Pinion depth shims??

From: Robertson (jrobert@voyageur.ca)
Date: Sun Jun 17 2001 - 11:37:52 EDT


I just installed a set of 3.90's in my 8 1/4 rear axle and have got a bit of
a problem. The old gears were 3.55's and had a .030" pinion depth shim
spacer. the new "used" set had a .023" spacer. I managed to get the proper
tools for the job from a buddy that works at the dealership. When I went to
use the tool I got results that didn't seem to make sense. My friend had
warned me of this and told me most of the guys in the shop would use the old
original depth shim. So I installed the .030" shim and pressed my bearing
in place and put everything together and did a tooth pattern check which
showed that I had a too thick of a shim in place. If you have a FSM and
check out the pattern examples it looks exactly the example they give, exact
same position. So my question is how far should I decrease the shim
thickness to get the contact area in the centre of the tooth? I'm guessing
somewhere between the original .030" and the new .023" shim, say .027?
Everytime I get it wrong it costs me two new pinion bearings and cones,
crush washer and all the time to take it apart!

Any help greatly appreciated,
Dave R
92 Dak 5.2
71 Demon 340



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