Differential Questions - Page 3

oldbonesclimber · 02-04-2018, 12:57 PM

I saw this on Ebay, Looks like a Great Start for someone wanting a Killer SRW axle in their SMB.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dana-80-Axl...1aB2SX&vxp=mtr

Paul

arctictraveller · 02-04-2018, 06:05 PM

[QUOTE=I would expect Randy's, who has a real good reputation, and charge for it, to be outstanding.[/QUOTE]

Oh yea, they charge for it all right. I like few things better than telling folks what a good job someone did for me, and do it every chance I get, but sadly, Randys shafted me too many times for me to say anything good about them. So, since I'm close to installing a full floater, who in the Pacific North west is trust worthy enough to rebuild it?

SierraHawk · 02-04-2018, 09:31 PM

I have spent around $10,000 in maintenance on my SF and the installation of a FF D60. Every job has failed. Like Tom said the shops that work on differentials will try to shift the blame for a failure on someone or something other than the parts they installed or the quality of the work. I had a FF D60 built by a shop in Portland (Wallys and Son). When I broke an axle in November I found that Wally's installed a Eaton Locker and not the Eaton Truetrac that I told them to install. Wally's ordered the parts through Randy's in Tacoma. Within the first week of rolling on the new diff I knew that they had installed a locker. I emailed them about my concerns but they blew it off and told me that they installed the Truetrac. I will have to contact Wally's this week and start talking to them about replacing the Locker with a Truetrac. Not sure what they will say but I am not hopeful. If anyone has a suggestion as to how to deal with a shop that installed the wrong differential carrier let us know. We all will appreciate any guidance that will make this process result in our favor.

winmag4582001 · 02-05-2018, 07:56 AM

Here in Denver I use Colorado Axle & Gear.
For a complete rear axle service and gear change on a Dana60 SF it's $1400 with a full 1 year warranty.
I cannot stress enough that a person needs to find a reputable shop to do work. It's a little more expensive but saves you thousands in the long run.

arctictraveller · 02-05-2018, 10:24 AM

[QUOTE=SierraHawk;221092 We all will appreciate any guidance that will make this process result in our favor.[/QUOTE]

Every state has some sort of consumer protection laws pertaining to automotive repair. Try Google to see which agency in your state inforces those laws. You have to try to resolve the issues yourself, but once you hit a brick wall, they will often times open an investigation. Sometimes, simply letting the shop know your aware of your rights and intend to file a complaint if your not satisfied, will be enough to get them to address your issue. Since shops are licensed, they don't want that license to operate impacted. I would ask to have all your repair, towing etc, expenses refunded. Good luck.

carringb · 02-05-2018, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

So, since I'm close to installing a full floater, who in the Pacific North west is trust worthy enough to rebuild it?

Snyder and Sons in Albany is the only axle shop I trust 100%. They just put together differential #5 for me (they did #2, and #4 as well. #3 was Jasper).

Just beware... I've heard their shop described aptly as a medieval dungeon, and you might end up with new grease smudges here and there. But their pricing is very fair. I don't even have them bother quoting anymore. I just it off with instructions to do what it needs. Most importantly, they know what they're doing.

REF · 02-05-2018, 03:24 PM

I’ve read through the thread, but just want to be clear, on your 3rd one from them?!? In the same van? Not sure if that’s a ringing endorsement? Are they using inferior components/gears that aren’t lasting or do you just go through them towing or?

'03 Ford E350 7.3L Diesel
SMB RB50 w/CCV top
Quigley 4X4 w/Deavers & Agile RIP kit

carringb · 02-05-2018, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REF

I’ve read through the thread, but just want to be clear, on your 3rd one from them?!? In the same van? Not sure if that’s a ringing endorsement? Are they using inferior components/gears that aren’t lasting or do you just go through them towing or?

1st one from them was 4.30 gears, in the stock 9.75" carrier (in the stock Dana 70 housing). I overheated it pulling my 41' trailer up to Alta ski area. There happened to be 17 people in the van at the time. It got a little noisy on the way home, and on my next trip, a pinion tooth sheared off when I was loading snowmobiles into the trailer. I forgot the set the parking brake, and the sleds needed a good running start to make it up the ramp, and landing while hard on the brakes, so it rocked the trailer pretty hard each time. This one was replaced with a Jasper reman due to where I was when it happened. Jasper upgraded me to the 10.5" carrier.

The 2nd one from them replaced the Jasper, which split the carrier in half when I had a hard landing on surprise jump on a remote forest service road. Also towing.

#3 broke on new year. The pinion sheared in half. Basically too much torque. When the V10 downshifts at 25 MPH into 1st gear, it puts at at peak torque, which is somewhere north of 500 ft-lbs in my van. Times that by the 1st gear ratio, and that's a lot of torque. Without a trailer, that would normally just roast the rear tires, but in this case I was towing.I had previously disabled torque management during shifts because it does so by reducing fuel, and it was causing some very unwanted pinging. The downshifts were on a 7% grade when I was pulling around slower moving cars. The pinion actually held on while under WOT, but I felt the driveline vibration as soon as I hit the throttle to pass slowcar #2. As soon as I let off at the top of the hill the driveline smacked the floor, then ejected about 10 seconds later.

So... none of the failures had anything to do with installation error, and everything to do with the axles not being up to par for how I use the rig. Now I have a monster E450 axle, with a fresh diff build. Even if it only lasts me another 150,000 miles, that should be long enough to last me to my next van, since this one will have 600,000 by then. Powertrain is doing fine, but the body is showing some serious wear and tear. Plus I can probably turn torque management back on for the 2-1 downshift, since that wasn't the shift causing the fuel issue.

arctictraveller · 02-05-2018, 10:48 PM

[QUOTE=carringb So... none of the failures had anything to do with installation error, and everything to do with the axles not being up to par for how I use the rig. .[/QUOTE]

Good god, your darn hard on the equipment..............

ShuttlePilot · 02-06-2018, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carringb

So... none of the failures had anything to do with installation error, and everything to do with the axles not being up to par for how I use the rig.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

Good god, your darn hard on the equipment..............

Everywhere I have worked that would be classified as operator error on the incident report. And pay would be adjusted accordingly.

-Eric