You can make your own with a 36 mm nut, a 3 foot long piece of pipe and a bolt welded on the other end to put a socket on, I made two and they work great.

 

This is precisely why I snagged an old xj dana44 and avoided the BS involved with the 8.25. But this post was also to subscribe to this thread since it's quite entertaining.

 

I think (was told) the torsion bar from an old dodge car works too.....

 

I would rather set up a Chrysler 8.25 than a Dana 44 any day. On an 8.25 you can adjust your backlash without removing the carrier, on a Dana 44 you have to remove the carrier and carrier bearings so you can switch your shims around to set backlash.

 

Not real hard to do with a diff housing press tho

 

yeah because everyone has one of those

 

LOL I have never heard of that, are you referring to a case spreader? Either way you still have to remove the carrier and remove the bearings from the carrier to adjust backlash, setup bearings are the way to go when doing this, but it still takes longer and is more work than the 8.25 that you can set the backlash on in less than 2 minutes.

 

I did my 4.88s and did exactly what 5speed did

No way are you getting a punch/hammer in there to set it to the required torque specs. You're out of your mind, crazygary.

Prove us wrong, go pop your diff cover, and show us how to do it. Until I see it with my own 2 peepers, I call bovine excrement.

And I'll also agree that even IF it is possible, it's bad advice to be giving to someone who's never done anything like this before.

OP...do it right the first time. You'll thank yourself later.

 

Why not...I do.........


Got a cool hydraulically operated tubing bender that can even be used on the trail if ya drag it out there. Operates off 12v battery bank.......very similar to this one......actually, eerily similar (and this is the 1st time I've ever seen this pic !!)

 

Ok, case spreader........may be harder than the 8.25....but it's a heck of a lot easier than using a prybar (no case spreader) to get things apart just to get TO the point of removing the bearings.


I also agree here.......you need to learn/know how to do it right before you start taking shortcuts........................


.

 

Using a punch and hammer to tighten side adjusters is not a shortcut, just an alternate assembly method.

And anyone who blatantly states that it can't be done is not worth having a conversation with,

And now OP knows all the ways to get this job done, if he chooses to complicate the hell out of it, so be it.

 

Thanks for being so helpful showing your "alternate assembly" tools, then not even showing the OP or explaining what the method is to use them.

How's that? You haven't bothered to explain your method. If the OP knew how to use a punch and hammer to tighten the side adjusters, do you think he would be asking how hard the job is?

 

alternate? Its kinda like a last resort method haha

even if you can get a punch in there and see what you are hitting, i just fail to see how you can actually say you know how much it is adjusted by whacking it with a hammer. Hitting it a few times and calling it good is not mechanically savvy.

youre right though, the op knows all the ways to do the job, even the wrong ones.

 

Your way or the highway right?

Whacking it with a hammer lol!

it's a bit more technical than that, putting gears in a 8.25 isn't rocket science. If it makes you feel better though.

Golf Clap.

 

Most aftermarket setup kits for the D44 include shims that go on the outside of the carrier bearings. Downside is you will probably need a case spreader to get the carrier in with them, with the under bearings shims you can just whack it in with a hammer and not fear destroying the shims.

Likewise most kits include shims that go under the race for the inner pinion bearing, so you can adjust depth without pulling the inner bearing. Downside is it can be hard to get the race out.

But yeah, in general Dana axles are crap to set up because everything is shimmed.