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Changing Ring and Pinion questions

1K views 7 replies 2 participants last post by  rob_isr 
#1 ·
My truck (83 K5 blazer) was cruising at a very low rpm, tires are 33" and at 4th with convertor locked the rpm drops to around 1500 at 65.
To rise the cruising speed I'm now changing the ring and pinion from 3.08 to 4.1.
The old ring and pinion are out, and now it's time to put the new ones in.
It's my first time doing such a job and I have some open questions I could not find an answer in the book I bought.

Pinion has 2 cone bearings, I took the old bearing (the one farther back) and made it a bit bigger so it will slide easily while checking tooth pattern on the new pinion.
The second bearing is also very tight.

1. Do I shave the second bearing also and check the pattern with 2 old bearings or does the front bearing (smaller one) has to be new or untouched?

2. Do I replace the bearing races and check tooth pattern with new races and old bearings?

3. Should I check tooth pattern with new case bearings? (or it doesn't matter)
 
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#2 ·
If you have a press and you can install and remove the bearings without damaging them then I recommend using the new bearings for the trial assemblies. You can get a good pattern with set up bearings and then when you install the geed bearings the pattern may change. I don't use set up bearings, but I understand that some people need to use them.

If you are going to use set up bearings I would go ahead and install the new races in the housing. This way you eliminate one variable.

The outer bearing is suppose to fit tight on the pinion shaft, but it doesn't need to be so tight that you have to beat the crap out of the pinion to get it out of the bearing. I usually sand the shaft a little where the bearing goes to make it fit a little less tight.

I'm assuming that you are changing the gears in the front axle too, right?
 
#6 ·
worst book i've ever had.
So unclear, does not emphasise the important stages.

Anyway...
In the first try I didn't set any preload, not on the pinion nor the case.

This time (same shim in pinion, different shims in the case) I have set the preload in the pinion, maximized the shims in the case, and set a tighter backlash (0.007").

The pattern was made while I put pressure (with my other hand) on the ring.

How does this pattern look to you all?
 

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#7 ·
It actually looks very good. You should always set the pinion bearing preload correctly when doing trial assemblies. It can change the pinion depth quite a bit. Differential bearing preload should be snug for trial assemblies and backlash needs to be correct. You can set differential bearing preload tight on the final assembly.
 
#8 ·
This time I'm not here for a question but rather an adice I can give.
Lying under the truck holding a 5 pound hummer, trying to get the new bearing race to sit flush - was a nightmare.
I couldn't get a good hand position and the hummer was starting to feel really heavy.
After a few tries I gave up and went to the lathe for a helping hand.
15min later and a new tool was born.

With the help of a long M20 bolt I could press the race into the hole with only a few taps from the hummer, most of the work the bolt did.
It was like having the axle on a press.

I recommend to anyone who tries to replace a hard to reach race.
 

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