1974 Dana 44 Endplay

Raised my Dana off the ground enough to grab ahold of each wheel and pull back and forth, now I’m no rocket scientist but it seems to me that 7/16 play on the passenger side and at least 3/8 on the driver side is extreme, anyone have experience with this? I do feel like there is noise and vibration associated with the rear end but cannot becertain where from, pinion seems fine and driveline is balanced and Jeep is at stock height!

 

Axle bearings going bad? Retainer rings?

 

Idk are you saying that’s what it is?

 

Based on your description of noise and vibration, I would look first at the bearings as Chris suggested.

 

Thanks

 

Yep, what Chris said.

Pull the axle shaft and inspect the bearing.

 

Yes, I may as well replace the pinion and carrier bearings if I’m going to pull axles.

 

i would say that the lock ring retainer has move from excessive force....happen to me, has to push them back to where it suppose to be.

 

No.
Find out what's wrong first.

 

Replacing the center bearings is a very big job compared to replacing the axle bearings. Automotive differential bearings last a loooong time compared to axle bearings. Also, axle bearings fail if the Jeep was overloaded. Mostly it's the bearings that determine the weight capacity of the axle. Too many sacks of concrete at the home center? These Jeeps were built to carry passengers.

I've never seen a lock ring move. It takes a lot of force to install them. Seen plenty of axle bearings fail.

 

That sounds reasonable, this Jeep had a 4 inch lift and33s on it when I bought it, these jeeps are not meant for that kind of stress and could it be that the rear ends are pushed to the end of their capabilities when lifts and big tire combinations are not installed correctly

 

So what is the cause? i may have run with that kind of play for 3-4 years before swapping another set of axle. Bearing was ok when i remove the alxe shaft...

could it be just a bad install with the collar?

 

A number of things....
-A worn shaft from a previous bearing failure
-Re-using the collar on a worn shaft
-Bearing not fully seated when pressed on
-Collar not full seated against the bearing that's not fully seated

 

Thanks

 

You forgot bearing failure causing heat causing a loose collar. Btdt

 

Thought that was covered in my first comment....without going into a lot of detail.

 

Musta missed it carry on.