Dodge dakota 2002 Service Manual page 142

DR
REAR AXLE - 9 1/4
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
ADJUSTMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
SPECIAL TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
AXLE SHAFTS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
AXLE SHAFT SEALS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
AXLE BEARINGS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
PINION SEAL
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
REAR AXLE - 9 1/4
DESCRIPTION
The axle consist of a cast iron center section with
axle tubes extending from either side. The tubes are
pressed into and welded to the differential housing to
form a one-piece axle housing (Fig. 1). The axles are
equipped with semi-floating axle shafts, meaning
vehicle loads are supported by the axle shaft and
bearings. The axle shafts are retained by C-locks in
the differential side gears.
OPERATION
The axle receives power from the propeller shaft.
The propeller shaft is connected to the pinion gear
which rotates the differential through the gear mesh
with the ring gear bolted to the differential case. The
engine power is transmitted to the axle shafts
through the pinion mate and side gears. The side
gears are splined to the axle shafts.
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING
GEAR NOISE
Axle gear noise can be caused by insufficient lubri-
cant, incorrect backlash, incorrect pinion depth, tooth
REAR AXLE - 9 1/4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
INSTALLATION
DIFFERENTIAL
DESCRIPTION
OPERATION
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
DISASSEMBLY
ASSEMBLY
INSTALLATION
DIFFERENTIAL-TRAC-LOK
DESCRIPTION
OPERATION
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
DISASSEMBLY
ASSEMBLY
DIFFERENTIAL CASE BEARINGS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
INSTALLATION
PINION GEAR/RING GEAR/TONE RING
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
INSTALLATION
contact, worn/damaged gears, or the carrier housing
not having the proper offset and squareness.
Gear noise usually happens at a specific speed
range. The noise can also occur during a specific type
of driving condition. These conditions are accelera-
tion, deceleration, coast, or constant load.
When road testing, first warm-up the axle fluid by
driving the vehicle at least 5 miles and then acceler-
ate the vehicle to the speed range where the noise is
the greatest. Shift out-of-gear and coast through the
peak-noise range. If the noise stops or changes
greatly:
• Check for insufficient lubricant.
• Incorrect ring gear backlash.
• Gear damage.
Differential side gears and pinions can be checked
by turning the vehicle. They usually do not cause
noise during straight-ahead driving when the gears
are unloaded. The side gears are loaded during vehi-
cle turns. A worn pinion shaft can also cause a snap-
ping or a knocking noise.
BEARING NOISE
The axle shaft, differential and pinion bearings can
all produce noise when worn or damaged. Bearing
noise can be either a whining, or a growling sound.
Pinion bearings have a constant-pitch noise. This
noise changes only with vehicle speed. Pinion bearing
REAR AXLE - 9 1/4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
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