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one I took apart (supposedly 140k miles) had ALL the coating peeling off, after hot tank there's none left on the housing, I'd take pics but it's at work and I'm 3 hours away.
I'm still not 100% sure that I want to change bearings, also reading about the crush sleeve on the pinion gear... ugh, it's a single use part that can't be sourced
Rumor has it that a Dana 35 crush sleeve works. I have one but without any confirmation I can not say for sure. One reason I decided to leave my pinion bearings alone. If you just want clean it up and leave the bearings alone I say go for it if they look good. Worse case is that you have noise and end up having to do them anyway. I sorta wish I did not decide to rebuild this used one I am working on now. It is in incredibly good shape but I already started.
Edit: Dana 30, not 35.
Last edited by DakotaTravler; May 17, 2026 at 10:59 PM.
FYI, just gauged my BCA/NTN bearing and it appears to be a dead match to the original Timken, unlike the National as mentioned with the taller race. I will use a dial caliper once I start getting things together, but with the Timken that will arrive and the BCA/NTN I should, in theory, not have to worry about changing up shims.
The spacer I have is a "Dana 30 TJ/XJ Crush Sleeve (50576, 4864845, Yukon Gear & Axle - YSPCS-007)"
Measurements as new:
35.95mm end to end (should not be a very critical measurement)
34.8 to 35.2mm ID, deepening on which end - as far as I know this value is also not critical, from what I have seen it should be over sized and slide right off the pinion shaft.
45.53mm is the widest bit at the "bulge"
So the more I look at it, the less critical the measurements are as long as they are really close to what is needed because the torque applied will crush it until the needed value is reached. So as long as it slides over the pinion and is within a loose value for length.
Shims came today. Not sure if I will need to use em or not. They are not the exact size of the originals, a bit smaller but they still plan on the race lip. Even the originals move around a lot. So I think they will work if needed but I would like a better fit. They are for a Dana 35 carrier race (not pinion) so I can see why they are not an exact fit. But they are also labeled M200, which is what we have. It was all I could grab quick and cheap so if they did not work I could just make em into Christmas tree ornaments.... I forget how many there are, but there are several very thin one and a couple thicker. Maybe six total? Note that may who know Dana better do say that people often call the M200 a 35, but they are a different generation.
On another note I did pull the pinion nut and replace the pinion seal. FYI I shot for 5.6mm depth on the seal which was close to original depth and about what LR time did. But its depth does not need to be exact really. I also flushed the pinions bearings with cleaner like crazy and then lubed them up. A lot easier to do this with the seal out, really it is the only way. So I feel better that there may not be debris in there. Now I need to find the spec on how much resistance I should have. One video used a fish scale and pulled on the output shaft to reach about 3 lbs with no ring gear installed. Just pinion. I will probably shoot for the same spec. With it all buttoned up they got about 11 lbs. But I will search for better specs since I am not going off of torque on the crush. Although in theory I think I could also just do that? It should hit torque spec pretty much right away I would think. I did mark the nut and such to line up to its original theoretical position. I dunno, all new to me.
Last edited by DakotaTravler; May 19, 2026 at 08:54 PM.
The spacer I have is a "Dana 30 TJ/XJ Crush Sleeve (50576, 4864845, Yukon Gear & Axle - YSPCS-007)"
Measurements as new:
35.95mm end to end (should not be a very critical measurement)
34.8 to 35.2mm ID, deepening on which end - as far as I know this value is also not critical, from what I have seen it should be over sized and slide right off the pinion shaft.
45.53mm is the widest bit at the "bulge"
So the more I look at it, the less critical the measurements are as long as they are really close to what is needed because the torque applied will crush it until the needed value is reached. So as long as it slides over the pinion and is within a loose value for length.
Picked up another diff today, opened it up and it looks to be in great shape
Here's the crush spacer I pulled out of the rusty one
That looks like a different design for sure. The ends appear to have a built in lip which will interface with the inner race better. This is the pic of the one I have.
Picked up another diff today, no rust or water, gears look great but bearing on the drivers side is badly pitted, looks like I'm replacing bearings after all...
