Hoping there are some dana 80 experts here as i am in a pickle. My truck is a 2003.5 with the dana 80. it has 3.73 gears, 1.52 axle shaft with 35 splines.

I ordered a detroit/eaton limited slip differential with master rebuild kit
https://eliteracefab.com/products/ea...o-rear-dana-80

My mechanic took out the old, pressed new bearings on to the knew one and attempted to install, he was unable to set backlash as there was not enough shims to move over the ring gear far enough.

After contacting eaton they are telling me i need the differential for 4;10 gear and up because in certain axles they used a thin or thick ring gear. the deck height difference between diffs the 2 is approximately .25 inches

Elite race fab where i purchased the differential will not do a refund or issue the correct part because they are saying it is used since the bearings were pressed on even though there web site says it would fit. There is no disclaimer or warning that you need to verify ring gear thickness or deck height before ordering.
My question is, instead of spending $1500 on a new diff, bearings and shipping can i just buy a new ring gear that is the thicker version and use the differential i already purchased. Eaton did not know if it would work

Any other ideas or info on dana 80 diff's is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

If you can find a thick cut ring gear that’d work, but good luck in finding such a thing.

Another option would be to have a 1/4 inch spacer machined to fit between the ring gear and carrier. Just make sure you’re using the correct length bolts ( side note: bolt length affects required torque to achieve the same clamping load, so the torque spec for the bolts would be a bit different as well).

And of course the easiest ( but most expensive) option is to buy the other carrier. Perhaps you could get 1/2 to 3/4 of you money back selling the now “used” but incorrect carrier on eBay/ marketplace.
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