A rebuild of #miRustyJeep...

You said it was a used gear set? Did the pinion bearing take much pressure to push it on? I'm thinking maybe it had spun the bearing or had a clearance issue from the get-go, allowing the bearing race to spin on the pinion. Sucks either way. But you have a good attitude about it and can fix it.
 
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You said it was a used gear set? Did the pinion bearing take much pressure to push it on? I'm thinking maybe it had spun the bearing or had a clearance issue from the get-go, allowing the bearing race to spin on the pinion. Sucks either way. But you have a good attitude about it and can fix it.
No, the journal was clean. The bearing pushed on about like I expected it too.
 
Man that stinks. If it makes you feel any better I did the exact same thing to the first toyota gear set I did. I set the pinion preload way too high and toasted the bearings and locked up the front. I had to get another set of gears and bearings to start over. I feel your pain on this one.
 
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Man that stinks. If it makes you feel any better I did the exact same thing to the first toyota gear set I did. I set the pinion preload way too high and toasted the bearings and locked up the front. I had to get another set of gears and bearings to start over. I feel your pain on this one.
It doesn't, but thanks fer trying! Lol. I'm ok with it. I still don't know exactly what caused it, but I'm proceeding as before. Should be done with pattern today, hopefully can get the pre-load set today too.
 
Man that stinks. If it makes you feel any better I did the exact same thing to the first toyota gear set I did. I set the pinion preload way too high and toasted the bearings and locked up the front. I had to get another set of gears and bearings to start over. I feel your pain on this one.
**Raises Hand** I did the same on my first gear set as well... preload too high... full lockup.. buy new and start over... it sucked but was a good learning experience when it was over
 
Wow Mike, seems like there should be an established support group for this kind of scenario?
#FirstTimersBearingFailure
 
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I still have to play with my backlash, but I have my pinion depth dialed in, after a TON of head scratching and trials (16 that I have notes on). This gear set doesn't want to run "balanced" it seems to like to be deeper on the drive side of the gear. The coast side looks beautiful. Looking at the pinion, the pattern is nice and balanced, so I'm going with it. Since its the front axle, the coast side is the important side anyway...

0.062" pinion depth, 0.010" backlash

1652362874681.png


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And the pinion...this is something you don't see pictures of too often.
1652362924451.png
1652362932624.png



The goal is to get the axle back under the jeep and get it rolling again. I'm heading on a 4 day trip next Friday (eep!) and need to at least get the bearings broken in. I'll be heading out for "jeep rides" as much as possible this weekend and next week.
 
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I still have to play with my backlash, but I have my pinion depth dialed in, after a TON of head scratching and trials (16 that I have notes on). This gear set doesn't want to run "balanced" it seems to like to be deeper on the drive side of the gear. The coast side looks beautiful. Looking at the pinion, the pattern is nice and balanced, so I'm going with it. Since its the front axle, the coast side is the important side anyway...

0.062" pinion depth, 0.010" backlash

View attachment 329954

View attachment 329955

And the pinion...this is something you don't see pictures of too often.
View attachment 329956View attachment 329957


The goal is to get the axle back under the jeep and get it rolling again. I'm heading on a 4 day trip next Friday (eep!) and need to at least get the bearings broken in. I'll be heading out for "jeep rides" as much as possible this weekend and next week.
Nice work, man. Keep us posted.
 
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Oh man...I'm BEAT and I still have to put the front axle in. I might do it tonight...but probably not. I figured out why my pinion bearing seized on me though. I had the same thing happen tonight. There is a difference in my set-up bearing vs my New bearing. I set my bearing pre-load with the set-up bearing and the swapped in the new bearing race. When I did that tonight...my rotating torque went from 20 in-lbs to over 50 in lbs. That is exactly the same thing that happened with my first set-up.

I wanted to cry, but a few people on the facebook group helped me through it and I'm happy to report that I bolted the cover on tonight.

Final Pattern with 0.007 backlash. I'm pretty happy with it right now. Cross your fingers for me that everything works this time!

1652403764610.png


1652403778829.png
 
Oh man...I'm BEAT and I still have to put the front axle in. I might do it tonight...but probably not. I figured out why my pinion bearing seized on me though. I had the same thing happen tonight. There is a difference in my set-up bearing vs my New bearing. I set my bearing pre-load with the set-up bearing and the swapped in the new bearing race. When I did that tonight...my rotating torque went from 20 in-lbs to over 50 in lbs. That is exactly the same thing that happened with my first set-up.

I wanted to cry, but a few people on the facebook group helped me through it and I'm happy to report that I bolted the cover on tonight.

Final Pattern with 0.007 backlash. I'm pretty happy with it right now. Cross your fingers for me that everything works this time!

Were you doing anything wrong at all? How did you fix the problem?
 
Were you doing anything wrong at all? How did you fix the problem?
Changing between my setup bearing and the new bearing race. The setup bearing race has a reduced diameter so I can slide it in and out quickly and make pinion depth changes. The "regular" bearing race is a press fit to the housing. This particular race must be quite a bit different than my setup (I didn't have the same issues in the rear). So... In the future, I'll always get my pinion position dialed in, then put the regular race in, and finally set my bearing pre-load.
 
I remember. I signed up about the same time you were struggling to set up your rear.

Great group of people. Funny that there is the squabbling in that group too at times. But glad they were able to help you out. Good luck with the break in and hope all goes well.
 
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Great group of people. Funny that there is the squabbling in that group too at times. But glad they were able to help you out. Good luck with the break in and hope all goes well.
Anytime you have a bunch of people interacting without accountability (keyboard cowboys) you have squabbling and bitching. Happens here all the time.