The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 3.55 ring and pinion installation trouble!

I have begun my gear swap, but I think something is wrong. How far is the rear pinion bearing supposed to go into the torque tube housing? I still see maybe 1/4" exposed. Also, Why would my backlash be about .030? I have not used the bearing adjusters yet, but is that excessive. Could this be due to the pinion not being seated enough? I have already banged on it with the wooden end of a large hammer and it moved enough for me to secure the bearing retainer ring with the three lock bolts. I think that is as far as it will go then, isn't it? It just makes me unsure because of the excessive backlash. One of my adjusting nuts does not thread all the way in to its respective saddle. It is not a problem with the saddle either. The other adjusting nut goes all the way in on each side and the problem one doesn't go all the way in on either side. I have cleaned and inspected the threads and it doesn't look like there is anything wrong. I have a couple problems here that may be related to the same thing. Any suggestions?

Any reason why you don't want to take the rear end to a good shop to have it done professionally?

Rear ends are one of the things that I would not tackle myself, because if it's not set up right, it will drastically shorten the life.

Justin,

I would look closely at the three cone nose lock bolts - are they screwed in as far as they were when you took them out?

If not, I would suspect that maybe a shim didn't seat squarely in the bore, not allowing the pinion to seat all the way. I don't remember how much bearing was visible in mine but that sounds like a lot. I don't remember even being able to see back there.

I would take the carrier out and determine why the adjusters won't screw in freely. It is easy to get them cross threaded.

Don't forget, you MUST check the gear mesh pattern.

Paul

Check out the engine and driveline portion of my webshots page. I believe that I have solved the problem. All I need to do now is get the gear mesh pattern right and I don't know what to think of mine. That's on the webshots page too. I posted a thread about this on oldgmctrucks forums, but I can't access it right now for some reason. It is under the "active questions" section of the project truck forum if anyone wants to read it.

I have almost completed this and can anybody tell me if this looks like the correct gear mesh pattern. I am fairly certain that this is correct, but please tell me if I am wrong.
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2744295090100058208ZVwIEw
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2125965620100058208IRgvnJ

Justin, looks pretty good to me just make sure you get the backlash correct and you should be ready to go.
Tom

from the guestions asked on the first post I think it would be a good idea for you to seek the help of a pro as you are dealing with wear patterans,,back lash plus preloads on both pinion and carrier...doc

I can't get onto oldgmctrucks forums right now, but I have already got tons of help from experienced people there and I followed their instructions as well as the instructions provided with the kit. I am certain that I put it back together correct and I just wanted some input on whether my gear mesh pattern was correct or not.

Hard to tell from a monitor but looks OK to me also. White lube might show up better on a monitor. This page has some pics.

You need to take doc41's suggestion a little more serious. The wear pattern may look OK right now, but if the preload isn't right, the wear pattern and the back lash will change before you get it out of first gear.

Per patrick's instructions: turn the bearing adjusters two notches past snug to achieve proper preload. Isn't that all it comprises of after setting backlash and gear mesh pattern? Then locking the adjusters with the little clamps that bolt on top of the bearing cap. I spent about an hour double checking everything and setting backlash and then I continued with the instructions. Although it was hard, I turned the bearing adjusters two notches past snug, just like the instructions said. Then I checked backlash again...still the same. I then locked down the bearing adjusters. It feels as if there is a little more resistance when turning the ring gear now. Is that the result of setting the proper preload? Also, before I put it in all the way, is this the proper orientation of the grease seal on the okie bushing? http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2558402810100058208PrMAkw

That looks like a real good pattern. If your backlash is in specs. sew it up & drive it away. There will be some drag with the preload like that. I have always tightened each side about 1 notch to line up the hole for the retainer, but those people know more about it than I do.

I'm not sure if I understand your problem exactly, but,

Are your pinion bearings set properly? There is a "squish" collar on the rear end I did recently. I had to tighten the pinion shaft nut down until that collar squished enough to take out the play inbetween the pinion shaft bearings.

That bearing end play will screw up the rest of the setup, or at least give false readings.

I don't think there is anything like a squish collar on mine. Here is a picture of everything on my pinion assembly before installing it on the driveshaft: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2140123210100058208LACgcV
I think with the help of everybody here I have got it figured out.

Git R Done Justin, let us know how she run's.