Usually, when something is too good to be true, it never is.
Today I remove the old ring gear, and bolted on the 3.31 gear.
Since the factory cast iron shim was cracked from the last time I fought to get the new diff installed in place of the old T-loc that was there, I replaced them with the new steel ones that I bought this week. The old one measured .260, and I stacked together the required shims to make up that amount.
I reused the old pinion shim,and salvaged and reused the old pinion bearing, I crushed the crush sleeve to 16” pounds ( I rechecked it).
I re-used the carrier bearings, and kept the shim thickness exactly as it was before.
I installed the diff, and the thing went in with almost zero hassle.
I made this little tool to seat the shims, I think it made things go much better.
The shims tapped in like toast in a toaster.
I rattled the ring gear,….I knew that it was gonna be close to right.
The old gears had .012 backlash, these new ones had .011.
Specs call for between .008, and .012.
I’m calling perfect.
I painted the ring gear and held it while I rolled the thing back and forth against the pinion,
And this is what rolled around
When you look at the old ring gear, I think you see that exact same pattern..
Did I just get lucky here?
Am I done with this gear change in one hour’s time?
Today I remove the old ring gear, and bolted on the 3.31 gear.
Since the factory cast iron shim was cracked from the last time I fought to get the new diff installed in place of the old T-loc that was there, I replaced them with the new steel ones that I bought this week. The old one measured .260, and I stacked together the required shims to make up that amount.
I reused the old pinion shim,and salvaged and reused the old pinion bearing, I crushed the crush sleeve to 16” pounds ( I rechecked it).
I re-used the carrier bearings, and kept the shim thickness exactly as it was before.
I installed the diff, and the thing went in with almost zero hassle.
I made this little tool to seat the shims, I think it made things go much better.
I rattled the ring gear,….I knew that it was gonna be close to right.
The old gears had .012 backlash, these new ones had .011.
Specs call for between .008, and .012.
I’m calling perfect.
I painted the ring gear and held it while I rolled the thing back and forth against the pinion,
And this is what rolled around
When you look at the old ring gear, I think you see that exact same pattern..
Did I just get lucky here?
Am I done with this gear change in one hour’s time?
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