Finally got my axles

[SuperEx91]

thats all i needed to know. have never come across this setup before. thx

on another subject. regarding my carriers. i know that i need a different carrier for my front axle because i am using 4.88's. the cutoff was 3.89's i read. if this is true, can i use the carrier from my rear axle (which came stock with 4.10's) in my front axle? the rear carrier should be the one for the numerically higher gears.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

i dont know if high-low pinion deal matters...i dont know if they are interchangable...

 

[95exploderboy]

If we are talking Dana 44 carriers here then I believe that you can. The carriers are all the same, its the gears that are gonna varry by HP or LP. Anyone wanna confirm this?

 

[zainyD]

If we are talking Dana 44 carriers here then I believe that you can. The carriers are all the same, its the gears that are gonna varry by HP or LP. Anyone wanna confirm this?

That is correct. The carrier is the same regardless of HP or LP. The gears are different however.

 

[SuperEx91]

what is the difference b/t the carriers for the low/hi number gears?
both my axles are low pinion anyway.

 

[IZwack]

what is the difference b/t the carriers for the low/hi number gears?

The difference is the position of the deck plane .. the "deck" is the surface that the ring gear bolts to.

On numerically higher gear ratio, the deck plane is "closer" to the pinion gear's axis of rotation.

 

[SuperEx91]

i did notice a huge difference in the gear sizes. i first thought i might have gotten the wrong gears because the ring gear was like a whole inch thicker than the stock one and the pinion gear teeth were like 2 inches smaller in diameter. i realize now that this is normal because of the difference in the ratios.
i already have the right carrier but could you just shim the ring gear out if you could get the right measurements?

 

[JoshC]

You can't shim a ring gear. The only shimming for a ring gear shims the ring gear and carrier. They go outside of the bearings.

 

[95exploderboy]

i already have the right carrier but could you just shim the ring gear out if you could get the right measurements?

They do do this for some applications, they will also make what is called a thick gear which basically has a spacer cast into the gear. You will hear mixed reviews on what works the best and is more reliable, I think it varries by the axle type. I have seen both of these for the Dana 44, but I'm not sure if it was for the HP or LP.

 

[SuperEx91]

im not gonna shim mine, i already have the right one. i was just curious.

 

[james t]

On a low pinion D44, you are in luck as you can get "thick" gears so you can use we'll say 4:88's on a 3:55 carrier. As far as i know, you cant get the thick gears for high pinion D44.

As for the carriers themselves, yes they all interchange... front or rear, high or low pinion, a D44 carrier will work in any D44. As long as the series carrier matches the series of gears.