Dumbass mistake (no gear lube), trashed gears and a new detroit..

[mark]

OK, so sometime in the few years its been since I put my 'race truck' together..... I never filled the front diff with oil (D44).


Not that it gets driven or wheeled much, but long story short, I pop it open and it dry, gears are pretty trashed and the bearing are pretty 'chunky' (to rotate).

Doesn't bother me *too* much since I have plans to regear (probably this winter) with all new crap.


Reason I pulled it however was to slap a (new) detroit in there for a wheeling trip/weekend I have coming up. Then probably whatever races I make this year to finish off (maybe one or two if I'm lucky).


Question: Will I take a LARGE chance of ruining the Detroit if I run it with the current gear/bearings? My thinking is that if I clean the diff out well (get any shavings out). Re-setup to a decent pattern of some sort. Add lube this time I could atleast get a couple trail runs out of it.

Am I taking a risk that not worth it? Or are the odds pretty good it really shouldn't effect the detroit much if at all (unless I :screwdog: the gears, which is possible).


Re-assure me or talk me out of it.
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[crash2]

OK, so sometime in the few years its been since I put my 'race truck' together..... I never filled the front diff with oil (D44).


Not that it gets driven or wheeled much, but long story short, I pop it open and it dry, gears are pretty trashed and the bearing are pretty 'chunky' (to rotate).

Doesn't bother me *too* much since I have plans to regear (probably this winter) with all new crap.


Reason I pulled it however was to slap a (new) detroit in there for a wheeling trip/weekend I have coming up. Then probably whatever races I make this year to finish off (maybe one or two if I'm lucky).


Question: Will I take a LARGE chance of ruining the Detroit if I run it with the current gear/bearings? My thinking is that if I clean the diff out well (get any shavings out). Re-setup to a decent pattern of some sort. Add lube this time I could atleast get a couple trail runs out of it.

Am I taking a risk that not worth it? Or are the odds pretty good it really shouldn't effect the detroit much if at all (unless I :screwdog: the gears, which is possible).


Re-assure me or talk me out of it.

Then only thing that will damage it is if a side bearing spins on the carrier or ring gear pops damaging the carrier.

 

[TreeClimber]

In order to install the Detroit, you'll have to put new bearing on the carrier anyway, so buy a complete setup kit, and just do it.

Either that, or leave the carrier that's already there in it, and weld it solid (while assembled), check for slag chunks floating around, and then refill and run the welded assembly until such time as you can re-gear

 

[mark]

In order to install the Detroit, you'll have to put new bearing on the carrier anyway, so buy a complete setup kit, and just do it.

Either that, or leave the carrier that's already there in it, and weld it solid (while assembled), check for slag chunks floating around, and then refill and run the welded assembly until such time as you can re-gear

No spool for the front... rear's already that way :redneck:

If I had my new gears/bearing here, I'd probably just go ahead and swap them in right now and be done.... but I don't, and this will need to go back together today (its 'today's' project... and pretty much the only continues block of time I have to do it.

Then only thing that will damage it is if a side bearing spins on the carrier or ring gear pops damaging the carrier.

thanks for the reassurance mike. This kind of what I was thinking but I figured I'd check around and see if there was something I missed. Spinning a bearing is a possibility I suppose, Ill have to see how the carrier bearing look when I get them off. Who knows, I might chowdering the whole thing taking it apart and be getting a set-up kit anyway
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[benw1]

I have a Dana 44 set up kit here I can sell you, come pick it up.

 

[t1h5ta3]

if your really worried, clean it out best ya can, filll with cheep fluid, run to town and back, change the fluid.. good to go..
like mike said.. detroit = buletproof..

 

[oldbeercans]

dude that sucks. which reminds me....

 

[mark]

OK, I've been mulling this around in my head while chasing the toddler around all day.... Funny part is the reponce on Pirate was the complete oposite. No one chimed in a 'run it' comment.


So its back together now, as I kind of aluded to above. However I don't like it, The diff is VERY hard to turn and the pinion feels chunky as hell. I've waited a while to actually run some sort of locker in the front for once (at least its not the ARB I have coming ), so I'm not too excided about running it as it. I'm not going to tear it apart just this second, cause as of now, the truck and be 'ready to go'.



So, my current plan "A":

Order my new gears, and build that new front axle I've been planning. If I hop to it, there's a good chance I could actually get it together pretty quick (slightly wider axle, eventually to be linked). Get it cut, turned, narrowed and ready to go, then yard the detroit out and set up the new gears.

Plan "B". Since "A" is doable, but quite involved, if it starts coming down to the wire I'll just jack up my normal trail rig, and yard the 4.10's out of it and re-setup the front removing the junk gears and pinion bearings. A variation on this would be if a good used set fall in my lap before that.

Plan "C", run it and cross my fingers. Not my favorite plan, but like I said currently its together and ready to go so if all my wrenching time vanishes between now and then, I'll just bite the bullet. If/when I move the truck I'll just keep it in 2wd and the front hubs unlocked. That way if A or B comes to fruition, I haven't mixed any of the crap in the front.

Plan "D". Tear it all out and put the open carrier back in. Couple hours of work, and not my favorite idea at all, but it would save the detroit for sure.


Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to post pictures of carnage if there is any.

Oh, ya, pics of the ring gear:
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[tomcat]

that stuff will buff out!:redneck: anyway filll it up with lucas oil.i had a toyota with vary bad 4.10s thay drove it for 3 yrs with no oil so i put lucas in it and its good to go....take all the shavings out tho

 

[Long&Low]

In order to install the Detroit, you'll have to put new bearing on the carrier anyway, so buy a complete setup kit, and just do it.

x2 IMHO