I don't remember now what axle it was but back in the late 70s there was one crush sleeve that was unobtainable. We saved every crush sleeve we could get our hands on and measured them to find a sleeve that was a bit longer. There was also a "U" shaped shim that was made to slip over the end of the sleeve to make it just a few thousandths longer so the crush would be obtained. It might have been those foreign made metro buses but I just don't remember. Peugeot sticks in my memory like the scent of moldy cheese. I was the trained monkey, the rookie that got the "here do this this way" when I wasn't cleaning parts, pulling stuff out of the hot tank or sweeping the floors. I had been to two years of trade and vocational school for mechanics but I knew how to keep my mouth shut, eyes and ears open. I learned fast. That crash course in the real world worked to my advantage for many years later. That rear is a mess. There should be a whole bunch of jeep guys out there that can give you some tips and tricks. They tear up and break stuff on a regular basis. LOL! I'm too old for that stuff now, I just like to watch other people work. Take care, there are many ways to lose skin and blood working inside an axle. It's a shame people get taken like that... Cheers Terry
i have done this type job and know how to do it.BUT the way you explain and show makes it where someone who hadn't ever done one could understand wonderful video
Dear D. A. T. 👍👌👏 2) Your winch engine hoist works like a champ! Congrats! Please consider to put it in utube like a typical short video too. I bet you will gather a lot of views. Best regards, luck and health.
I’ve always been a fan of the “ZJ” Jeep Grand Cherokees’. Really appreciate how you explain each process step by step. Hope you’ll show the reinstallation of everything cause I’m learning a lot about it. Like I’ve said before J.C. being a decent American goes a long way. It’s such a great thing you do for others that need a hand. Very inspiring and I have a lot of respect for what you do.
im sure the folks in your life were a great inspiration to you. you dont become such a fine respectable and courteous young man without some good guidance in your up bringing.
Really appreciate your very clear explanation of setting the ring and pinion relationship via preload shims, etc. You may not be a Jeep guy but you know the concepts!
Odd that I'm working on the same area this week on my 2002 3500 Dodge. A previous owner apparently backed really hard into something and crunched in the rear end cover. Then moved it thus smashing the tone ring teeth a bit. While usable, the truck had odd symptoms from that. Brake pedal pushing back at lower speeds. Speedo jumpy and cruise not steady. Someone had been in there to "fix" it because there is no glitter at all in there through 2 lubricant changes over the last several years and the cover is gob welded on the inside. What made the job so much more trouble than a simple tone ring change was the carrier falling back at me when the last bearing clamp bolt came loose. Zero preload on that carrier. Having to go through the bearing replacement since they show very minor pitting. At least I don't have to do as much cleaning as you do :-) Enjoy your videos and will keep watching.
That's sad they take it to a repair shop to have it fixed and they get hosed. There's some good people in the world and you and Mrs Smith are those good people . Have a great evening.
I thought that at first also, but for the labor time to replace the axle seal and replace the axle as well plus the oil and labor, $400 isn't bad at all. IMHO a vehicle this age and low use might well be a candidate for a used wrecking yard axle, or rebuild it like they're doing. Can't get it apart to diagnose without a couple hours labor either way just like shown.
in my opinion, they did get screwed. they took it to them for a "growling noise in the rear". the shop had to remove the rear cover and fluid to remove the c clip that held the axle in. when they opened it up and saw all the metal that was in it, they should have suspected multiple bearing and ring gear damage. they should have inspected the entire rear end right there. instead, they replaced a few things, charged them $400. and then told them they needed a new rear end. that was dirty.
I was concerned about the shims Until you mentioned you ordered a shim kit. It made me wonder if the shims were in it maybe the wrong thickness when you mentioned that someone beat it to death to get it in. Since you’re covering all bases with replacing all new bearings , races seals. everything necessary you’ll get the job done and done right because you are a very thorough mechanic and appreciate you sharing with us. Have a Blessed One Sir
Very nice of you folks to help your friends. I've done similar things for years. I appreciate hearing your analysis of what's salvageable and what is not. I have a Mustang axle to reassemble. The more info I can gather, the better.
👍👌👏 Very well done again and as always (video and work). Obviously a lot of effort and precise work is necessary. I'm sick and tired hearing about all the bad but overpriced service that all kinds of shops do. It seems to become worse every day. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health to all of you (including Jeff of course).
Great vid JC, love the vids. I’ve always loved cars/trucks, and really like tinkering with them. but never really had anyone show the way or explain things. Appreciate your perspective on the right way to do things and how you explain things in the blue collar, easy to understand way. Looking forward to future vids
Jc glad your fixing it correctly for them all new bearings races and seals case of brake clean but if they only drove 400 miles since last year would probably lasted years with that amount of driving they do but who knows great learning experience on how to remove and put back together and how lash is done is set. Ive done large truck rears replacing entire carrier before all preset.👍on the video
they were not driving anywhere unless it was absolutely necessary. when i found out what was goin on, i went to get it right away. once it is fixed, imsure they will drive quite a bit more.
Love this little 4pt series of this. But, I was hoping you'd show every detail when removing the carrier. I bought a jeep wrangler 2012. On the drivers side there was like 8 or 9 thin shims. That alone makes no sense. On the passenger side there was one thick one and one thin one. The drivers side axel was up against the spider gear rod. So many things in this differential is wrong. Looking at this video, are the axels two different lengths on a jeep wrangler like they are on that Jeep zj? If so, does the longer one go on the passenger side? To me that would make more sense because on the drivers side it's up against the spider gear rod. That would put an end to that mystery. Which would leave the shim dilemma. Believe it or not this is my first ever differential disassembly. I have all the tools needed to replace all bearings and races. I have the backlash measuring tool. I just bought a boat load of shims so I'll have a good verity of thicknesses. This time I'm not removing and replacing everything. This time, only the carrier bearings and carrier shims. Oh yes and the spider gears and shims and rod. The spider gears were chewed up some. So I'm replacing them. In conclusion, my only concerns are my two issues. The different length axels and the carrier shims. I've learned the rest. I wish you would have disassembled the carrier and showed and gave a little explanation of the shims. That's all I need to feel confident in doing this. But after seeing your two axels being different lengths that has given me a migraine. Because now I need to know that information too. I'm going to finish watching pt4 and I hope when you're reasembling the whole thing you show in specifics the shims and axels. Thank you for taking the time to make this 4 pt mini series of the rear differential. I have 2 simple questions. First, Is that a Dana 44? 2nd of the metal tag is missing, where would I find the info about the differential on the differential? Thank you so much!
Good video I have a 1998 jeep zj 5.9 limited that is a 318 5.2l so it should be the same rear differential as my dana 44a witch is really a dana35 difference between the two is the dana44a Aluminum case up front they're all dana 30 V8 jeep dana 44a or 44hd 4.0l jeep dana 35
The crap a local shop did to my sister's Grand Cherokee is inexcusable, dangerous and scuzzy yet they tripled down on it even after I brought the axle to them with the slice cut into it over a quarter inch deep from their hacks not knowing how to remove a bearing retainer ring or bearing race. The galvanized carriage bolt holding the drag link to steering stabilizer was another of their hacks. There's plenty more but their corporate office doesn't care either. VIP Auto New Hampshire. Sue me. Not you buddy, them.
I know that one had other obvious problems, but every time I open a Dana axle (light duty automotive stuff anyhow... I have no experience with the big ones) it's a box of trash inside. Every. Time. I don't know if it's them or me, but I'm about done spending money rebuilding them. Personally, I'd get a junkyard rear end, inspect it well, re-seal it, and toss it in there. Normally the rebuild kit exceeds the cost of junkyard unit, the junkyard comes with a warranty (even if short), and it's generally a lot faster to do. Normally I'd be with you and just rebuild it, but they seem to destroy themselves on me no matter which way I go. Given the owners only drive it a few hundred miles a year, I'd lean even harder in that direction. A good condition junkyard pull is almost guaranteed to survive until that vehicle is on to that big highway in the sky heading into the soup can factory. and... the aluminum housing 44 is actually considered weak and extremely light duty in the Jeep community. A steel housing from would be a big upgrade, despite the aluminum housing being considered "heavy duty" by Dana. So... grabbing a steelie would be a good thing, IMO. Oh... and... since I suspect you're probably still going to rebuild it despite my opinion (no offense intended or taken 😆)... I've found that aftermarket replacement yokes are normally almost the same price as repair sleeves, at least for popular vehicles like Jeeps, and a lot of times the old ones will be so rusty around the caps that I get nervous about reusing them anyhow. At a glance, it looks like Summit has a Crown replacement for under $50. Summit normally has great prices on kits too.
i was only bale to find 2 rear ends local to me. they both had over 160k on them. i figured i would probably have to do the same thing to them as this one. they were over $800 each! i ordered all the parts for about half that. fingers crossed i can get this back together successfully.....and it quiet when i am done!
@@j.c.smithprojects Dang! I wouldn't pay $800 for an entire parts ZJ! Used to be an axle like that would about $250. I never concerned myself with miles. It either looked good inside or it didn't. Sounds like the world is changing around me faster than I thought. Given your options, I'd do the same thing. Really, given those options, I've got a few around here I should part out. 🤣
It’s just sad to say there are to many shops out there that take advantage of people and don’t fix the problems right and just take the money, what does it hurt to actually do what you did inspect everything an find out what it actually needs and not throw a couple parts in it an hope it’s fixed . There is just very little decent shops and people that care anymore.
Least they don’t have a dana35. I have a couple 98 5.9 grand Cherokees and I beat the piss out of one of my 44a limited slip. When it does go out, I’ll be putting a ford 8.8 in
Thanks for the video JC. From what I can see the pinion helix is pitted and that unit is not serviceable for the long term. Whatever that may be. Just saying. The old school guy.
That really stinks when a shop rips ppl off on a big important repair that needs done and not do it proper. A friend of mine was almost a victum to a shop rip off on a trans repair. They tried to charge my friend $5,000.00 for another trans in their jeep grand cherikee. Ended up findin out all they needed to do was service the trans to fix the issue.
That looks like a Dana 44, the Dana 30/35 have a "round" cover. It sucks when one bearing fails, and the rest get contaminated. Edit: I guess I should watch the whole video before I comment. I didn't know they ever made an aluminum center section for the D44.
What pissed me was I changed tires and rims plus did other jobs on my tandem trailer. Every wheel nut was rounded of. Grr. But then to make matters worse so called expert who sold me tires, sold me wrong wheel nuts. Hence one of the tires came of when I was driving.
the zj d44 is a boat anchor complete trash. the aluminum center section is junk not really worth anything i would swap the whole diff for something else.
Thank y'all so much for helping this elderly couple out and repairing their vehicle the proper way.
I don't remember now what axle it was but back in the late 70s there was one crush sleeve that was unobtainable. We saved every crush sleeve we could get our hands on and measured them to find a sleeve that was a bit longer. There was also a "U" shaped shim that was made to slip over the end of the sleeve to make it just a few thousandths longer so the crush would be obtained.
It might have been those foreign made metro buses but I just don't remember. Peugeot sticks in my memory like the scent of moldy cheese. I was the trained monkey, the rookie that got the "here do this this way" when I wasn't cleaning parts, pulling stuff out of the hot tank or sweeping the floors.
I had been to two years of trade and vocational school for mechanics but I knew how to keep my mouth shut, eyes and ears open. I learned fast.
That crash course in the real world worked to my advantage for many years later.
That rear is a mess. There should be a whole bunch of jeep guys out there that can give you some tips and tricks. They tear up and break stuff on a regular basis. LOL!
I'm too old for that stuff now, I just like to watch other people work.
Take care, there are many ways to lose skin and blood working inside an axle.
It's a shame people get taken like that...
Cheers
Terry
i have done this type job and know how to do it.BUT the way you explain and show makes it where someone who hadn't ever done one could understand wonderful video
Dear D. A. T.
👍👌👏 2) Your winch engine hoist works like a champ! Congrats! Please consider to put it in utube like a typical short video too. I bet you will gather a lot of views.
Best regards, luck and health.
I’ve always been a fan of the “ZJ” Jeep Grand Cherokees’. Really appreciate how you explain each process step by step. Hope you’ll show the reinstallation of everything cause I’m learning a lot about it.
Like I’ve said before J.C. being a decent American goes a long way. It’s such a great thing you do for others that need a hand. Very inspiring and I have a lot of respect for what you do.
im sure the folks in your life were a great inspiration to you. you dont become such a fine respectable and courteous young man without some good guidance in your up bringing.
I’ve had a few ZJs over the years and they’ve all been great vehicles!
Yikes there was a bunch of metal in there. Thank goodness the ring and pinion gears are OK.
Good to have you as his mechanic...he knows it will be done properly...
Glad that you are going to get it fixed for this friend. Looking forward to your next video stay safe J.C.Smith.
Really appreciate your very clear explanation of setting the ring and pinion relationship via preload shims, etc. You may not be a Jeep guy but you know the concepts!
Mr JC Thanks for sharing and stay safe
Odd that I'm working on the same area this week on my 2002 3500 Dodge. A previous owner apparently backed really hard into something and crunched in the rear end cover. Then moved it thus smashing the tone ring teeth a bit. While usable, the truck had odd symptoms from that. Brake pedal pushing back at lower speeds. Speedo jumpy and cruise not steady. Someone had been in there to "fix" it because there is no glitter at all in there through 2 lubricant changes over the last several years and the cover is gob welded on the inside. What made the job so much more trouble than a simple tone ring change was the carrier falling back at me when the last bearing clamp bolt came loose. Zero preload on that carrier. Having to go through the bearing replacement since they show very minor pitting. At least I don't have to do as much cleaning as you do :-)
Enjoy your videos and will keep watching.
That's sad they take it to a repair shop to have it fixed and they get hosed. There's some good people in the world and you and Mrs Smith are those good people . Have a great evening.
I thought that at first also, but for the labor time to replace the axle seal and replace the axle as well plus the oil and labor, $400 isn't bad at all.
IMHO a vehicle this age and low use might well be a candidate for a used wrecking yard axle, or rebuild it like they're doing.
Can't get it apart to diagnose without a couple hours labor either way just like shown.
in my opinion, they did get screwed. they took it to them for a "growling noise in the rear". the shop had to remove the rear cover and fluid to remove the c clip that held the axle in. when they opened it up and saw all the metal that was in it, they should have suspected multiple bearing and ring gear damage. they should have inspected the entire rear end right there. instead, they replaced a few things, charged them $400. and then told them they needed a new rear end. that was dirty.
I was concerned about the shims
Until you mentioned you ordered a shim kit. It made me wonder if the shims were in it maybe the wrong thickness when you mentioned that someone beat it to death to get it in. Since you’re covering all bases with replacing all new bearings , races seals. everything necessary you’ll get the job done and done right because you are a very thorough mechanic and appreciate you sharing with us. Have a Blessed One Sir
Very nice of you folks to help your friends. I've done similar things for years. I appreciate hearing your analysis of what's salvageable and what is not. I have a Mustang axle to reassemble. The more info I can gather, the better.
👍👌👏 Very well done again and as always (video and work). Obviously a lot of effort and precise work is necessary. I'm sick and tired hearing about all the bad but overpriced service that all kinds of shops do. It seems to become worse every day.
Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing.
Best regards luck and health to all of you (including Jeff of course).
Great vid JC, love the vids. I’ve always loved cars/trucks, and really like tinkering with them. but never really had anyone show the way or explain things. Appreciate your perspective on the right way to do things and how you explain things in the blue collar, easy to understand way. Looking forward to future vids
Hello🙋♂️ from the Netherlands🇳🇱 .
thanks for the video JC .
Sincerely, Hollandduck 🇳🇱🦆
JC, you have one hell of a wife. She's fantastic. You're a lucky man.
Great video
Jc your camera Lady is doing an awesome job
Jc glad your fixing it correctly for them all new bearings races and seals case of brake clean but if they only drove 400 miles since last year would probably lasted years with that amount of driving they do but who knows great learning experience on how to remove and put back together and how lash is done is set. Ive done large truck rears replacing entire carrier before all preset.👍on the video
they were not driving anywhere unless it was absolutely necessary. when i found out what was goin on, i went to get it right away. once it is fixed, imsure they will drive quite a bit more.
In my mind, I can just smell this.
Love this little 4pt series of this. But, I was hoping you'd show every detail when removing the carrier. I bought a jeep wrangler 2012. On the drivers side there was like 8 or 9 thin shims. That alone makes no sense. On the passenger side there was one thick one and one thin one. The drivers side axel was up against the spider gear rod. So many things in this differential is wrong. Looking at this video, are the axels two different lengths on a jeep wrangler like they are on that Jeep zj? If so, does the longer one go on the passenger side? To me that would make more sense because on the drivers side it's up against the spider gear rod. That would put an end to that mystery. Which would leave the shim dilemma.
Believe it or not this is my first ever differential disassembly. I have all the tools needed to replace all bearings and races. I have the backlash measuring tool. I just bought a boat load of shims so I'll have a good verity of thicknesses. This time I'm not removing and replacing everything. This time, only the carrier bearings and carrier shims. Oh yes and the spider gears and shims and rod. The spider gears were chewed up some. So I'm replacing them.
In conclusion, my only concerns are my two issues. The different length axels and the carrier shims. I've learned the rest.
I wish you would have disassembled the carrier and showed and gave a little explanation of the shims. That's all I need to feel confident in doing this. But after seeing your two axels being different lengths that has given me a migraine. Because now I need to know that information too.
I'm going to finish watching pt4 and I hope when you're reasembling the whole thing you show in specifics the shims and axels. Thank you for taking the time to make this 4 pt mini series of the rear differential.
I have 2 simple questions. First, Is that a Dana 44? 2nd of the metal tag is missing, where would I find the info about the differential on the differential? Thank you so much!
Great video that's a lot going on.
Love you JC, you're a great guy!
Good video I have a 1998 jeep zj 5.9 limited that is a 318 5.2l so it should be the same rear differential as my dana 44a witch is really a dana35 difference between the two is the dana44a Aluminum case up front they're all dana 30
V8 jeep dana 44a or 44hd
4.0l jeep dana 35
The crap a local shop did to my sister's Grand Cherokee is inexcusable, dangerous and scuzzy yet they tripled down on it even after I brought the axle to them with the slice cut into it over a quarter inch deep from their hacks not knowing how to remove a bearing retainer ring or bearing race. The galvanized carriage bolt holding the drag link to steering stabilizer was another of their hacks. There's plenty more but their corporate office doesn't care either. VIP Auto New Hampshire. Sue me. Not you buddy, them.
I know that one had other obvious problems, but every time I open a Dana axle (light duty automotive stuff anyhow... I have no experience with the big ones) it's a box of trash inside. Every. Time. I don't know if it's them or me, but I'm about done spending money rebuilding them. Personally, I'd get a junkyard rear end, inspect it well, re-seal it, and toss it in there. Normally the rebuild kit exceeds the cost of junkyard unit, the junkyard comes with a warranty (even if short), and it's generally a lot faster to do. Normally I'd be with you and just rebuild it, but they seem to destroy themselves on me no matter which way I go. Given the owners only drive it a few hundred miles a year, I'd lean even harder in that direction. A good condition junkyard pull is almost guaranteed to survive until that vehicle is on to that big highway in the sky heading into the soup can factory.
and... the aluminum housing 44 is actually considered weak and extremely light duty in the Jeep community. A steel housing from would be a big upgrade, despite the aluminum housing being considered "heavy duty" by Dana. So... grabbing a steelie would be a good thing, IMO.
Oh... and... since I suspect you're probably still going to rebuild it despite my opinion (no offense intended or taken 😆)... I've found that aftermarket replacement yokes are normally almost the same price as repair sleeves, at least for popular vehicles like Jeeps, and a lot of times the old ones will be so rusty around the caps that I get nervous about reusing them anyhow. At a glance, it looks like Summit has a Crown replacement for under $50. Summit normally has great prices on kits too.
i was only bale to find 2 rear ends local to me. they both had over 160k on them. i figured i would probably have to do the same thing to them as this one. they were over $800 each! i ordered all the parts for about half that. fingers crossed i can get this back together successfully.....and it quiet when i am done!
@@j.c.smithprojects Dang! I wouldn't pay $800 for an entire parts ZJ! Used to be an axle like that would about $250. I never concerned myself with miles. It either looked good inside or it didn't.
Sounds like the world is changing around me faster than I thought. Given your options, I'd do the same thing. Really, given those options, I've got a few around here I should part out. 🤣
It’s just sad to say there are to many shops out there that take advantage of people and don’t fix the problems right and just take the money, what does it hurt to actually do what you did inspect everything an find out what it actually needs and not throw a couple parts in it an hope it’s fixed . There is just very little decent shops and people that care anymore.
Least they don’t have a dana35. I have a couple 98 5.9 grand Cherokees and I beat the piss out of one of my 44a limited slip. When it does go out, I’ll be putting a ford 8.8 in
Thanks for the video JC. From what I can see the pinion helix is pitted and that unit is not serviceable for the long term. Whatever that may be. Just saying. The old school guy.
might be in the camera. in person it looks really good.
That really stinks when a shop rips ppl off on a big important repair that needs done and not do it proper. A friend of mine was almost a victum to a shop rip off on a trans repair. They tried to charge my friend $5,000.00 for another trans in their jeep grand cherikee. Ended up findin out all they needed to do was service the trans to fix the issue.
What are they calling for, for gear oil in that thing? The oil that drained out looked really light.
it was synthetic oil...its pretty thin. i will replace with synthetic and the right weight.
From junkyard givin beckaxle and replace. Will bi chiped
Is that dana 44a aluminum?
That looks like a Dana 44, the Dana 30/35 have a "round" cover. It sucks when one bearing fails, and the rest get contaminated.
Edit: I guess I should watch the whole video before I comment. I didn't know they ever made an aluminum center section for the D44.
Doesn’t stop leak, expand gaskets or seals?
i dont know. i never used it.
It looks like they cut that "gasket" (and i use that term loosely!) from a truck tire inner tube.....
Sneaking suspicion here that somewhere along the way someone rattle blasted that pinion nut on there with a vengeance. It happens a lot.
Pretty shady on the shop to replace the seal *then* tell them it needs a rear end! 😡
my feelings exactly zane.....these folks are on a fixed income. not easy to absorb expenses like this.
What pissed me was I changed tires and rims plus did other jobs on my tandem trailer.
Every wheel nut was rounded of. Grr.
But then to make matters worse so called expert who sold me tires, sold me wrong wheel nuts. Hence one of the tires came of when I was driving.
i dont care what a "pro" gives me for parts. i always verify it fits properly. in the end the last person that touched it is the one responsible.
@@j.c.smithprojects yep i agree good advice, for my first major project, trailer is towing real well.
I can smell this video....
when there is little to no lube in the rear end, would be surprised if it did not make noise as it ate itself.
fair play to mrs jc for getting under the jeep with the camera
Seems they don't make things better, but cheaper to manufacture. 🤔
Wassup
😎👍
the zj d44 is a boat anchor complete trash. the aluminum center section is junk not really worth anything i would swap the whole diff for something else.
these are retired folks. they dont need anything more than what it came with. it lasted 108k miles. it will be fine.
Way better than a turdy 5
Biggest mistake in the world, investing in a Chrysler product and expecting to get real Jeep quality. Sorry but that ended in 86.
that could be said about every manufacture of everything. i have never been a jeep fan ever.
I don't see any paint marker on those pinion and ring gear from measuring backlash...looks like amature did it
The previous shop didn't mess with the gears yet.