All out D80 Mods????

[jmar]

jmar that looks like a good design. Have you thought about doing a truss off it like in the above posts? Looks like it would be perfect for that, nice and heavy duty.

Sorry I am not sure what you mean by a truss design?
this is only the stage one design
On a stage 2 the girdle plate will go 6" past the housing where you will weld a bracket onto your axle tubes then you will bolt it on
on top of the girdle will be a formed peace that goes out to the end so the whole thing over all will be like 3ft wide
you will need to change your one shock
this will make everything very rigid

Has anybody used those yet Jmar? Do they seem to help?

nobody has used them yet
but I did a lot of research on strengthening a dana 80 and have ask several high horsepower sled pullers about this and they think it will make things very rigid and also keep the bearing caps from breaking
also the person who drafted it up(and designed lots of different things with metal) thinks it is overkill but it doesnot cost much more to make things heavier

 

[JerrodGlover]

Who has a drawing of the dana 80 flange and bolt layout? I have a few things I want to try and model up.

 

[jmar]

Who has a drawing of the dana 80 flange and bolt layout? I have a few things I want to try and model up.

I work for a company that has a cnc lazer, cnc brake, cnc plasma and my boss drafts it up for me
if you need something cut out I have access to the equipment, just let me know

 

[jupton]

Sorry I am not sure what you mean by a truss design?
this is only the stage one design
On a stage 2 the girdle plate will go 6" past the housing where you will weld a bracket onto your axle tubes then you will bolt it on
on top of the girdle will be a formed peace that goes out to the end so the whole thing over all will be like 3ft wide
you will need to change your one shock
this will make everything very rigid

See posts 5 and 18. Sounds like what you are doing is kinda the same except with formed steel instead of adjustable links

 

[Dazed&Confused]

Sorry I am not sure what you mean by a truss design?
this is only the stage one design
On a stage 2 the girdle plate will go 6" past the housing where you will weld a bracket onto your axle tubes then you will bolt it on
on top of the girdle will be a formed peace that goes out to the end so the whole thing over all will be like 3ft wide
you will need to change your one shock
this will make everything very rigid


nobody has used them yet
but I did a lot of research on strengthening a dana 80 and have ask several high horsepower sled pullers about this and they think it will make things very rigid and also keep the bearing caps from breaking
also the person who drafted it up(and designed lots of different things with metal) thinks it is overkill but it doesnot cost much more to make things heavier

I know a 2wd puller that would help I think.

 

[BigYellowIron]

I have made a couple like this, then take some links and attach them to the cover then weld some tabs on the axle tube and use some tractor links. All for less then 300 bucks. LOL

I still have to mill the holes for the bearing cap snubber bolts, but should make the Dana 80 as tough as as the ring and pinion.

I had some trouble with case spred and loosing bearing preload year before last, I reset up the diff and installed one of these covers along with a few other tweaks and No case spred last year !!!!! Some times simple just works. I have seen all kinds of stuff done to "help" these diffs. You can only make them as tough as the gears themselvs, after you eliminate the case spread and the bearing cap breakage, PERIOD.

I dont build the whole cover, I just beef them up and make them fit our application.

Like I said Simple!!!!

I just do it for fun!

 

[zstroken]

I have made a couple like this, then take some links and attach them to the cover then weld some tabs on the axle tube and use some tractor links. All for less then 300 bucks. LOL

I still have to mill the holes for the bearing cap snubber bolts, but should make the Dana 80 as tough as as the ring and pinion.

I had some trouble with case spred and loosing bearing preload year before last, I reset up the diff and installed one of these covers along with a few other tweaks and No case spred last year !!!!! Some times simple just works. I have seen all kinds of stuff done to "help" these diffs. You can only make them as tough as the gears themselvs, after you eliminate the case spread and the bearing cap breakage, PERIOD.

I dont build the whole cover, I just beef them up and make them fit our application.

Like I said Simple!!!!

I just do it for fun!

Boy that one looks familar, boy do those gussets look sharp!:rockwoot:

 

[BigYellowIron]

Thats not the one your thinking of......... this one will be different..... Just done this one tonight.

 

[jmar]

I have made a couple like this, then take some links and attach them to the cover then weld some tabs on the axle tube and use some tractor links. All for less then 300 bucks. LOL

I still have to mill the holes for the bearing cap snubber bolts, but should make the Dana 80 as tough as as the ring and pinion.

I had some trouble with case spred and loosing bearing preload year before last, I reset up the diff and installed one of these covers along with a few other tweaks and No case spred last year !!!!! Some times simple just works. I have seen all kinds of stuff done to "help" these diffs. You can only make them as tough as the gears themselvs, after you eliminate the case spread and the bearing cap breakage, PERIOD.

I dont build the whole cover, I just beef them up and make them fit our application.

Like I said Simple!!!!

I just do it for fun!

why dont you have a heavier plate or larger outer diameter to help keep things more rigid
that would do more for rigidity than gussets

 

[BamBam]

To do the bearing caps right they need to be custom fit for each axle. So the cost to make the bearing caps isn't bad, it is setting them up for each axle.

not too sure about this but.....

are all the Dana 80 bearing caps the same dimension wise?????? the outer part of the bearing race does not wear, it would be the inner bearing race face, so really it shouldnt matter right?? the only thing you have to do is make sure you have the correct torque specs on the caps, other wise all the bearing caps should technically be the same????????????? there for BILLET caps would be an excellent idea and solve a lot of problems, along with a slick diff cover and stiffener bars,

 

[zstroken]

not too sure about this but.....

are all the Dana 80 bearing caps the same dimension wise?????? the outer part of the bearing race does not wear, it would be the inner bearing race face, so really it shouldnt matter right?? the only thing you have to do is make sure you have the correct torque specs on the caps, other wise all the bearing caps should technically be the same????????????? there for BILLET caps would be an excellent idea and solve a lot of problems, along with a slick diff cover and stiffener bars,

The bearing caps are like rod caps/main caps etc. If you replace them you need to dust them to check the line bore. I am not saying that you can't interchange caps, but in a performance build when we are worried about spun bearings, and are pushing the limits, everything should be just right.

I am not following what you are saying about the inner and outer. I am thinking you saying that caps don't get the load. On the drivers side the cap gets the load, on the passenger side the case bearing surface gets the load.

 

[BamBam]

what i meant with the inner and outer........ was the race that the bearing fits into, and the race fits into the CAP, only wears is on the inside wear the bearing is in contact with the race, not the outer side of the race, thats where the cap is pressed up against it, there is only the one wearing surface......

i know what your saying about the wear on the parts and everything but the bearing caps dont really have any wear on them do they??????

if it was me and wanted to run the billet caps i would go the extra mile and change the bearing race as well as the bearings and set up the clearances to make sure everything was good, i totally see billet caps helping out a lot..... but thats my opinion,


i find it hard to explain stuff on here sometimes sorry,

 

[BigYellowIron]

why dont you have a heavier plate or larger outer diameter to help keep things more rigid
that would do more for rigidity than gussets

I have the basic cover on my truck, with no gussets. Case spred went from ~.025" in 2008 to 0 in 2009. I think anything more then the bars would be a waste of time. I just cant see re-inventing the the cover when you can use whats there. just my opinion. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing. In the end you end up with the same result.

If I was building these from scratch I would prolly do them a little different, but since I still work out of a 2 car garage, Ill keep it simple. :Cheer:

 

[zstroken]

what i meant with the inner and outer........ was the race that the bearing fits into, and the race fits into the CAP, only wears is on the inside wear the bearing is in contact with the race, not the outer side of the race, thats where the cap is pressed up against it, there is only the one wearing surface......

i know what your saying about the wear on the parts and everything but the bearing caps dont really have any wear on them do they??????

if it was me and wanted to run the billet caps i would go the extra mile and change the bearing race as well as the bearings and set up the clearances to make sure everything was good, i totally see billet caps helping out a lot..... but thats my opinion,


i find it hard to explain stuff on here sometimes sorry,

The wear isn't the issue, it is the bearing distortion if the caps are off center etc. You have now distorted the bearing when you tighten the cap down.

 

[RyanB]

zstroken- good info on the bearing caps. I know exactly what you are talking about but I have one major question. With these custom covers that have the load bolts for putting torque on the bearing cap. I would assume that the bolts are putting pressure right in the middle of the cap. Am I safe to assume that this is going to put more stress, tension and distortion on the race and bearing than everything else and also throw all the tollerances (no idea how to spell that) out the window? My thoughts on the bearing cap is that if I could have it milled out of billet steel and thicken it up by about an inch or more in the center I could get a load bolt in there and with the thick girdle have a bolt comming in from the side of the girdle putting side pressure on the cap (not as much pressure, but just tension keeping it 90 degree's at all times to the center of the axle).

That might be a stupid idea but I am just trying to think a little more "outside the box".

RyanB

 

[zstroken]

I don't think the load bolts should be cranked on that tightly to distort them. They are there more to help hold them in shape and keep from breaking them.

 

[BigYellowIron]

I recomend tightening mine (5/8 11tpi) to 35-40 ftlbs. Just enough to pur a little pressure on them.

 

[seeker1056]

thoughts - I suspect the bearing caps are line honed in some fashion in order to make a perfect mating surface for the bearing to ride in

would not a new bearing cap have to be honed/mated as well? who would have such a tool?

In my expereince with 9" and 8.8 rear axles the load bolt was just finger tight to the cap, as its sole puprose is to help keep deflection under control, rather than any kinda preload on the cap

In any research i have done over the years, a load bar and spacers was used with longer bolts to help strengthen the cap - very similar to the load bars or girdle added to crankshaft main caps.

So to really do this job, a thick plate like the first example shown here on this thread, with bar/spacers down to the bearing cap, and thru-bolted would tie the case together and strengthen the caps at the same time. This would negate the need for a load bolt entirely

 

[zstroken]

thoughts - I suspect the bearing caps are line honed in some fashion in order to make a perfect mating surface for the bearing to ride in

would not a new bearing cap have to be honed/mated as well? who would have such a tool?

In my expereince with 9" and 8.8 rear axles the load bolt was just finger tight to the cap, as its sole puprose is to help keep deflection under control, rather than any kinda preload on the cap

In any research i have done over the years, a load bar and spacers was used with longer bolts to help strengthen the cap - very similar to the load bars or girdle added to crankshaft main caps.

So to really do this job, a thick plate like the first example shown here on this thread, with bar/spacers down to the bearing cap, and thru-bolted would tie the case together and strengthen the caps at the same time. This would negate the need for a load bolt entirely

I still think you need to support the cap in the center away from the bolts. The studs you refer to would help, but I still think that you push hard enough on the cap and it will crack.

 

[seeker1056]

zstroken - you missed the thick bar (like a crankshaft stiffener bar - I will try to find a pic to illustrate) across the cap part of that statement.