since I had to pull the trailing arms and everything else I am going to drop the batwing and fix the leaking from my side yokes, anyone have a suggestions on replacing the seals and what to look for with wear on the yokes and what might be beyond normal wear. this is the job I was originally planning for the winter before the spindle snapped and started every thing else, any pics would be great thanks

 

Before You start You might as well decide if your going to let this project start snow balling cause You will be looking at a can of worms as soon as You open that pumpkin. If I haven't scared you off then its really a pretty easy job. Start by push pulling the Yokes in and out to see how much end play they have. If one or more of the Yokes pull out consider it a bad sign. Now remove the batwing and look inside, stick a magnate into the Oil and see what comes out. Expect some metal, but not lots. To remove the Yokes open the Snap Rings wile a buddy pulls the Yoke out. This can be fairly difficult one time and easy the next. It really helps to have a pair of 45deg Snap Ring Plyers, a regular set will be useless. Once the Yoke is out You can look at the end and see how much is worn off, the more that was worn off the more slop you had when pulling a pushing them in and out. If they are worn almost to the Snap Ring grove figure you are on borrowed time. If all is well at this point just remove and replace the Seals and put the Yokes back in. Yes, there is a Left and a Right Yoke. You should also be looking at the Posi Clutchs for wear, but You might as figure they are worn, no matter what. If You get the idea that "wile I'm in there " of doing the front Seal, that's a whole different animal, and its easy to screw up. There is Crush on the Bearing which controls the set up of the Ring and Pinion. If You mark the Nut that holds the Pinion Flange and put the Nut exactly back in the same place, then it "should" be OK. Basically if any of the above is wrong, plan on a complete rebuild of the entire rear end, despite it working fine before. Also plan on having issues if you local Diff shop does the rebuild, instead of a Vette specific shop.

 

When I dropped the half shafts I checked the play in the yokes and both seemed to only move about a 1//4 inch or so so I hoping that the wear and tear is minimal

 

1/4 inch play in the stub axles on a Dana 44 is massive. Even .100 is too much.
Mike

 

Time for a rebuild...

 

YEAH...the differential stub axles are TOAST...and also the clutch packs are more than likely gone...and HOPEFULLY the side yokes ( stub axles) did not wear down so far that the dust shield that are pressed onto them actually ate into the housing that holds your grease seals.

DUB

 

Does anyone have a picture of what I should see? How it should look, good or bad?

 

chrisNY,
It is going to be so obvious.

The ends of your stub axles (side yokes) will be smashed and be flared out. Much like the end of a circus tent spike. Flared out and you will CLEARLY SEE the metal of the stub axle be mushroomed outwards. Kinda like a hollow point bullet when shot. If you run your finger down the stub axle...it can be sharp and cut you. QUITE OBVIOUS....not rocket science.

Do not be surprised that the clip that holes the side yoke in is gone and the only thing holding the stub axle in is the metal at the end of the stub axle is so badly flared out...it will not come out. With 1/4" in and out play...you are right on the edge of the clips being off the end of the stub axle due to all the material is gone.

Also...when these stub axles are finally removed ...the pinion shaft will also need to be replaced due to it will be damaged....and installing new stub axles...and have them ride against a worn pinion shaft is totally INSANE.

More than likely a COMPLETE overhaul...bearings, seals, clutches, fluid and posi-additive, etc. Have you re-builder check to make sure your ring gear is not worn also.

DUB

 

I checked tonight as I started removing the main drive shaft and the play is a lot less than 1/4 inch, maybe a 1/8, to a 1/16 definitely not as much as I thought when I first pulled the half shafts, and the rebuilder is me which is why I want as much info as possible

 

The easiest way to get the driveshaft out is to just pull it out of the back of the trans when You remove the Rear Differential. Same for install, just put it all back in one assembly.
Since it doesn't sound as though You have rebuilt a Differential in the past I wouldn't recommend starting on a Dana 44 IRS. Let Us know what the Yokes look like when You see them.

 

Yep, been there ,done that.If and when you have the pinion gear in your hands,check the bearing side teeth for cracks and pieces chipped out at the root.Had that happen to my 3:08's.Probable cause was an Oldschool B&M shift kit and bang shifting around the country side.

 

got the batwing and diff out, great advice to pull the drive shaft out with the diff, worked great, here's some pics of the of the yokes and shafts, I think they look great I was prepared for the worst and am very surprised I don't think I will have to even replace the yoke shafts, just do the seals and put her back together after I clean it up.

 

Check the end play in these side yokes NOW and see how much they go in and out. I use a dial indicator that I can clamp on the differential case.

I would like to know what it reads.

I am seeing the pinion shaft that is worn. I am sure it is pretty grooved out.....due to the center hole in the end of the stub axle.

The stub axles do look better than I would of thought due to you saying there was 1/4" of in and out play. HONESTLY....I would replace them.....now is the time. The stub axle end play should be at or under .008"...preferably under a little bit more..

ALSO...when you have it like this....there is a test that can be done to check to see how good your clutches are. If my memory serves me correctly...on a aged differential...it is 40 lbs/ft of torque to get the clutches to break loose.....and on a new differential...I believe it is 70 lbs/ft. I made a tool that when a differential is brought to me and is out of the car (obviously)..I can check the clutches because I can lock and hold the pinion flange with the u-joint straps...and use my torque wrench and this tool that fits where the universal joint would go on the stub axle so I can apply torque.

I set the torque wrench to 40 lbs/ft and when I apply torque...if the torque wrench 'clicks' and the stub axle did not turn and the clutches break loose...then the clutches (as from what GM wrote) are acceptable.

I have had the clutches break loose with very little to no effort. It is worth checking ...seeing how you already have it out.

DUB

 

I am planning on doing this this winter on my '80, please continue with the updates. Thanks!

 

The stub axles do look better than I would of thought due to you saying there was 1/4" of in and out play. HONESTLY....I would replace them.....now is the time. The stub axle end play should be at or under .008"...preferably under a little bit less

DUB[/QUOTE]

how much of the axle should I have left after the snap ring groove?? I am second guessing myself now, originally I thought they looked good enough to go ahead and reinstall them after I replace the side seals, but now I am not sure

 

how much of the axle should I have left after the snap ring groove?? I am second guessing myself now, originally I thought they looked good enough to go ahead and reinstall them after I replace the side seals, but now I am not sure[/QUOTE]

Kinda depends on what Your intentions are with the car ? If your going road racing and intend to do 100 mph sweepers then You better replace everything. If your just going to drive it on cruise night then I probably would just put it all back together. From what I see the inside looks better than the ones I have opened up, and better than expected.

 

Been thinking about taking my diff out for a rebuild but Im concerned about the removal process. Im pretty handy but is this doable for the average person?

 

Kinda depends on what Your intentions are with the car ? If your going road racing and intend to do 100 mph sweepers then You better replace everything. If your just going to drive it on cruise night then I probably would just put it all back together. From what I see the inside looks better than the ones I have opened up, and better than expected.[/QUOTE]

I will not be road racing it anytime soon, but I do put about 5000 miles on it the summers it is my daily driver, for as long as I can drive it, which is why I am second guessing myself, I hopefully never have it this far apart and would hate to have to pull it all apart again next year, but I was very surprised with how good everything looked, and was happy enough with the pumpkin and the drivability just wanted the side yokes not to weap, it was too the point I was seeing a drip more and more from the rear, I would hate to do the side seals, then have them start to leak again because the side yokes are too bad

 

I had to pull the TA's too, to take care of a broken spindle so I had no choice, with the TA's out removing the rear diff and batwing wasn't bad at all, but it has taken me 2 weeks of disassemble to get to this point, its not difficult but most of it has never been out so everything is stubborn. if I was just going to do the diff seals and check everything out, then it would have been a lot faster, but you still have to drop the half shafts, spar tire, strut rods,these can be a real pain, plan on replacing the lower strut rod brackets and the bushings in the strut rods, which are now different than the original, and its just as cost effective to replace the entire arm with new bushings installed than trying to press in the newer style ones, I think mine were 39 a side plus core. once the shocks, rods, half shafts, rear spring are out, than its just the 2 batwing bolts and the nose bolt on the diff then you should just be able to slide the whole unit out the back, I did it myself but a second person would be a great help, but certainly a job I think anyone can do.

 

chrisNY

Did you check your clutches like I wrote in POST #13??????

You already know how much fun it is to do this. Gosh knows I have done more differential removals/installs by myself than I can count. Knowing you are going to do limited driving...I am still under the thought process that while you a e here...fix what needs to be fixed. OR...do what you want and hope for the best.

The hardness coating that is on the ends of these stub axles is nominal at best from GM....and seeing that you have worn it down some ...and not knowing the amount of end play because you need to measure it as best as possible.....due to the hardness coating being gone...you are wearing on softer metal. So...seeing how I do not have a crystal ball...I do not know how long it would take to get worse. But...one thing is for sure...it is not going to get any better.

I agree that you are not auto-crossing...but even if you drive 'spirited' and take turns and have fun in the car....it still will cause further damage...and there is not stopping that. Because if you stop and think about it....this car was more than likely NOT auto crossed...and see what happened to it naturally. YES...ti took many years...but it still happened....and that was starting with a differential that was tight on the end play of these stub axles.

Your choice....your car...obviously.

DUB