Well, as you might have seen over the weekend I started tearing into the Dana 44 on my track car. What I found when I took it apart was ugly. The fluid was smoked and there were some nice chunks of metal in the bottom of the case. I still can't figure out exactly where those chunks came from but my best guess is the clutches, which showed some really bad/uneven wear. The other issue that I came across was the fact that rather than needing a spreader or a pry bar, the case basically just fell out. There were some chewed up shims which might be the reason for that. Either way... not good.
What I soon realized is that there are not as many resources out there for rebuild parts as you might think. I ended up having to use 3 different suppliers to find all of the parts I needed. Even with that, I haven't recieved them yet so my fingers are crossed that they are actually correct.
First were the clutches.
Amazingly difficult to find the correct ones. I found D36 packs everywhere, but the 44s were a lot more difficult. I ended up with these after cross referencing some numbers.
http://www.zip-corvette.com/ProductD...GR-SR&CTitle=&
Next were the bearings and seals. Mine actually look to be in good shape but it's one of those things that you might as well replace while you have it apart...
1985-1996 Corvette Dana 44 Differential Bearing & Seal Kit|Mount & Rebuild Components|Zip Corvette Parts
Finally came the part that I couldn't find anywhere. We managed to damage the snap rings that hold the yokes while we were taking it apart. If you are doing a rebuild, do whatever you can to make sure that doesn't happen because snap rings are impossible to find. I made calls to about 20 different shops and rear gear shops before I finally found them on ebay (listed as rings for a Viper D44).
EDIT: The Dodge/Jeep rings are NOT the same.
The difference comes in their use. The Vette snap rings are used to adjust the endplay on the yoke. The Mopar rings are not. Therefore, the Vette rings are of varying thicknesses where as the Mopar are a generic size. The tolerance for endplay in the yoke should be measured to between .0005" (.013mm) to .0085 (.216mm) and is adjusted by using the various sized rings.
After a ton of dead ends and some wasted money, I was finally pointed to a place that actually has them:
http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/catalog.asp?pg=32
