Dana 60 gear

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Sterling

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
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Just venting..... I just set up a used set of gears for my Dana 60. The pinion called for 3.120 depth, I removed a set that had a depth scribed on it of 3.125. The depth on the set removed was at 3.115. So that is where I started with the other set, and the pattern was too deep. I kept removing shims, disassembling numerous times, until I got a depth reading of 3.152. I got the bearing preload and backlash good, but the pattern is slightly deeper than I would prefer. I had this same problem with other gears, I set up I my buddies race car. He probably had over 500 runs on then, and they were fine. Am I just being too much of a perfectionist or is this common ? I didn't take any pictures, I was too disgusted at the time. I am going to run it anyway.
 
Do you have a picture of the pattern? There is the chance of operator error when the gears are lapped in together and the determination of pinion depth is made, as it's made on the determination of blueprint dimensions. They are more of a guideline to help get you reasonably close (especially on a used gear set!). There is also some allowance for machining error in the center section of the axle. As long as the bearing races are fully seated in the housing, pattern and preload are king. It looks like you know if the measurements don't match the numbers, the gear set will care a lot less than if the pattern, preload, and backlash aren't properly set. But to answer the question, it's not uncommon to find that the numbers are out to lunch, and I'm sure that some brands of gears (or certain series numbers of axle housings) are worse than others. If it were me and I didn't 100% like the pattern, I would work with it until I felt confident with what I see.
 
Thanks for the reply. I am sure I got the bearing race seated, and only have a .010 shim under the race. I took probably .040 worth of shims out, and only a slight difference in the pattern. So I didn't see .010 making any difference. The pattern on the drive side is toward the heel, and the coast was toward the toe. But the pattern wasn't running off the gear, so I am going to try it. I am just not happy about it, but it is for my race car, so I doubt I will hear any noise. If there is a problem, I will just put the gears in that I took out, I have all the shims and bearings with them. I liked how that pattern looked. But they are 5.13 , and I changer to 4.88 .
 
Normally, I would have, but I had taken .040 out already, and got very little improvement. Since I liked the preload and backlash, I am going to try it. I would try something different, if the pattern was running off the heel. I have seen gears chip because of that
 
try it. run it for a bit. remove the cover to change fluid and inspect wear pattern on ring gear. do not run full synthetic lube
 
I done a 12 bolt truck for a friend and it showed too deep also. It seems to be ok once on the road.
 
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