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Well, I finally got 'er done! I swapped out my worn-out, stock, Dana 44 Trac-Lok for an open carrier with an Aussie Locker. It really wasn't that bad. In fact, if I'd had a garage and a couple of the Snap-On girls to hand me tools and beer, it could have been downright pleasant.
I didn't take many pictures--just wasn't in the mood, but if someone needs some, I'll see what I can do.
Two things I didn't have: a bearing splitter, and a press. I cut the old bearings off the open carrier with my Dremel. When it came time to put the new ones on, I used a 1/2" brass punch (thanks to whoever suggested that!) and an impact hammer; wasn't fast, but it worked fine. I worked in a radial pattern, like tightening lug nuts.
In my situation, setup bearings were indispensable, since once the "real" bearings were on, I couldn't remove them in one piece. As aw12345 suggested in another thread, I measured my Trac-Lok carrier to get me in the ballpark with the shims. I put a big sheet of 3/16" steel down on the dirt and put my magnetic base and dial indicator on that. Then, with the ring gear removed and the ring gear seating surface, pointed down, I zeroed the dial indicator on the seating surface. Then I put the open carrier in the same position with the (opposite ring gear side) bearing down on the sheet metal. I added shims until I got the open carrier to zero. Then I zeroed the dial indicator on the Trac-Lok's ring gear side bearing surface. I added shims to the corresponding bearing on the open carrier until I got what I wanted. I ended up going with about +.004" on either side (compared to the Trac-Lok), since my Trac-Lok carrier came out kinda easily.
I tested the mesh pattern and it looked ok, so I went with it. I can be kind of a perfectionist, but I'm working in the dirt and dust devils are as common as rabbits around here; I can see one somewhere in the valley at any given time during the day. In fact, I caught one on video a couple of days ago that was like a little tornado; made a loud sucking sound, had a dirt plume at least 1,000-2,000 feet high, and kept a kiddie wading pool several hundred feet in the air for a couple of minutes. From the sounds of it, I think it totaled a tin shed, too. I digress, but you get the idea--not the ideal environment to expose mechanical internals to. I could have driven myself crazy cleaning and re-cleaning stuff. So...it looked about right and felt about right, so I ran it.
One problem I had was when I attempted to install the Aussie Locker in the open carrier--it wouldn't go. I had to hog out the (opposite ring-gear) side of the opening to get it to fit. Let me tell you, it's better to figure this out before you get everything greasy, because you have to strip out the grease to get all the metal and abrasive dust out.
I used my homemade diff spreader to spread the case.
I did one test drive and everything's working well so far. No ring and pinion gear noise that I can discern (maybe I should check it when the stereo isn't blasting?? jk). The clicking as I coast through turns is louder than I remembered my front Aussie Locker ever being, but it's not bad. I expect that it will break in soon and quiet down. To this end, I DID NOT put Royal Purple in diff, since I think it kept my front Aussie from really breaking in (although it works great).
Hope this helps anyone considering swapping a limited slip for a lunchbox locker--it's not necessarily that much harder than starting with an open carrier.
I didn't take many pictures--just wasn't in the mood, but if someone needs some, I'll see what I can do.
Two things I didn't have: a bearing splitter, and a press. I cut the old bearings off the open carrier with my Dremel. When it came time to put the new ones on, I used a 1/2" brass punch (thanks to whoever suggested that!) and an impact hammer; wasn't fast, but it worked fine. I worked in a radial pattern, like tightening lug nuts.
In my situation, setup bearings were indispensable, since once the "real" bearings were on, I couldn't remove them in one piece. As aw12345 suggested in another thread, I measured my Trac-Lok carrier to get me in the ballpark with the shims. I put a big sheet of 3/16" steel down on the dirt and put my magnetic base and dial indicator on that. Then, with the ring gear removed and the ring gear seating surface, pointed down, I zeroed the dial indicator on the seating surface. Then I put the open carrier in the same position with the (opposite ring gear side) bearing down on the sheet metal. I added shims until I got the open carrier to zero. Then I zeroed the dial indicator on the Trac-Lok's ring gear side bearing surface. I added shims to the corresponding bearing on the open carrier until I got what I wanted. I ended up going with about +.004" on either side (compared to the Trac-Lok), since my Trac-Lok carrier came out kinda easily.
I tested the mesh pattern and it looked ok, so I went with it. I can be kind of a perfectionist, but I'm working in the dirt and dust devils are as common as rabbits around here; I can see one somewhere in the valley at any given time during the day. In fact, I caught one on video a couple of days ago that was like a little tornado; made a loud sucking sound, had a dirt plume at least 1,000-2,000 feet high, and kept a kiddie wading pool several hundred feet in the air for a couple of minutes. From the sounds of it, I think it totaled a tin shed, too. I digress, but you get the idea--not the ideal environment to expose mechanical internals to. I could have driven myself crazy cleaning and re-cleaning stuff. So...it looked about right and felt about right, so I ran it.
One problem I had was when I attempted to install the Aussie Locker in the open carrier--it wouldn't go. I had to hog out the (opposite ring-gear) side of the opening to get it to fit. Let me tell you, it's better to figure this out before you get everything greasy, because you have to strip out the grease to get all the metal and abrasive dust out.
I used my homemade diff spreader to spread the case.
I did one test drive and everything's working well so far. No ring and pinion gear noise that I can discern (maybe I should check it when the stereo isn't blasting?? jk). The clicking as I coast through turns is louder than I remembered my front Aussie Locker ever being, but it's not bad. I expect that it will break in soon and quiet down. To this end, I DID NOT put Royal Purple in diff, since I think it kept my front Aussie from really breaking in (although it works great).
Hope this helps anyone considering swapping a limited slip for a lunchbox locker--it's not necessarily that much harder than starting with an open carrier.
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