Dodge dakota 2002 Service Manual page 200

DR
REAR AXLE - 11 1/2 AA
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
ADJUSTMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
SPECIAL TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
AXLE SHAFTS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
AXLE BEARINGS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
PINION SEAL
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
DIFFERENTIAL
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
REAR AXLE - 11 1/2 AA
DESCRIPTION
The axle consists of a cast iron center casting dif-
ferential housing with axle shaft tubes extending
from each side. The tubes are pressed into the differ-
ential housing and welded. The design has the cen-
terline of the pinion set below the centerline of the
ring gear. The axle is a full floating axle where the
loads are supported by the axle housing tubes. The
axle has a vent used to relieve internal pressure
caused by lubricant vaporization and internal expan-
sion.
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.
REAR AXLE - 11 1/2 AA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
REAR AXLE - 11 1/2 AA
OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
DISASSEMBLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
ASSEMBLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
DIFFERENTIAL TRAC-RITE
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
DISASSEMBLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
CLEANING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
INSPECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
ASSEMBLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
DIFFERENTIAL CASE BEARINGS
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
PINION GEAR/RING GEAR/TONE RING
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING
GEAR NOISE
Axle gear noise can be caused by insufficient lubri-
cant, incorrect backlash, incorrect pinion depth, tooth
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.
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