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| When going to the 33"
tires it was necessary to change ring and pinions to 4.56's, just to try
to get some of the performance back. At the time I opted to try a
less expensive locker in the rear Dana 35. Boy, was that a
mistake. With the short 88 inch wheelbase of the Mutt it
constantly pulled and pushed back and forth as the locker tried to
figure out which axle to send power to. It was a pain on the
streets, and dangerous on some of the freeway ramps as the Mutt swerved
side-to-side.
Time to bite the bullet
and swap out. The newer electric lockers weren't available yet, so
the good old ARB was the only choice. Not a bad one either as it
has always given good service.
Full instructions are
included with the ARBs, but here are some pics of the swap into the
Mutt. As always click on any thumbnail for a larger pic.
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| First step was to drain the gear oil
and check to see that the gears were still in good shape. Teeth
all looked good and wear pattern was normal. Guess that all is OK.
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| Next, pull the axles out to free the old diff. The floater
Warns made this a lot easier since the half-shafts just pull free once
the wheels and hubs are removed. (on the original Rover you didn't
even have to pull the wheels since the hubs came off with the wheels
still on.) |
| Since my Dana 35 was an older one, it didn't have the drain holes
added to the later ones. It took just a few minutes to grind some
on per the ARB instructions. While things were dirty the top of
the case was drilled for the NPT pipe fitting used for the air line.
Watch out for all of the metal chips! (yes, I should have pulled
everything apart, but I opted to just cover the bearings and carefully
vacuum it all out when done. |
| Next, the critical step of checking backlash. OK, here's where
the home shadetree mechanic made a MAJOR shortcut. I didn't have a
case spreader handy, so I just pried the old diff out, and tapped shims
in to guestimate the bearing preload. NO, it is NOT the way to do
it, but so far it's worked for me. Also, the Mutt is not a daily
driver so it doesn't see too many miles.
First step, put all of the shims on the right side to determine the
overall shim thickness, without worrying about backlash. Once the
total thickness is determined, move shims from the right to the left to
move the ring gear closer. After a few steps you'll find a set
that gives proper preload and backlash.
To help get the bearing on the spindle, heat them in your oven and
they'll just about slip on. |
| Below is the the ARB, all set up and anywhere to go. Air line
is routed out the top to clear the ring gear. Note that the 4.56
ring gear takes up most of the case. Next step was to just run the
plastic air line to the solenoid on the air compressor, and install a
switch. Another option is to go all air. Instead of using
the electric air solenoid, get air toggle switches that directly route
air and vent without any electrics. |
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