detroit locker installation

[chuggaman]

hi guys

i managed to get a s/h diff with no movement in the pinion bearings.
i have stripped out this diff and disconnected the crown wheel from the rest of the internals.i have cleaned all the bits and and kept them in the same order and position as to refit correctly.tomorrow i will take out my locker from the other diff and bolt it on to the newer crown wheel.

now i understand that by turning the adjuster nut will push the crown wheel closer to the pinion to remove backlash.i also understand that if it is pushed too close to the pinion then this will cause problems.

but how do i measure or know the backlash has been adjusted correctly??

mike

[LOFTY]

Well, the way i was taught was to use engineering blue, coat teeth, rotate to ensure tooth pattern removed blue in the centre of teeth. always worked for me.
I am sure theres a web site out there somewhere with pictures and instructions, preload, ah, thats another thing.
 :shock:

[rollazuki]

Assuming its not a heavy duty axle, ie a stock landy diff......
The pinion height shouldnt be changed, Its set by a shim stack under the pinion gear.(leave that alone)
strip out the diff, install locker etc, and reinstall slack against the pinion.
Holding the pinion still, adjust the adjuster rings till theres about 0.8 mm backlash in the crownwheel(measured at the edge of the gear with a dial gauge) then preload the bearings by screwing the adjuster rings inwards, checking for the backlash to remain the same.
I dont remember a figure for the bearing preload(Im sure someone will) but they are taper roller brgs, so a wee bit of preload, not too much)
Lock the caps down, job done.

[chuggaman]

<reply to both>

i am not going to touch the pinion


i dont have a dial gauge  and i did have  my front diff examined by a specialist using blue.

i am determined to do this successfully by myself.

is there a way of doing it by feel and sight.

if i tighten the adjuster to push the crownwheel towards the pinion so i get a good mesh(if thats the right word)

and then slacken off just a tiny amount.could that work?

or am i chasing a lost cause

mike

[Thrasher]

I did mine by feel.....

[Range Rover Blues]

If you can lock the pinion with some grips it helps.  Finger tighten the diff carrier bearings (crownwheel part) until there is now discerneneble backlash at all, finger tight both ends.  Wind in preload on the bearings (pushing the crownwheel away from the pinion) untill there is 0.10mm backlash at the outside of the crownwheel.  You can measure this with a feeler gauge but it's far less acurate, you may need to cut the feeler into strips.  If you get it too loose it will rumble, not loud but annoying.  Don't set the preload too high and don't forget to lock the bearing caps when you are done.

[chuggaman]

thanks for all your help guys

got it all together ok

i have the tiniest bit of backlash.tested by holding the crownwheel still against the casing.then moving the pinion flange.

driven it a short distance and all seems ok.

lets hope it stays that way

thanks again

mike

[Henry Webster]

We give these components a lot of hammer off road, so I would suggest setting it up 'by the book' using engineers blue.

In fact, despite doing pretty much most stuff on the racer myself, this is one of the areas that I have outsourced ( :shock: ) at the moment.  Partly because I have someone that I trust who does it for a reasonable price, but mainly because I want to be as sure as I can that this vital component is not going to fail in competition.

Hope your's works reliably, I am sure it'll be fine...

H