Brad

[littlee_domn8r]

Thanks guys! I've been reading a little since I posted & common opinion is that they are better than most out there. I will be real interested to see if the plug welds are good. I have a friend who is a very experienced welder so I know he's got a good eye for that. Where can I buy the original Dana gears?

I used Motive gears in it the last time which I purchased through Northern Auto Parts.

[Brad54]

Original Dana gears are still available from Dana, Jeep, Chrysler, Ford, etc.
The Dana44 is the oldest rear end design in the country--it was used in '50s Studes, Checker cabs, Ford trucks use them as front diffs in 4x4, they're still used in some Fords, Jeeps, and the center section of the Viper and last generation of Corvettes used a version of it.
I have genuine Dana gears in mine (3.42); I prefer OE gears because they put the R&D dollars into them to make sure they're quiet. Aftermarket gears will often have a whine to them at certain RPM. OE customers won't put up with that.
I got a limited slip carrier off Ebay from someone who took it out of a new Jeep.
There are two spline counts for the Dana44: 30, and I THINK 19 spline. The one I had in my '62 was a 30-spline. Most other early Dana's (Stude, Ford Bronco, etc.) seemed to use the course spline, so double-check.
The gears from Dana are more expensive, but in my opinion they're worth it.

If you're friend says he can weld the housing, make sure he uses a high silicone wire. There's a trick to it... the axle tubes cool at a different rate than the cast center section, and the weld filler wire cools at a different rate than both, so the weld will usually crack. The high silicone wire keeps the molecules flowing, and the welds won't crack. I wrote a story on it for Petersen's 4Wheel and Off Road, and learned a lot.
Ultimate Driveline in Michigan is who I had weld mine up. 269-792-2776.

-Brad

[littlee_domn8r]

Well, I found a local shop (inland truck parts in Sioux City) that is listed on Dana's website as a dealer. I called them & they called Dana, who says they need the Bill of Material # of the axle tube, but of course, I can't find that. Scraped with a wire brush for good 30 minutes & don't find any numbers on the tubes. the center housing has a casting number, model number & a couple us patent numbers but they aren't useful. All Northern Auto Parts needed was the year of the truck & the ratio, so not sure why Dana needs more than that. Any ideas on how to figure this out? would there be numbers inside the housing? I am about ready to give up on having it running anytime soon. gonna turn into a winter project i'm afraid.

[littlee_domn8r]

Well, took the cover off today & the pin in the middle of the carrier is loose. Like way loose. This happened the last time the rear end went out. Is it safe to assume my carrier is shot? there is alot of play between the pin & the hole it sits in. it slides back & forth enough that it is hitting the ring gear, which I assume is causing the clunking noise i been hearing. A friend of mine recommends Eaton carriers & richmond gears, but he has GM rearends in his vehicles. Can I get an Eaton carrier for the Dana 44? I know that won't be cheap, but I dont' want to mess with this thing again. ever.

[raycow]

Isn't there a lockscrew for the pin?

Ray

[littlee_domn8r]

There was! I have a guy coming to look at it to see if it is salvageable, but am thinking with as much play as there is, I'm probably better off going some other route.

[Brad54]

If you end up going another route, and the rear or housing is junk, I could use an axle from it.
However, if you want to give it one last shot, start shopping ebay for 30-spline Dana 44 carriers out of Jeeps, Broncos, etc. That's what's in mine. But be sure your housing is good--if that pin is coming loose and hitting things, it could have hurt the bearings, which could cause bigger problems.

-Brad

[littlee_domn8r]

Thanks for all the help guys! I have decided to park it for the winter & pull the axle out from under the truck so I can tear it apart, clean it up & inspect it for cracks. I'll save my money up so I can rebuild it right. Decided I will go with a Posi (limited slip) & put all new bearings & seals in it. Hoping my ring & pinion is ok, but will replace that too if necessary.