Dana 60 question

[Ed Carpenter]

I have a Dana 60 with a 6.17 pro gear. 3 years ago it was completely rebuilt new strange spool, new MW pro ring and pinion, new caps,.bearings the works. This unit has 27 runs on it. My car has sat since July 2013. We are about (well my son is) to put this thing back together. In turning the rear end it has a hard spot as you turn it. Then it turns nice and free then tightens up for a seconds then does it again. Same spot each time? What might this be? Thanks for any input. Ed

[Mike Pearson]

Hi Ed.

Did you have your chassis guy put a brace on the housing when you took it to him last time? There is probably a bad tooth on either the pinion or ring gear. Pull the cover and look for cracks. The gears wont last very long if the clutch is set with too much pressure. The 617 has a very small pinion and not very durable. When I ran a stick in my car many years ago I was only able to get 50 runs max from my Dana w/ 617 gear but that was before the good clutches and clutchless gearboxes that are available today. Good luck getting the car back out and running. I hope your back gets better so you can get back to driving soon.

[Ed Carpenter]

Mike no brace but I put a LPW cover on it with the pads that tighten up against the caps. I will have my son check the ring and pinion. Would like to put a 9" in there but no money for that. My son will have to drive for awhile my back is along ways off from me driving
thanks for input.

[Mike Taylor 3601]

Head of pinion bent,most likely.
Will be tight one spot and loose when you turn pinion 1/2 turn.
Had 12 bolt in 6.1? 1/8 mi.stick car bent pinion about every 35-50 runs,with 300LBS. base and no counterweight on pressure plate.
Mike Taylor 3601

[Paul Precht]

Did you look at it closely, it may have a bit of rust built up in the tight spot.

[Mike Pearson]

Originally Posted by Ed Carpenter

Mike no brace but I put a LPW cover on it with the pads that tighten up against the caps. I will have my son check the ring and pinion. Would like to put a 9" in there but no money for that. My son will have to drive for awhile my back is along ways off from me driving
thanks for input.

Sorry to hear that your back is still giving you grief.
If you pull the gear out check the ends of the axle tubes where the races for the spool bearings push against and see if you see any wear on that surface. That will give you an indication if the housing is spreading when you launch the car. If you see some wear and grooving there add the brace. I think you can add that to the LPW cover that you already had. At some point we probably wont be able to get any gears for the dana's. They already only make a few ratios for them.

[Dave Casey]

the lash was probably set a little on the tight side initially and often times they tighten up some, mainly, I think because the teeth bend very slightly when they get run. Pull the cover and check the lash in a few spots, then reshim it a touch looser and run it. Pinion is pretty small on those, and we are not babying these things.

just my experience in the past

[Ed Carpenter]

Thanks for all the input. We will pull cover and check it out....hope to test this thing pretty soon...

[Mark Yacavone]

Ed, Check the backlash right before the tight spot, right after it, and then again, 180 degrees away from it. You might have a couple thou runout on the spool.
Maybe rotate the ring gear on the spool?
Wouldn't surprise me . As Dave says, we're not babying these things.

[Frank Bialas]

Originally Posted by Mike Pearson

At some point we probably wont be able to get any gears for the dana's. They already only make a few ratios for them.

Your right, looking for NEW 5:13