I just working on My 12 bolt , Once the pin is installed I have no clearance on one side and about 10 thou on the other with all brand new parts . The Axles are from Toms and the Posi is a brand new Eaton . What should the clearance be .
Mark .

0.020-0.010" You might need to file on the end of the shaft for additional clearance.

Swap axles per side, one may be shorter than the other.

I haven't had any problems with zero clearance. As long as the shaft will go in it shoud be all right. I've run them with as much as 1/16 clearance.

Big Gear Head , I would like to cut it down a bit because I,m having a bit of a tight problem with My rear disc brake setup , My outside pad is just a bit to tight , so if I cut a pinch off the end of the Axle that should fix that right up .
Mark .

No clearance but not binding will not hurt . My guess is that once you get rolling and see that wheel rolls free you should be ok. I bet you have more clearance than 0 after all is assembled and on the ground. Remember if you have C-clips, those are hardended ends as well as the cross shaft. You can always recheck this later after you have had few miles on it...

Just remember that as the clutches wear the clearance will increase. If you take too much off of the axle then your clearance may be too much later.

What I did was Milled a small flat spot on the pin , just enough to give Me the clearance I needed , then if it loosens up a bit I can just slide in a new pin .
Mark .

I've found that under 0.015" end play is good. I wouldn't go under 0.005" though. Once over 0.020" the axles tend to bang as they slide end-to-end. And it will drive one nuts on a street car. Ask me how I know. . .

Bob.

You don't get as much of that it seems with rear Disc brakes .
Mark .