I have a dana 44 housing under my 71 bronco. I just removed it and dismantled it because there were no gears or axle shafts in it. My intension was to have it set up with new gears, limited slip, etc.

Now that it is out and taken apart, I have realized that there are no carrier bearing caps. Probably why the last owner never installed gears.

Is there a way to get caps for the housing? what are the chances that a set out of another housing will match my housing? If they don't match will I know it without a micrometer? Or... do I just have to break down and buy a housing with caps in it?

any thoughts??

 

As a rule of thumb, the carrier bearing caps are matched to the housing and are location specific in that housing. You might be able to find another set, but they may not match up.

Jason

 

Excellent advice, and very true.

While the caps are pictured in the parts illustration, there is no basic parts number listed, just a symbol (%) pointing to the caps. The symbol refers to a footnote which says: Furnished only with 3010 axle housing.

 

Thanks for the advice. I am on the trail of another housing from a junk yard. Any advice on things to look out for with a scrap yard housing?

 

Look for signs of being severly bent. Check for cracks and signs of the tubes separating from the center section. If you are looking at a bare housing, it is easy to check straightness. Look down the axle tubes and line up the axle seals and the ends of the tubes. Should be pretty much centered.
Dana housings have a tendency of getting tweaked, but they can be straightened as long as the axle tubes are not broken.
You can replace the tubes, but if you are staying with a stock configuration, it is not cost effective.


Hope this makes sense,
Jason

 

Thanks for all the help. The junk yard 44 didn't pan out. It was in a big bronco. I ended up ordering a bare used housing from JBG yesterday.