No crush washer in a (Stude) D44. Your thinking Corporate GM axles. In a D44 you set the pinion bearing preload with shims. D44's date from the 40's and all adjustments are with shims. I would be sure to purchase Dana gears. When you open the differential up the pinion gear will have number etched in it's end.. That is the thousandths above or below the baseline position to set the pinion. Luckily mine were +2s and so were the new ones so I just reused the inner shim pack to get the same pinion depth. This eliminated the need for a special measuring setup to set the pinion depth. Always keep track of the shim setup you take out of the axle-WRITE IT DOWN! I adjusted the pinion bearing preload by adjusting the outside shims. I think the pinion preload was something like 25 inch-lb of torque to rotate the pinion shaft. A good impact wrench was good to have. Go to a GM dealer and purchase gear marking grease. I tried acrylic paint like many suggested for the first axle. It sucked compared to the Gear Marking Compound-this is the right stuff! I found a range of recommendations for carrier bearing preload and ended up using 0.010" of preload after getting the contact pattern right. I used a backlash of 0.008". My axles run real quiet with no clunking on direction change. You can purchase bearing replacement/gear setup kit-which you should on an old axle-it comes with Marking Compound. I purchased a case spreader for the D44. It's only a short drive away and will make getting the carrier in and out much easier. I recommend you get the axle out from under the car to make your life easier. Pulled both and it was worth it. It can be done under the car but it's a lot of work. I also have a pair of carrier setup bearings (they have been machined so the slip on and off of the carrier. The bearings are press fit on the carrier) which simplifies the pattern setup. I would probably be good to get together or talk on the phone as there is more that will help. chuck RQB-3553 ------------------------------------- (Re: Spreader tool) It has been many years so I forgot about the crush sleeve being in some other rear end. As for the spreader, I do remember that it was not needed on the 44. I used one on a 60 that I rebuilt, but my friend recently rebuilt a Dana 80 and managed to do it without a spreader. On the 44, once you have determined the number of shim for each side and are ready for final assembly, place the ring gear housing in position to insert it into the axle housing. Tilt the bearing caps so they start to slip into the housing. Use a heavy rubber mallet to beat it into place. As the bearing cups try to straighten up they will force the housing apart and the unit will slip in. Some people have sprung their housings using the spreader. ---------------------------- This page gives a general overview: http://drivetrain.com/ringpinioninstal.html ----------------------------- Everyone seems to consider the measured pinion depth as being critical but, in reality, it's only a checking depth. All manufacturers (including Stude) specify that the final determination of correct ring/pinion mesh is the contact pattern; since the pinion depth must often be changed to obtain a correct pattern, the actual measured dimension is of no real importance. --------------------------- Since the correct contact pattern can be achieved by simple trial and error, no special tools are actually needed. nobody@nowhere.net john kunkel ------------- April 2009 /////I purchased a 3.54:1 ring and pinion to swap out my 3.31:1 TT in my Hawk. I was trying to track down a Master bearing kit c/w shims, pinion seal and the other stuff that comes in a Kit. My question along with Hippie is that the pinion that I bought is a 10 spline. The kits for pre-1967 Dana differentials are for 19 spline. One kit makes a note that the 19 spline is the same kit as a 10 spline///////// Get an install kit for a D44 19 spline. The later 30 spline(also 27 spl flange axle) uses different carrier bearing cones.(#25590-30/27spl,#25577-19spl. Everything else you'll need is the same. If you use a later ring & pinion you have to replace the input yoke as the spline changed from 10 to 26 spline. Here's install kit from Randy's ring and pinion, http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProdID=3462 Master kits are listed on this site.http://www.backcountrybinders.com/axle_&_diff_parts.htm Rereading your post to avoid confusion the 10 spine is pinion and the 19 spline is the axle. . Then ring and pinion will interchange between the different axles splines. The only difference is spline count on the pinion. Edited by - leyrret on 04/21/2009 --------------------