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Dana 44 covers

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:54 am
by rstep
Years back found that the front/rear covers are different on the 44's
The front is 10 gauge verse the rear at 14 gauge.
The fill hole is 1 1/4 inches higher on the heavier cover allowing for a quart more gear oil
Better inturn for the gears.
These covers can be found almost anywhere for 0-15 bucks pretty neat upgrade for cheap.
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Alot of online fab stores sell diff rings for around 20 bucks that you can fab into guards or covers depending on your needs and skill.
I found that a 2"x 1/4" piece of flat bar for around 5 bucks scored about 1/8 threw and then bent at two angles and welded at the cuts and the ring made for a pretty easy and diff gaurd for around 30 bucks with paint.
Sure beats the 65-100 bucks for after market ones out the if you're on a budget.
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Re: Dana 44 covers

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:18 pm
by Tad
:-bd
Looks good.

Re: Dana 44 covers

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 1:22 pm
by Stuka
Yeah, simple solution that would probably work just as good as an expensive one in most cases.

Re: Dana 44 covers

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:06 pm
by Tad
Well, it used to be pretty.

I set my D60 guard up a little different since the stock tie rod comes very close to the diff cover at full turn.
This setup keeps the guard low enough to clear the tie rod, I intend to mount my ram to the stock tie rod since it's pretty tight up above in the hi-steer area.

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It's a little awkward to get to the fill plug but you can get a 5/8" wrench in from the bottom and have just enough clearance to snake in some gear lube using a 3-4" section of 3/8" hose on the end of the bottle.

It's been hit enough that I'm happy I did this prior to the 2010 Las Cruces trip.

EDIT: I went 3/8" x 2" flat stock bent on the press.