1st Gen Rearends
 

does anyone know a good place to get my rearend rebuilt. mine just started howlin real bad and leaks pretty good to.im in california. the truck has some serious gear in it now i can only do about 70 mph on the freeway cause its screamin. id like to put in some 3.54s in it to get a litl more mph and fuel econ out of it thanks:U:

you got 4.10's im assuming, if its leaking and its howling you ran it dry on fluid.....you are gonna pay about 500 plus parts to get the rearend rebuilt, do it yourself and save a bunch of money.....

thanks for the advice man, is it a pain to take it apart and put the new parts in

not really, get a buddy that has done it before and have him help ya, easier to take the differential out with 2 guys, its pretty heavy....

just jack up the rearend and put it on jack stands, unbolt the axles from the outside flanges, you dont even have to take the tires off, put a bucket under it when you pull the axles out so the fluid will drain into it, then go underneath and take all the bolts out of the rear cover and drain it into a pan, then remove the driveshaft, then unbolt the 4 main cap bolts, keep the bolts and caps seperated, left on left side, and right on right side, then pull the differential out, make sure you keep track of any shims you take out and keep them seperated just like the caps, then remove the pinion nut and get the pinion out, this may require some slight persuasion from a RUBBER mallet.....then do all your ring changing, setup stuff, new bearings all that jazz and start rebuilding...........THIS WAS ALL DONE FROM MEMORY, CANT REMEMBER EXACTLY......SOMEONE FILL IN THE MESSED UP PARTS.....

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/D70/D70.htm

parts.....

http://www.drivetrain.com/dana70.html

Replacing bearings is not as big of a job as changing gears. You can generally go back with the same setup when all you're doing is changing bearings, but anytime you change the ring and pinion and/or the carrier you need to properly set it up. The proper way to set it up is to use a dial indicator to get your backlash and pinion depth, and a tourque wench to set your bearing preload. If your old bearings aren't completely cashed you can slightly gring the inner races so that they slide on and off easy. Its a lot easier to use "set up" bearings and only press the new ones on once. And make sure you remember which bearing cap goes on each side like Loganstanforth said as well as keeping them right side up.

Would you need a case spreader for the dana 70 the only rear I had to do was one on my jeep that I had when I put a locker in..I used a case spreader made in easier to set preload and put in shims..but the axle I did in was alot lighter than a 70

If you can find a complete rearend from the junkyard, alot of times that can be a way to avoid messing with preload and backlash and all that other precision stuff if you don't feel comfortable in doing that. And you can upgrade to a dana 80 from a newer truck if you can find one. Good luck
ez

go talk to Nidiffer and see what he says, i cant remember.....

I know on dana axles a case spreader can be used. And it made it way easier to preload and put in shims in the dana in my jeep.

A case spreader will make the job much easier