Anybody who has used the Proform pinion tool

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 3, 2007

Everytime I get the calculate measurement and compare it to the specs on the top of my motive pinion, I get a weird result. I have no shims on the pinion gear and it says that the gear is actually sticking out farther than it should be still! Anyone ever had a similar problem and maybe a solution?

Bosko5.0 · Dec 3, 2007

What is the bearing preload? how many in. lbs?? Did you put in new bearings? did you tap the pinion head till optimal bearing preload was achieved?

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 4, 2007

Well I used an old pinion bearing to measure and I am using a new bearing for the install, but I torqued it down so that there was the recommended amount of preload to turn the pinion, but what are you talking about when you say tapping the pinion head?

Bosko5.0 · Dec 4, 2007

I was told that you have to tap the pinion head( with a board and hammer or whatever) to seat the bearings and you have to keep rechecking the bearing preload until it is constant; just don't beat it to hard or else you will damage the bearings and races. I believe this is the main reason why my gears whine . I had all new bearings seals and gears, but I was informed about this after I drove the car.

It also helps if you have someone that has done a gear swap before help.

good luc

urban96 · Dec 4, 2007

were u measuring just the bearing or the bearing+the pinion head?

i was under the impression you measure bearing+pinion head of stock, then measure the new pinion head, then the new bearing, add those and subtract that from the stock measurement to find out what shims you need

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 4, 2007

Well I want to get it exact and I don't have the stock pinion anymore. I bought this tool to measure so I could shim it correctly. This is the second time putting this pinion in and the first time, it whined a little. Now, I have a new carrier so I definitely have to check the pinion depth.

SublimeRT · Dec 5, 2007

You say this is the 2nd time installing THAT gear set and it whined before? How many miles were put on them? If a gear set is whining it's because it's set up wrong (the mesh pattern is wrong) and therefore will wear together wrong and more than likely not be able to be set up again quietly. In some cases if it whines and you immediately set it up again it will be ok. As far as getting the pinion depth correct, I can't comment on pinion depth tools as I have never used them simply because a good one is big bucks. The way I've always done it is using the old pinion shim as a starting point, I install the ring gear/diff, set backlash, and check the pattern on both the drive side and coast side, and inspecting the pattern tells me if I need a thicker or thinner pinion shim. When doing all this I use an old pinion bearing honed out a little so that it can just slide on and off and easily change the shim, and I use an old crush sleeve and pinion nut. Once I finally get everything right and have a good pattern then I install a new pinion bearing, crush sleeve, and pinion nut and put it all back together and do a final check on the pattern. It is a tedious process at first but after a while you can almost look at the pattern and choose the correct shim(s) the first or second try. Maybe this will help or maybe you can try it if you can't get the results you're looking for with the pinion depth tool.

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 5, 2007

Well I only had the set in the car together for about 800 miles and then I took the car off the road to put a new motor in....but I guess I'm going to have to go back to the guess and check method. This tool sucks!

95LiterGT · Dec 5, 2007

SublimeRT said:
The way I've always done it is using the old pinion shim as a starting point, I install the ring gear/diff, set backlash, and check the pattern on both the drive side and coast side, and inspecting the pattern tells me if I need a thicker or thinner pinion shim. When doing all this I use an old pinion bearing honed out a little so that it can just slide on and off and easily change the shim, and I use an old crush sleeve and pinion nut. Once I finally get everything right and have a good pattern then I install a new pinion bearing, crush sleeve, and pinion nut and put it all back together and do a final check on the pattern.

I agree 100% with this. When I installed my gears I received some pointers from a professional and he explained this method to me. As it turned out, the original pinion shim of .028" was the same shim the new one took.

What Bosko5.0 is referring to about tapping the pinion gear during the torque process helps seat the pinion bearings. When you start to torque the pinion and get to the proper torque the first time, then tap it, re-check your torque and it will no longer be correct. It loosens up. Continue the torquing and tapping until the torque stays the same through this process. I did not do this and the pinion loosened up, causing a thump on acceleration. Needless to say I had to disassemble everything again to correct this condition. Good Luck.

R.J. · Dec 5, 2007

I have Proform's tool and it works well. it will give you exact measurements. Another thing that will make the TQ process easier is a solid pinion spacer. It replaces the crush sleeve and is TQ'd to a constant 125lbs, you just adjust shims to get the preload in and the TQ is always consistant.

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 5, 2007

When I'm measuring, should I have the crush sleeve on there? I thought you were supposed to remove it when measuring and then install it when putting everything together for the final time?

final5-0 · Dec 5, 2007

SublimeRT said:
In some cases if it whines and you immediately set it up again it will be ok. As far as getting the pinion depth correct, I can't comment on pinion depth tools as I hYou say this is the 2nd time installing THAT gear set and it whined before? How many miles were put on them? If a gear set is whining it's because it's set up wrong (the mesh pattern is wrong) and therefore will wear together wrong and more than likely not be able to be set up again quietly.

So True :Word:

Rear ends are not supposed to whine

If they were ... They'd whine when you get them from the factory

If you setup a set of gears and they whine or howl

Stop driving the car immediately and go find out whats wrong

Grady

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 5, 2007

Well they would only whine around turns when I last had them in and that made me think that was from me installing an extra clutch in the clutch paks.

final5-0 · Dec 5, 2007

I guess you should consider this about hearing things out back

Those of you who place a high priority of going around corners

If you have done upgraded suspension parts and bushings

You might be able to have an opportunity to hear things due to NVH

Grady

TrueBlue95GT · Dec 5, 2007

SublimeRT · Dec 5, 2007

I haven't ever heard of gears whining just around turns only. I've heard of bearings doing that, but that's not to say it can't happen. As far as the crush sleeve, you can use a new one every time if you want (who wants to go through the hassle of that though), you can use an old one, and I'm pretty sure you can leave it out too if you want. But always use a new one on the final setup (durr). NVH is Noise, Vibration, and Harshness. For example using solid aluminum bushings will increase the NVH inside the car.

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