The solid spacer is not necessary but it takes the difficulty out of getting the pinion preload into spec. I have no experience with a solid spacer so I cannot give any input on that.
Go to
www.gefracing.com or ebay to get your FMS gears. FMS gears negate the need for a pinion depth tool, and more complications. And when doing a gear install for the first time, the KISS method is a good one.
I made a parts list in my writeup. But my writeup is an addendum to the others. I mentioned everything that was not mentioned, as well as anything that wasn't clear. As such, I recommend that you pick an install article, and read it at least 10 times over. If you don't understand one word, or one sentence, see my write up or the 2 others for help. Most of the info is there.
They don't fully explain preload, nor do they fully explain how to measure backlash. Those were the two that confused me most.
Lastly, thanks for the compliments. PM me if you have any questions. I will be glad to help; I have done so for many others. I always try to tell people that anyone can install gears with the tools listed and persistance. Ignore anyone that says a shop should install gears in a Ford 8.8 rear end. It took me under 4 hours to do it my very first time (on a lift), and that was because I was so bloody tedious about learning everything I could. Any problems I ran into were already known to me, thus I knew exactly how to solve them.
Scott