Rear differential swap Dana 44 in Salsbury

[Kestor]

I know some of the cobras have salsb diffs so I'm hoping someone has some suggestions for me. I'm trying to put an Auburn Gear lsd carrier in a Salsb case. The problem is that one side of the new carrier binds on the cap. If I remove the cap it seems fine. Can I remove some material from the inside edge of the cap?? The second issue is with the new carrier in there really isn't any side to side play allowing me to shim the bearings. I've tried to email Auburn but haven't heard back from them and it's been awhile....

[Grubby]

I would be most concerned about not being able to fit shims. I suggest measuring/comparing the length of the old carrier vs the Auburn (end to end).

The easiest way to measure is with a surface plate and height comparator. Most machine shops will have the ability to check it.

If they are not within a few .001" I would get a different carrier.

John

[Kestor]

Thanks for the reply
The Auburn carrier is actually shorter. I haven't taken it to a machine shop, but setting them side by side and using a level the original carrier is about 5mm longer/wider. I'm using the same races, but different bearings as the shaft diameters are different.
Unfortunately, I wasn't around when they pulled it apart. The bearings and any shims that were on the original carrier aren't anywhere to be found, probably cut them off unnecessarily.
I know some shims need to be put on for preload and that it's going to be a snug fit getting it in, but if the original is 5mm wider....????

[Kestor]

Thanks for the reply
The Auburn carrier is actually shorter. I haven't taken it to a machine shop, but setting them side by side and using a level the original carrier is about 5mm longer/wider. I'm using the same races, but different bearings as the shaft diameters are different.
Unfortunately, I wasn't around when they pulled it apart. The bearings and any shims that were on the original carrier aren't anywhere to be found, probably cut them off unnecessarily.
I know some shims need to be put on for preload and that it's going to be a snug fit getting it in, but if the original is 5mm wider....????

[Kestor]

Thanks for the reply
The Auburn carrier is actually shorter. I haven't taken it to a machine shop, but setting them side by side and using a level the original carrier is about 5mm longer/wider. I'm using the same races, but different bearings as the shaft diameters are different.
Unfortunately, I wasn't around when they pulled it apart. The bearings and any shims that were on the original carrier aren't anywhere to be found, probably cut them off unnecessarily.
I know some shims need to be put on for preload and that it's going to be a snug fit getting it in, but if the original is 5mm wider....????

[rustyrims]

the bearing and the race must match exactly. if the inner and outer races are not the same it will not work. you can put some grease on the outer race and see if it is hitting unevenly. hopefully you just need a different bearing. respectfully charlie

[Kestor]

After staring at it for a while, I think it's the distance from where the bearing seats to where the ring gear sits that is going to be the problem, maybe....
There's roughly a 0.1" difference between the two with the Auburn being shorter(face where the ring gear sits is 0.1" closer to the pinion)even though it is overall narrower.
I have the 542085 Auburn Gear carrier. There's a video, Don's cobra something on the ytube, he does use a different carrier. But from what I have found the one he uses and the one I have are interchangeable, supposedly. When he puts his Auburn carrier in his case he has quite a bit of play side to side. He also swapped ring and pinion to Dana 44 set.
I'll try to put a picture in of the measurements, but it won't let me post pictures right now

[Grubby]

Dana and Jag carriers are specific to certain gear ratios. For example a 2.73 gear set will not fit on a 3.54 carrier. The 3.54 ring gear would be closer to the pinion than the 2.73. This is because the 2.73 pinion would be much larger in diameter.

I am seeing different break points for the Dana carriers and I don't remember for sure. I do know I changed from 2.7? to 3.54 and the original 2.7? carrier would not work with my 3.54 gear set. I got a carrier out of a Jeep and it worked fine.

John

[Grubby]

You should use Dana gears with a Dana carrier. The bearings will NOT be standard Dana 44 bearings (NOT standard Jag bearings either). A good differential supply company should be able to tell you which bearings and races are required.

John

[Kestor]

Auburn is on the left

[Grubby]

I suspect wrong bearings and races.

The ring gear mounting flange looks to be in the correct spot.

John

[joyridin']

Do you know what the case you are using originally came out of?

I did this complete changeover to a Dana 44 set-up on mine and used a Richmond Power Grip. I had no problems at all. The Dana 44 has a break point of 3.7. Higher than 3.7 requires a different carrier. Salisbury had a break at 3.54.

Here are the bearing numbers I used:

Carrier Bearing: 25590
Carrier Race: 25523

[Grubby]

Note you will have to change the pinion yoke.

Get the bearings Joyridin' suggested and see how things look.

John

[Kestor]

Thanks for all the help
I'm really having problems using this forum/website for some reason, sorry about the duplicates

The picture with the side by side carriers
A: 1.064" C:0.833"
B: 4.01" D:4..09
Overall bearing seat to bearing seat on the Auburn goes 5.07(calculated), Jag 4.93"(measured)

Bearings are the -90 and -23

Great question as to what the Jag diff is. I'm wondering if the original ring/pinion was switched. I have a 3.05. If it was switched to a lower ratio I may not have the correct carrier to swap. The cutoff states 3.73 and down. I think that's pretty unlikely, but....

I did get ahold of Auburn and will hopefully get some more information next week.

[joyridin']

Originally Posted by Kestor

Thanks for all the help
I'm really having problems using this forum/website for some reason, sorry about the duplicates

The picture with the side by side carriers
A: 1.064" C:0.833"
B: 4.01" D:4..09
Overall bearing seat to bearing seat on the Auburn goes 5.07(calculated), Jag 4.93"(measured)

Bearings are the -90 and -23

Great question as to what the Jag diff is. I'm wondering if the original ring/pinion was switched. I have a 3.05. If it was switched to a lower ratio I may not have the correct carrier to swap. The cutoff states 3.73 and down. I think that's pretty unlikely, but....

I did get ahold of Auburn and will hopefully get some more information next week.

I had a few of these housing lying around. Honestly, it looks like the cap on yours was drilled wrong if I am looking at it correctly. Depending on how much travel you will have from left to right, you might be able to use external shims to adjust the tooth contact. Earlier version used external shims, later versions used internal shims. I just bought some stainless shim stock and cut them out. It has been 8 years with no issues.

[eschaider]

While this may be just a bearing selection issue, I don't believe that is the case, no pun intended. The two carriers in your Post #10 picture look dimensionally different. The ring gear flange looks to be about 0.100" or so different in location, carrier to carrier. Additionally, you already observed differences in the external bearing/bearing register locations, which prevent you from using shims to sideload the carrier properly.

As long as you have dimensionally different carriers, one will not fit properly in the space the other came out of. Your carriers need to be dimensionally identical. The fix is to get Auburn to exchange the carrier you currently have for the correct one you need to use.

Bitter medicine, I know, but the correct way home ...

Postscript:

The differential you should use that will make a noticeable difference in how the vehicle drives is a Torque Biasing differential that directs drive torque proportionally to the wheel with the better grip. Of the various providers offering this differential, WaveTrac (wavetrac.com) is the preeminent provider.

[Kestor]

Thanks everyone
After some back and forth with Auburn I do have the correct/available carrier. There is the split in carriers for higher gears but that one is actually wider at the ring gear seat to bearing seat dimensions.
I put in a narrower race 25520 I believe which is compatible with the bearing. With the pinion in this did allow the gears to mesh. It also makes some room side to side for shimming. It does however now rub on the side closest to the ring gear hitting the case a little bit and the cap quite a bit. Possibly it is this part of the case that's the issue. But even with the caps off there wasn't any play side to side.....??
Plan is to clearance it from the carrier with the grinder.
Auburn has been awesome to work with. Unfortunately they didn't have a good answer as to why the carrier isn't fitting easily. But that's life.
Overall this has been a major pain. If there is a setup for swapping the internals on an existing carrier that would appear to be a sure bet compared to the issues I've had.....and I'm sure I'm not finished yet

[Kestor]

I remember looking at the Wavetrac, but I need 19 spline axles and I don't think they have a Dana 44 size
I definitely wish I would have spent a little more time comparing dimensions before starting

[eschaider]

You may have picked up the wrong parts for your Dana 44. Once you have the wrong parts, the only way to get the assembly back together correctly is to identify the wrong parts and replace them with the right parts.

Attempting to machine rear-ends or rear-end components to fit is a dicey solution. Sometimes, you can get lucky, but most of the time, you will not. It is difficult to improve on the outcome you will experience when you use the right parts.

[Kestor]

So just to finish up this issue...
As stated above, I believe, Salisbury/Jag had multiple carriers with apparently the 3.058 being an oddball. According to the Brits, there is a carrier from black line that will work with the 3.058 gears.
Since I already have the AG carrier, I'm just going to try a D44 set of gears and see what happens with the full size races. If there's not enough room for shims, I'll just try the narrower race
Thanks to everyone for the help!!