Originally Posted by
ctuinstra
Lately I've been going through a lot of teeth on the ring gear in the rear diff. I have replaced the housing, ring and pinion gears, bearings, and changed to the aluminum bearing holders. The only thing I can think of is the gear mesh. I have been pulling the pinion all the way out and then tightening down the driveshaft to keep it from moving in. But I afraid this is causing too much of a gap between the teeth pairs. Pushing it in and tightening the driveshaft just allows it to pull back out and now the pinion is moving in and out.
How does one properly shim them? I've read around on a few threads but they weren't very descriptive of what shims to use where and how much. Should the two gear be as tight as possible?
Usually you shim the diff over so the ring gear tightens the mesh, but I've also shimmed the pinion in slightly when using the plastic inserts. You want as little mesh as possible without binding. Check it with the diff installed and screws tightened on the case. Hold the driveshaft and rock the diff back and forth and you should feel a tiny bit of play. Or hold the out drives and rock the pinion. When you think you have it right spin the diff and make sure there is no binding.