Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

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Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Justin » Sat May 02, 2015 4:38 pm

I'm starting to get the sense that my front axle had a difficult life prior to my buying it. I've got the passenger's side knuckle installed and tightened to spec (40 ft/lbs). To get it there, I had to cinch the adjusting sleeve down fairly low, and now have a couple of threads of it showing out of the bottom of the upper C. How big a deal is this? I suspect it could affect camber a little, but is there anything else I should be concerned about if I'm able to get it to align correctly?
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Kinder » Sat May 02, 2015 5:11 pm

I don't think that's uncommon, I've seen at least one or two setup that way. You'll know after the alignment if you have bigger problems.
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby landshark » Sat May 02, 2015 9:31 pm

You've got the spindle shims. ;)

I also have the threads showing on the drivers side Ian a little over a degree off on camber.
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Justin » Sat May 02, 2015 11:04 pm

Thanks guys! I'm not too worried about the alignment from this issue, just wasn't sure if it was normal/common/safe. We'll see how it looks after I get everything back together and take it for an alignment.
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby ZOSO » Mon May 04, 2015 5:12 am

Mines the same way.
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Digger » Mon May 04, 2015 10:07 am

It should be okay and not affect alignment. If more than 25% of the threads are sticking out the bottom, then I would be a little concerned. Are you planning to align it to factory specs or modern specs?
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Justin » Mon May 04, 2015 10:41 am

I'm poem to input on that. My preference is usually to update stuff to modern standards.
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Digger » Mon May 04, 2015 6:21 pm

Haha, Right answer.

I dropped some adjustable sleeves on mine. I plan to run 0.00-0.25 degrees camber, 0.00-0.25 degrees toe, and 4-6 degrees of caster. It should handle and wear tires a little better.

We can talk when you are getting closer to alignment time.
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Re: Dana 44 ball joint adjustment

Postby Justin » Mon May 04, 2015 7:37 pm

Thanks, I'll take you up on that.
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