Dana 44 Rear Axle

Hey Guy's
My Dana 44 with flanged axle shafts just spins at the drive shaft.
I opened it up yesterday and found when you spin the drive shaft the pinion shaft turns the ring gear with no movement of the pinion gears (Spider Gears). When you spin one axle the other spins in the opposite direction
(normal for a open differential) with no movement of the ring gear.
I fully expected to find bad gears but they all look to be in very good condition.
I have never seen this before. I'm thinking something sheared but I can't find anything.
Any idea how to fix this?

 

Tomorrow I will double check and make sure.
I don't know how many times I spun them but they look great.
There is a tow bar on the front bumper.
Makes me wonder if the PO towed it in gear or something.

 

I read and re-read your first post, and I just can't understand what you are asking, or rather, what the problem is.

If the wheels are on the ground (or otherwise held from moving), can you spin the driveshaft with no resistance?


"...when you spin the drive shaft the pinion shaft turns the ring gear with no movement of the pinion gears (Spider Gears)."

If the axle shafts are both moving at the same speed while you are spinning the driveshaft, they are working correctly.


"When you spin one axle the other spins in the opposite direction
(normal for a open differential) with no movement of the ring gear."

This is also normal.

Am I missing something? I can be a bit slow sometimes...

 

On the ground you can spin the drive shaft with no Resistance.
The drive shaft turns the ring gear but there is a disconnect at the spider gears.(Axles stay stationary)

 

Yes

 

Check the pinion shaft (holds the pinion gears/spider gears in place) and check the pinion and gears for stripping. I the ring gear turns with the driveshaft then the case must be turning unless all the ring gear bolts have fallen out. The next part in powerflow is the pinion shaft that goes through the differential case and holds the pinion gears (spider gears) in place.

 

The case is turning with the ring gear. The spider gears stay stationary. I'm going to see if I can post a video of this today.

 

I think this is where I confused you.
The drive shaft spins the pinion yoke/pinion/ring gear and case and stops there.(No spinning of the spider gears)
Now when you spin one axle the spider gears rotate and spin the other axle in the opposite direction with no case movement.
Hope that is a little simpler. Hard to explain in writing. (Video would help a lot)

 

I'm still not seeing it.

But if the driveshaft isn't turning the wheels, is it possible you have a broken axle shaft?

 

The axles are turning so I doubt the axles are broke.
I will look close at the possibility of one tooth missing. I did not know that could cause this symptom.
I have never seen a case turn and the spiders stay stationary when the gears look good.
The ring and pinion are great. The spiders I'm going to get a much better look at.

 

No this is not normal.
The case/ring gear should be spinning also unless I'm missing something.

 

This I have seen before. That's what I expected to find.

 

As mentioned, if there is no damage to the teeth on the spiders, then, as I see it, the only possibility is that that the splines inside one or both of the side gear spiders or the axle shafts are gone. How this could occur, I have no idea. Breaking a shaft is one thing. Stripping the splines off or out of the side gears is another.

In any case (no pun intended), some sort of evidence should have presented itself in the form of metal parts, chips or something. I'd pull the axles and see what's up or, bind the gears in the case somehow (maybe jam small wooden wedges in them), and see if I could still either or both of the wheels.

 

I'm still confused too. Maybe both hub keys are stripped? Wheels on the ground, there's enough resistance and mechanical advantage to spin the axles in the hub, but lifted up there's enough friction in the sheared keyway to turn the wheels? Dunno, just guessing. It's a long shot that both keys are sheared.

 

It's a flanged 44 with one piece axles. No hubs or axle keys to shear.

 

Well crap. Maybe it's the rare UN-limited slip model.