[balljoint]

new gears. first attempt. Dont have a clue whay I'm doing.

[big gear head]

The pinion is slightly deep. Take about .002 to .003 out of the pinion shim and try again. Be sure that you get the pinion bearing preload and backlash set right each time you check the pattern.

[balljoint]

I will do that. Thanks a lot.

[balljoint]

Well, the original pinion shim was .38 thous. In my rebuild kit from Motive gear, It comes with about three 32 thous and about three 16 thous. I am trying to get about 34,35 thous. Is there a pinion shim kit that contains .002, 003 etc shims?

[big gear head]

I'm seeing that a lot more these days. Even the good kits that I have are getting to be that way. I put an 8.5 together Saturday and had the same problem. It's a good thing that I have a thousand shims from all of the rear ends that I have done. I was able to get the right combination and finish the job. It makes it hard on the guy who is only going to do one rear end in his life because he doesn't have a selection of shims like some of us. So you need about .035. I'll see if I have a set that I can send you.

[balljoint]

Thanks BGH. However, I was able to get a couple of shims from a local tranny shop which would give me 34 and 35 thous. I really appreciate the offer.

[RichSchmidt]

Did you check the pattern against what the manufacturer recommends? I never used Motive gears,but with Richmond they use a different pattern for certain series of gears.On most rears with Richmond gears,4:1 and numerically lower is called a 49 series gear and uses a pattern hat is centered on both the coast and drive side.4:1 and up is called a 69 series gear and they cut them so that when you center the coast side,the drive side is a little deep.This helps strength while keeping noise low.Putting the pinion in deep will almost always make the gears a little stronger but noisier,centering the coast side will make them quiet,a special cut like this will do both,but if you centered the drive side on a Richmond 69 series gear,the coast side will run off the outside edge and the gears will be noisy.
Check what the manufacturer recommends for setting up your exact gearset.

[balljoint]

The instructions dont state anything about 49 or 69 series.

[balljoint]

Is the smaller pinion bearing (at the yoke) supposed to just slide over the pinion shaft and seat where its supposed too. I have to use the yoke and large nut and torque with impact to put that bearing on.

[big gear head]

It's suppose to be a light press fit. Some will slide on, but most don't.

[balljoint]

Thanks again BGH