Gear pattern check - Dana 35 with 4.10 gears

No adjustments were made between the last post and this one, but I did finally get some ACDelco gear marking compound from Ebay delivered finally. Much better consistency, and I added a drop of gear oil as well. Makes the pattern look a little different, thoughts? I did this twice, 180 degrees apart and the pattern was the same at each location, so at least it isn't moving around on me

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Yep that definitely tells a different story. You are showing shallow now so you add some shim back to the pinion and try again.
 
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Kind of what I thought. The coast looks better than the drive, anything to adjust that? Or just add depth again?
 
What's more fun than setting gears on a Saturday night? :cool:

Any deeper than this and I get that straight line at the root of the tooth, so I think I'm about as deep as I can go without that happening. And any less than this the pattern starts to drift off the top of the toe on the drive side. Backlash is 0.007" and the pinion preload is 14 inch/lbs. Pattern is repeatable around the ring. Still with the setup bearings on the pinion and the inner race also a setup. Bearings on the carrier are pressed.

Thanks,
Greg

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I would try to go a bit deeper and bracket it out and do not worry about it running off of the toe. Just focus on getting the pattern in the center of the gear from root to crown.
 
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So here it is with the thinnest shim for the pinion race added back on - I feel like I'm starting to get that line at the root of the tooth on the drive side that says I'm too deep? Backlash is 0.008"

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Yeah you are on the verge of being too deep on the drive side but the coast looks pretty good. Check it in two more spots and I think this is where you are going to want to run this one.
 
This is also with the setup pinion bearings and setup inner pinion race in place, so I think I'll go ahead and press and install things and see where they come out. Luckily I have a handful of crush sleeves :).

The FSM says 10-20 in/lbs for used/setup bearings, and 15-35 in/lbs for new bearings. The Revolution Gear sheet that came with my ring and pinion says 12-15 and doesn't specify new or used. Thoughts?
 
This is also with the setup pinion bearings and setup inner pinion race in place, so I think I'll go ahead and press and install things and see where they come out. Luckily I have a handful of crush sleeves :).

The FSM says 10-20 in/lbs for used/setup bearings, and 15-35 in/lbs for new bearings. The Revolution Gear sheet that came with my ring and pinion says 12-15 and doesn't specify new or used. Thoughts?

I go 14-19 for new bearings.
 
Here I am with everything in place other than the crush sleeve. Pinion preload is 20 inch/lbs and backlash is 0.007". Everything torqued, pinion races are now set in place, inner pinion bearing is pressed on, and using the new outer pinion bearing as well. No more setup anything in there. It looks to me like it is trending a little deep, but as I've tried before, taking out the thinnest pinion shim leaves it much more shallow. So better to be a little deep vs too shallow? Pattern is consistent across the ring

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So just wanted to close this project out by saying that I finished reinstalling my re-geared Dana 35 today and took it for a short break-in test spin. Total difference in noise and smoothness, I always thought my tires were the source and clearly they weren't! This TJ drives and sounds like a sedan, lol. Quiet under power and also coasting, and it finally revs appropriately (was either under geared or over geared since we bought this 3 years ago). Totally worth the time and money invested in the project.

Just wanted to say thank you again to @hosejockey61, the videos are an incredible resource. And especially @Blackjack for always helping me interpret my patterns to make sure I got it right.

Final thoughts for anyone else thinking of doing this:

1. take the axle off the Jeep and work comfortably on it up in jackstands
2. Bought a case spreader, didn't need it
3. Harbor Freight basic shop press got the job done easily
4. Read Billavista's Gear Setup Bible and watch Mike's BFH Garage videos. Even the ones that aren't for your axle, there's knowledge to be learned in all of them.

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate the help along the way

Greg