I am rebuilding an 8.5 out of a Nova, I know where everything goes but how does it go? In particular....

The end shims for the carrier assembly, The ones between the bearing race and the housing they have a beveled side and a flat side. Does the flat side go against the race?

Does it matter which bearing cap goes on either side? They are both the same part number, does the tab go in or out?

Heres an easy one that I used to know but it's been a long time since I have done drum brakes.... Primary shoe....towards the front or to the rear?

OK, and I think this is the last one....What are the torque specs for the caps and the pinion shaft retaining bolt?

Here are some links that will give you some insight on ring & pinion setup.

http://www.ring-pinion.com/content/technicalhelp/default.asp?pid=123
http://www.drivetrain.com/ringpinioninstal.html
http://www.vernco.com/rearaxle5/index.htm

If you don’t get it just right you will have a noisy rear end or gear or bearing failure.

The bearing caps must go back on exactly the same way that they came off. They are bolted on and then the housing is bored. If you mix them up then the holes won't be round any more. The tabs face out. It doesn't matter which side of the shim goes in or out, but the thickness is very important. This is how the backlash and bearing preload are adjusted. The torque on the bearing cap bolts is 6o foot pounds, the ring gear bolts are 65 foot pounds and have left hand threads. The torque on the pinion nut is not important, but the bearing preload is. You tighten the pinion nut until it crushes the spacer enough to give you the correct preload on the bearings. This is usually around 200 to 300 foot pounds. The bearing preload should be about 19-22 inch pounds for new bearings and about 12-15 inch pounds for used bearings.

Thanks BGH,
I have to replace one of the shims as it was broken in the diff when I inspected it. Diff bearings were bad too. I went to the local pull and save and pulled another shim out of another 8.5. I got the new bearings and races today. I was going to follow the info I downloaded from vernco.com, and a few other places, plus the info provided on my new powertrax unit. Looks like I can handle it, nothing to tough, I am not changing gears or removing the pinion. I can match up the bearing caps from the marks from the old races. Only two ways they can go in right?
What about this shim I got from the other rear end? Should i not use it? It mic'd out exactly the same. If I mic out the bore when I mock up the bearing caps and come up with two like readings I should be good right? Am I missing anything?

If the shim is the same thickness then it should be all right. Do you remember which side it came out of? I gave you some bad information about which way the shims go. The flat side should go against the bearing race. Don't use any bearings that are made in China, unles you want to do this again in a few months.

I do remember which side it was on. The fdlat side towards the race, thats what I was planning on. Seems to make sense. Thanks