The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton in Utah - "Here We Go"

So now I'm getting into the part that scares me the most. At least I know I have a local shop that will help me if I run into problems. I removed the inner shaft from the tube and noted the bearings, oil shield, lock ring and nut,... and I removed the 5/16 inch dowel pin that holds the pinion gear. I just drilled one side and punched it out. The pinion came out with no issues. The pinion nut has a notch in it that keeps it from loosening. I tried to pry it up while attached to the shaft, but found it was easier to do when the pinion was removed and standing upright on the bench. In the mean time I'll start looking for a dial indicator so that I can measure the backlash when reassembling. Oh, and I'll need to get some of the yellow paint to see the wear pattern. What if I need additional spacing shims? Where do I get those? Or, if I use the two that I already have, will that be pretty close to fitting properly?

Note: I did find a pinion shim set at Chevs of the 40's. It came with 6 shims, two of each: .003", .005" and .010"