Re-gear, take two

Mike_H

autos are better - WRWD508
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ICYMI, I blew up my front axle the other day... Check my build thread for the deets. Been working on getting a new gear set installed and wanted some feedback.

This is where I'm at, with 65 thou pinion depth and 0.008 thou backlash
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I can back it off to 0.062 with the same backlash

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Or go a bit deeper, to around 0.070 pinion depth. That tightened the backlash up a bit, to 0.005.
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I ran a pattern at 0.067 too, and it didn't look much different than the 0.070
 
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0.062" looks best but I'm confused by what you mean when you say "that tightened up backlash". You will need to adjust carrier shims to adjust backlash into spec, not let R&P mesh determine BL. I would run the 0.062" on pinion and move 0.003" (or whatever your thinnest shim is) from L to R (when looking at the diff/housing from behind) and see where BL lands. Ideally, adjusting BL will help remove that hard line in the marking compound towards the root of the ring gear.

I try to aim for ~0.008" as my mid-point target, as sometimes things tighten up when you install your final preload stack of 0.0075" per side and you don't want to be too tight (or too loose but I've never seen BL get looser when installing final preload shim stack).
 
0.062" looks best but I'm confused by what you mean when you say "that tightened up backlash". You will need to adjust carrier shims to adjust backlash into spec, not let R&P mesh determine BL. I would run the 0.062" on pinion and move 0.003" (or whatever your thinnest shim is) from L to R (when looking at the diff/housing from behind) and see where BL lands. Ideally, adjusting BL will help remove that hard line in the marking compound towards the root of the ring gear.

I try to aim for ~0.008" as my mid-point target, as sometimes things tighten up when you install your final preload stack of 0.0075" per side and you don't want to be too tight (or too loose but I've never seen BL get looser when installing final preload shim stack).
Yeah, I know. I just ran a quick pattern there at 0.005 to see. I later went back and re-adjusted my carrier shims to get back to 0.008 and still set at 0.062 pinion depth. I'm still deep on the drive side but the coast side looks real good. Its close...I'm going to pull a couple thou more pinion depth and see what happens.

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edit: It seems I'm getting slightly inconsistent results...I'm going to clean things up and re-do a couple patterns. I'm really only concerned about that slightly hard line on the drive side of the tooth. If I can get that to soften up and the coast stays good....I'll run it.
 
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edit: I'm really only concerned about that slightly hard line on the drive side of the tooth. If I can get that to soften up and the coast stays good....I'll run it.
Mike,

Are you talking about here? I'm going to be digging into my own re-gear, not having done one in 20+ years, and I'm trying to pay attention!

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Yeah. It's wider at the bottom than the top and I'd like to see it a little more even. Everything I've read points to it being just a touch deep. Also... Sign up for the great install technical group on Facebook. Lots of knowledge there and pretty good responses to specific questions on set up. They won't help if you just throw a couple pictures up and say, "what now?" But for something like what I have going, it's a pretty great resource.
Mike,

Are you talking about here? I'm going to be digging into my own re-gear, not having done one in 20+ years, and I'm trying to pay attention!

View attachment 329699
 
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Yeah, I know. I just ran a quick pattern there at 0.005 to see. I later went back and re-adjusted my carrier shims to get back to 0.008 and still set at 0.062 pinion depth. I'm still deep on the drive side but the coast side looks real good. Its close...I'm going to pull a couple thou more pinion depth and see what happens.

edit: It seems I'm getting slightly inconsistent results...I'm going to clean things up and re-do a couple patterns. I'm really only concerned about that slightly hard line on the drive side of the tooth. If I can get that to soften up and the coast stays good....I'll run it.
Okay, just making sure on the BL :)

I agree with ya that it still looks a tad too deep on drive side (coast side is nice!). I'd do what you said, pull a few 0.001" out and see how it looks. Sometimes it's as good as you can get. Maybe thin the marking compound slightly, as I've seen "chunky" compound give odd lines/patterns (I just use a drop of gear lube into container and mix nicely). I would also make sure you're providing resistance to the ring gear while spinning (especially with thinned marking compound) - an old piece of 2"x4" works well pressed against the outer edge of the ring gear, while my 18V Ridgid Drill spins the pinion nut on the other side.
 
Okay, just making sure on the BL :)

I agree with ya that it still looks a tad too deep on drive side (coast side is nice!). I'd do what you said, pull a few 0.001" out and see how it looks. Sometimes it's as good as you can get. Maybe thin the marking compound slightly, as I've seen "chunky" compound give odd lines/patterns (I just use a drop of gear lube into container and mix nicely). I would also make sure you're providing resistance to the ring gear while spinning (especially with thinned marking compound) - an old piece of 2"x4" works well pressed against the outer edge of the ring gear, while my 18V Ridgid Drill spins the pinion nut on the other side.
Yeah, I've thinned the compound too. I really think I need to clean it off and get fresh paint in there...I've done 10 or so trials and I want to see what it looks like, nice and fresh. Sometimes I look at the pictures and think...am I being too picky? I will move it a couple thou and give it a couple more opportunities to come it. I don't think this would cause any issues, but for an hours worth of work, I'll know if it can get better or not.
 
Yeah. It's wider at the bottom than the top and I'd like to see it a little more even. Everything I've read points to it being just a touch deep. Also... Sign up for the great install technical group on Facebook. Lots of knowledge there and pretty good responses to specific questions on set up. They won't help if you just throw a couple pictures up and say, "what now?" But for something like what I have going, it's a pretty great resource.
How about a link or something for this technical group….I am in the middle of a Dana 35 and murphy is getting the upper hand.
thanks .
Rick
 
Thank you both for the reply, I submitted the answers to the questions and got temporary access. My new svl ring and pinion kit is (the pinion) slightly different than what I am replacing and it makes me question if I have the right stuff to put it together.
the spline is cut into the area where the outer race seats.
 
Thank you both for the reply, I submitted the answers to the questions and got temporary access. My new svl ring and pinion kit is (the pinion) slightly different than what I am replacing and it makes me question if I have the right stuff to put it together.
the spline is cut into the area where the outer race seats.
Start a thread and post some pictures. There are a lot of helpful people here that will get you moving in the right direction.
 
thanks , I posted it this morning …..Dana 35 pinion crush sleeve different? My concern is the race sitting in groove’s. I don’t know what kind of pressure the bearings are under at that part of the pinion. Thanks for looking.
Rick

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