I am posting a couple of photos of my ring and pinion gear pattern purely as a sanity check. I'm looking for a few opinions.
I have now dismantled the differential 5 time to add a 0.006 shim to get the gear pattern right. 3 time since the rear axle was mounted back in the truck. I now have 0.036 worth of shims. The backlash is currently 0.008. I kept adding a shim and checking the gear pattern in hopes of getting rid of the light whining sound when I lift up on the accelerator pedal.
Additional information All the bearings are new. It took some time hunting them all down. The former pinion bearings could NOT be reused as they were badly chewed up. The former forward pinion bearing was literally missing a couple of balls on both rows.
The ring and pinion gears are new from Jim Carter Truck Parts. They appear to be made in China.
______ It's still making a light whining sound when I lift up on the accelerator pedal. I have found the new forward pinion bearing (dual row ball bearing) to be rather tight. Perhaps it needs time to wear in. ______ During the summer of 2024 my room mate invited me to park pickup in the driveway. It is a fairly steep slope to the street. I estimate a 3"/12" pitch. I parked backed in. Had I known what would happen I would have never have parked there.
What I figured happened is the gear oil flowed up the torque tube and seeped into the transmission. I found the transmission (SM420) to be over full, and I put 1-1/2 quarts of gear oil in the differential which only hold 4-1/2 pints in total. By this time it was already too late. The differential was making growling and popping sounds. The forward pinion bearing was wiped out and the others were in rough condition.
