Tacoma SAS Part One: Dana 44 Rebuild

Here's the list of parts and the money I have into the axle so far..
I'll post a final list after the axle is finished.

 

Don't scare me...

 

Using the 12 ton shop press, I pressed in the u-joints from Drivetrain America (Part# 760X Spicer).

This is a great video on replacing u-joints. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE9aNHFehqw



I used a 2 1/2" by 1/4" steel plate that I had sitting around to put underneath the u-joint. That way it wasn't resting on the end of the axle shaft while pressing and the u-joint ends would go in straight.

You can also put a socket underneath the bottom end of the u-joint to press the u-joint ends in further.




You need to press the ends in far enough to expose the slots where the snap rings go.



Your going to need to support the long axle shaft and keep it straight as you press in the other u-joint.

 

Sub

 

Picked up some 63" Chevy rear leaf springs today on craigslist for $100. They came from a 1988 2wd 1500. From what I've read the leaf packs from the 2wd models have 3 leafs and then the overload spring (which is what these are) and the 4wd models have 4 to 5 leafs in a pack. The 3 leaf is more desired since it provides you with a lot better articulation then the stiffer 4 to 5 leaf packs and supposedly provide about 4" of lift without lengthening your shakles. These can typically be found in 88-98 Chevy's. They are also 2 1/2" wide which is the same width as the stock toyota springs....so the perches don't have to be modified. However the spring and shackles hangers will have to be relocated. I'll revisit this when it comes time for the swap.

I'm probably going to be using Wagoneer lift springs (44044) in the front while these Chevy 63" will be in the rear.

 

Nice man. I'm also running 63's. You don't have to modify the stock shackle hanger by the way. I have a decent shackle angle with stock shackles in the stock location although I do plan to go with bigger shackles and creeper joint hangers. Hop over to my thread when you get a chance. I built some pretty beefy spring hangers for mine. Ended up putting them 7 3/4" in front of the stock ones I believe.

 

Since this is a "low pinion" axle that I have, I decided to rotate the outer C's to achieve a better pinion angle. This will hopefully reduce driveline vibrations by pointing the pinion yoke more towards the transfer case. Some things to keep in mind before doing this is that you do not want to turn the C's to far since this would point the differential at to much of an angle, causing inadequate gear lubrication. Just to give you a perspective as to how much you should rotate the outer C's, 16 to 20 degrees of rotating yields about 7 degrees caster (from what I've read).

This is one way to determine how far to rotate the outer C's...

First determine the radius of the axle tube. If the axle tube is 3" in diameter, then your radius is 1.5"

Then decide the amount of degrees you want them rotated (I chose 12 degrees).

Theta refers to the angle between two lines. (In this case, 12 degrees)

Arc Length= theta*pi*radius/180

So find Arc Lenght...

12*pi*1.5/180= 0.31415" or 5/16"

My geometry may be a little rusty, so this should be right but don't quote me on it.

Next I found the center point of each "C" in its original position and marked it with a hammer and chisel on both the base of the C and the axle tube. Then I measured about 5/16" from that point and tapped another mark on the axle tube. This way when I remove the outer C's and put them back on I will know how far they should be rotated (by lining up the mark in the middle of the C with the new mark on the tube).

These maybe some helpful links...
http://www.cutandturn.com/basics.html
http://cutandturn.com/SOAtech/chevysoapage.htm


Also notice that the C's are sticking out just about 1/16" from the end of the axle tube.



After you have made your marks, start grinding down the welds.
Start with one C first. This will take a while, especially the first one! Just keep grinding until you see about a hair line crack beginning to form. You may need to pound on it with a hammer to start the crack. By the way don't grind to far into the axle tube like I did.



Then once you have a large enough crack around the entire tube, take a hammer and start pounding the C off the end of the tube. I had to use a large sludge hammer and tap it off. Don't hit the C to hard as this may cause a fracture in the cast steel. Just take your time...






With one C off, your going to have to put it back on....
The best way to do this is to place the C on the grill for a little while. Then after its heated, using welding gloves!, take the C and do your best to line it up with the calculated mark you made on the axle tube. Then take the hammer and tap the C back on. Work fast becasue as the C cools, this task gets more challanging.



Using a cheap angle finder also helps make the process go more smoothly as your replacing the C.



Now that one side is done, you can move on to the other side and repeat.

After both sides are done make sure to check your angles using the cheap angle finder. You can stick a rod within the holes of the inner C and place the angle finder on the rod to check angles as well as place the angle finder on the C itself.



After verifying the correct angles, you can weld up the C's. Have someone who is good at welding do this! I had my buddy who is a pipe fitter weld these on with a stick welder.

It helps to set the axle on jack stands and slowly rotate the axle as someone welds around it.



Just checking the angles after welding..... Kinda late to change anything at this point though.



Now you can see the new pinion angle, which will be pointing more towards the transfer case.

 

After letting the axle sit in the garage for a while it seems that mice turned the axle housing into a house. I had to dump out corn from both ends of the axle tubes and clean out corn and hair from within the differential.



After cleaning that up, I sanded down the axle housing and brushed on some thick enamel paint.

 

Damn mice and their feed corn thieving...


Rather intriguing build. Definitely worth watching.

 

Picked up lug nuts and a steering dampener today at Autozone.

Gabriel Steering Damper #6804SE $29.99

Dorman 7/16"-20 Acorn Wheel Nuts and Lock Kit #931263 $29.99

 

I have that exact axle sitting under my 87 wagoneer. If I never work on the waggy again at least I have the option for a SAS. What is an axle like this worth?

Nevermind just saw the parts list.

 

I got mine for 200, and there's one on CL by me for 400.

 

Why I chose to paint the axle before grinding it all up again is beyond me...

To begin mounting the spring perches and u bolts, I had to grind down the axle housing on the drivers side to fit the u bolt.



I'm not sure how others have done it in the past but the only u bolt that I could fit around the "housing" side was 3 1/2" tube diameter u bolt. I know that I'm also cutting it close using a 7 1/2'' long u bolt. That was the longest 3 1/2" u bolt that I could find.
Otherwise, the other three u bolts were just 3" diameter. I just picked these up at Fleet farm.

U-Bolt Round 3 1/2" x 7 1/2" Quantity:1 $10.99
U-Bolt Round 3" x 7 3/4" Quantity:3 $35.97



I also picked up some spring perches for $8.00 from Fleet Farm as well. They were rated for 5,200 lbs.

To set the spring perch as far as it could go within the housing, I ground down two slots using a 1/4" grind wheel.



This way the spring perch on this side can sit closer to the axle tube (almost an 1" high), allowing me to just use the original perch on the other side.







I'll make sure its all squared away and level, before welding it up.

 

So the reason for cutting the welds and taking the c's off then re welding them is to twist your pumpkin upwards right? for a better driveling angle?

 

Yes that is correct. Shims can only get you so far when it comes to improving driveline angle. Doing a spring over SAS on these Tacoma's usually leaves them sitting pretty high and if you have a low pinion axle, your going to want to have it pointing more towards the transfer case.

Here's some more links you should check out that I thought were pretty helpful...

http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/scout-dana-44-prep-cj-pics-17048/

http://www.nissan4wheelers.com/topic/cut-and-turn-a-dana-44?page=2

Just make sure you don't rotate them too far. It only takes a little bit. Going to far can cause inadequate lubrication resulting in burnt up bearings. I have read about some guys even drilling out a new oil drain plug further up on the diff cover, to allow you to add more oil.

If your not comfortable doing this yourself, I would recommend bring it to a garage to get it done. Also make sure the welds are good. Its better to sticth weld around it, doing it in 4 or 5 sections, instead of welding completely around it at once.

 

Got the gears, master install kit, and new carrier for the Dana 44 from National Drive Train http://www.nationaldrivetrain.com/?gclid=CMbJ186ymrwCFctcMgodVGsAIA. After alot of thought I decided to go with 5.38 in the front and get 5.29 in the rear toyota axle. I was hesitant to do this at first since there mixed gear ratios. Although the diffrence in ratios is negligible and I've read countless forums about people running this set up, saying that they have had no problems in doing this. As long as your not using 4 wheel drive on the freeway and use it primarily for the trails then your fine. Also, like I said earlier, I plan on running 36 to 37" tires, so I'm going to need the deepest gears I can get to make that 4 cylinder get those things turning.

Since the original gears in the Dana 44 were 3.31, the tallest gears I could get without replacing the carrier were 4.88. But since I chose to get the 5.38 I had to get a new bare case for 3.92 and higher numerical gear ratios.

This is why you need to identify what gears are in your axle before buying. (Look at the little identification tag on the diff cover to find your gear ratio...If its on there yet).



Front Dana 44
3.31 to 5.38

ORDER DETAILS:
Item: MOT 44-538
Quantity: 1
Description: MOTIVE GEAR - 5.38 RATIO RING & PINION GEARSET
Price (each): 138.66
Item Total: 138.66
_________________________________________

Item: DAN:706025X
Quantity: 1
Description: BARE CASE - FOR 3.92 AND NUMERICALLY HIGHER GEAR RATIOS - DANA 44
Price (each): 98.26
Item Total: 98.26
_________________________________________

Item: NDT:RA28LRMKT
Quantity: 1
Description: MASTER INSTALL KIT - TIMKEN BEARINGS
Price (each): 98.58
Item Total: 98.58
_________________________________________

Subtotal: $335.50
Shipping (Standard Ground - Discounted): +$21.58
Grand Total: $357.08

 

I put the knuckles on the axle.

I basically wanted to show you a tip to tightening the lower ball joint if it keeps spining. You may or may not run into this problem.

Just take a large c-clamp and tighten down on the ball joint to keep it from spinning while you rotate the nut. After it gets tight enough, you should be able to finish tightening it with the socket and wrench.







I also got around to mounting the other spring perch. I just grinded off the original perch on the passanger side and moved it on top the axle tube, keeping it the same distance inbetween the differential and the outer C.




Both perches are just about 3/4" high off of the axle tube.

 

Any updates man? Very interesting project!

 

Nice. Waiting on updates.

 

OP - it looks like you are only going for cross over steer...why no full high steer?