Donkey punch clunk after Dana 44 install

[DanMan2k06]

Well I had it up in the air again tonight and snapped some pics, let me know what you guys think. I could only find one engraving on the unit, and it read "DEQ OA6". The yellow crap is what I tried to use as gear pattern compound but it didn't work. Hopefully you can tell by the pics.

 

[RWKHausSupply]

That's a no slip. And don't know if the picts are just glaring but pinion looks very deep

 

[DanMan2k06]

Awesome, so I've got a no-slip that's not working properly and gears that are possibly set up wrong. Is there anything I can do at this point to correct it, or is it too late?

After a few more days of driving it I'm pretty convinced the noise is far from normal, even if it was an auto locker. The clunk from third to second under decel around 25ish, honestly feels like I'm getting rear-ended. Also, at first I though it was my usual post install noise paranoia, but there is definitely some whining from it at well. Sounds kinda like the high speed tire hum of an AT tread.

Any idea what that line is (not glare) Towards the edge of the pattern, closest to the carrier, going all the way around the ring? It's very prominent in person.

 

[Royal_Highness]

I have a no slip and when I installed it and did nothing else and it klucked really bad and I wondered so I took off the over and rotated the drive shaft back and forth and looked at how much movement the no slip has and I could understand where the clunk was coming from and quit caring. Only thing I do to help ease the pain is when shifting from reverse to drive kinda let it roll for a sec backwards in neutral while holding on the brakes Slightly and then shift to drive helps. Also you will notice you will need to change your driving habits to keep it from locking up in turns. I still often hear my tires chirp from them not equalizing if I gas it to much... You will get used to it.

 

[MoparManiac]

Get some actual gear marking compound and check the pattern.

Can't tell anything from those pictures.

 

[XJLI]

Get some actual gear marking compound and check the pattern.

Can't tell anything from those pictures.

this. some autolockers clunk more than others, just a fact of life. the lock right in my 8.25 was pretty invisible, my buddy swapped it into a geared 8.25 and it clunked a lot (we both have autos), the aussie in my 44 wasnt bad but it was noticeable, and the lock right in my 60 is pretty damn noisy. i guess they get louder as they get larger... at least in my experience. these were all rear axles... just in case someone doesnt pick up on that.

 

[RWKHausSupply]

this. some autolockers clunk more than others, just a fact of life. the lock right in my 8.25 was pretty invisible, my buddy swapped it into a geared 8.25 and it clunked a lot (we both have autos), the aussie in my 44 wasnt bad but it was noticeable, and the lock right in my 60 is pretty damn noisy. i guess they get louder as they get larger... at least in my experience. these were all rear axles... just in case someone doesnt pick up on that.

Well the deal with the "No-Slip" is that you pay double the typ insert price so you dont get the infamous POW or Bang or even clunk. SO if its that bad then something is wrong somewhere.

Typically the paddle is broken while installing, if theres an issue with a No-Slip.

 

[XJLI]

Well the deal with the "No-Slip" is that you pay double the typ insert price so you dont get the infamous POW or Bang or even clunk. SO if its that bad then something is wrong somewhere.

Typically the paddle is broken while installing, if theres an issue with a No-Slip.

i hear ya

 

[MoparManiac]

I had a no-slip in my rear D44 with 4.88s.

It had the slop there, and once in a blue moon I would get the pop/bang, but it was maybe once a month while driving 500 miles a week.

 

[ktm racer 419]

i hated the lash of my detroit. other that that she was alright.

would make a gunshot noise after a tight turn after a long highway run on occasion.

 

[jeeperjohn]

The clunk may not be anything to worry about. We will need better pics with proper gear marking compound to advise you about the gear setup.

 

[RWKHausSupply]

whats in the bottom of the diff? Is that the tip of a drain plug on the bottom of the diff housing protruding up/in to the diff? Or a 'piece' of something?

 

[DanMan2k06]

That's a tiny earth magnet. I noticed there were none on the plug or anywhere else inside. I figured I'd keep an eye on it and see how fuzzy it becomes over time.

Like I said earlier, if this were a lockright or regular autocker I'd feel a little more reassured. But seeing how bad the clunk really is, and being mentioned as a
No-slip worries me. It's not an occasional here or there around turns. Picture this: you're re-installing your rear shaft. Put the u-joint strap in place, and tighten the bolts in the yoke 3-4 threads. Now go for a cruise..... That's what it's like. Every time I accel, decel, shift gear positions etc.

I'll more than likely de-gear it to 4.56 and take out the "locker". Then throw a selectable up front. Rawkhaus would you be able to hook a brotha up?

 

[Sillyfast]

Tear that locker apart and take a look. Those lockers are real simple.

 

[DanMan2k06]

Alright this thing is really starting to piss me off. I went to tear the locker out tonight, but ended up not having enough time. My right axle seal is leaking so bad it leaves drops on my wheel and on the ground. I split open the diff for the FOURTH time now, and was appalled at what I found.

It looked like watery Elmers glue. Very thin. Now, it has been raining for the past 2 days, but wtf does that matter? I changed the fluid Tuesday after work and this is how it came out?? Water has to be getting in somehow. Both stock vents are still in place going from the axle tube to the frame rail. All other bolts that are threaded into the axle tube were coated with rtv before installation.

On top of that, I finally have conclusive evidence that something isn't right in the locker. I read over the installation instructions last night. They state towards the end, that while the driver's wheel is held forward, the passenger wheel should not move forward, and should move freely when spun in reverse. Well, with my driver's wheel held forward, the passenger will rotate about 45 degrees and then SLAM to a halt. From that point, if you try and reverse it, it will go a little past it's original point, and again clunk to a very harsh halt. Nothing about this "no-slip" locker is smooth. Nothing.

Also, that tiny little magnet I stuck in was covered in metal fuzz. No big chunks, but from what I've seen in other vehicles this amount should accumulate in 5000 miles, not 50.

On sunday I'm gonna pull this (how I view it at the moment) piece of garbage out and put my 35, which ironically has NEVER given me an issue, back in. I need to be able to work on the 44 out of the jeep...

 

[jeeperjohn]

Rain water must be getting into the frame and into the vent tube somehow. Do you have a pissed off ex girlfriend?

 

[DanMan2k06]

Well I got the axle swapped back out yesterday, and ripped the entire thing apart. The clunk is ABSOLUTELY gone now with the 35 back in. I took apart the carrier and everything looks in place for the No-Slip. No broken syncro rings or teeth missing. Something might be out of orientation, hopefully you guys can tell. The carrier bearing shim was pretty beat up, does that matter? there was only one on the passenger side. I also snapped some pics of the ring gear. I forgot to run some compound on it before I took everything apart though.

Here's a video of the clunk with the 44 still in. Vehicle in park.



My sunday At least the jeep is ready for the beach next week.

The shim that looked pretty rough

The internals of the No-Slip. Going by the installation instructions the teeth aren't lined up properly?

No broken tabs on the syncro rings.

And the gear pattern. Hopefully you guys can tell something from this.

And a few goodies for rebuilding.

 

[XJLI]

this is why no slips suck. too much shit going on in there.. lock rights, aussies... simple. no shims and collars and whatever. my big stupid lock right clunks and unloads, but its 100% predictable.

 

[jeeperjohn]

Can't tell anything about the wear pattern from those pics. The shim that I assume was on the outside of the carrier bearing race should have been a different shim between the bearing and carrier. You need to get some setup bearings and shim the carrier correctly when it is put back together. There is basically nothing wrong with putting shims outside of the carrier bearing races but it is much harder and requires a case spreader to do correctly. It is much easier to shim it between the carrier bearings and the carrier.

 

[DanMan2k06]

Exactly. If it were a straight locker I could care less because it's normal. With this, it's not supposed to clunk, which bothers me. I honestly think if I left my lug nuts loose and drove around town it would make less racket than this stupid thing. I'm looking into putting the spiders back in and only locking the front.