1st post in the axle section - be nice

[Mutant Pony]

Hey, I don't know if anyone told you yet, you don't have to use a cut down pin. If you line up the ring gear so that the pin is going between teeth, you then just have to do a little minor grinding to the teeth of ring gear for the pin to clear. The 3.45 diff would have a solid pin.
Many people have done this without any trouble.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i added some more gusset work to the guard last night, then finished cleaning things up and slapped on some paint.

heres the wrench that i used to bend the rods on the guard after the torch ran out of gas

paint!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

thats good to know mutant, i now have 3 cross pins after all of the parts gathering i did. ive got the stock cross pin, the cross pin that came with the lock rite, and the clearanced one i got with the gears. i seem to remember reading something about just grinding the teeth on the inside of the ring to clear the pin, since the teeth dont contact the edge of the gear its not hurting anything. thanks

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

once the paint dried i installed the outer axle bearings and seals along with the pinion races

then i got out my rotary tool and sanded down the inner races of both pinion bearings so that they would be a slip fit incase i had to change the pinion shim out

i took a break for lunch and while i was inside i got out the wax paper, masking tape, and a marker and made a new smiley face, but i didnt like how it turned out so i came up with this....

i initially wanted to paint the eyes and teeth red and the face yellow, but i was out of both and it was Easter sunday so i settled for some Grabber Green!

once the paint had started to dry i used a dentist pick and carefully rolled up the edges of the tape until i could grab them with some small needle nose pliers and removes them. after it finished drying i gave the cover 2 coats of clear engine enamel and lined up the camera for my new avatar pic.

after assembling the pinion using the original shim, i grabbed my pinion flange tool and tightened the nut until the play in the bearing disappeared and continued to tighten until the in/lb torque wrench registered 18 in/lb turning resistance.

changing the ring gear was a bit of a chore also, but the large chisel i purchased earlier in the month changed the old rings attitude! torquing the nuts was a bit tricky at first but i was able to use a large pry bar to give me the leverage i needed.

once the darkness came i closed the garage door and started setting up the carrier with the shim kit i bought. id say i came pretty damn close to specs but id like some opinions on the pattern.

 

[Mutant Pony]

Looks good.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

It just seems hard to believe it was that easy? I guess i still havent installed the new crush sleeve yet so i may have spoken too soon, but this seemed pretty straight forward after doing a bit of research. I want to keep the thicker shims closest to the carrier and races correct? Ive been rotating the gear set 2 revolutions both ways while keeping drag on the pinion flange with one hand, is this a good way to get a "true" pattern? I also cheked the run out on the ring gear in the center (between flat side and toothed side) and i measured +/- .005 Is this normal or tolerable?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i thought i could get a better patten than i had so i worked on the gear set some more last night for a couple of hours and im not happy with the results...... so ill just work at it some more. i changed the original pinion shim out for one a bit thicker (from .023 to .025), but now my pattern looks too close to the edge of the teeth. this is a new gear set so im going by preload the specs for new bearings and following the .010" BL engraved into the gear set. i think i may also have too much preload on the carrier bearings when im doing this, the richmond instructions say to use .010" preload on the carrier assembly but im not sure if i should be adding a .010" shim after getting my pattern or before? as of now the carrier doesnt just fall into place, i have to tip the carirer races in slightly to clear the shims, then using my brass hammer i tap them inwards at the top and then tap the races down into the housing until its seated. heres the pics of the pattern, i measured the back lash at .012" which is within the .004" tolerance they give you.

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[ForOffRoadDriving]

i got a new tool for my axle building adventure, for $40 i think this will make it easier to check my pinion bearing preload.

 

[4x4junkie]

Your pinion is a little too shallow.

I'd try adding something between .005"-.007" to the pinion shim thickness and see where that gets you.

And yes, the carrier bearings do have to be preloaded to spec when checking the pattern.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

im going to try a .030" shim tonight and see where that lands me, thanks!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

copied from my build thread so i dont have to type it twice

my birthday present to my self showed up yesterday so i got a pleasant surprise when i got home.

after inserting the wire into each flare and leaving a little extra hanging out on each end, i still had this much wire left over! i think theyre going to look good but after dry fitting them they look like theyre too short to cover the entire wheel opening?

once it got dark i started working on the gears again and decided to clearance the ring gear for the cross pin before i got too much farther and forgot about it.

with the advice and feedback i got in my axle thread lastnight, i decided to changed out the pinion shim from .025" to .030" and it got me alot closer. heres a shot of how im starting the carrier into the case, once its sitting level i start to tap the tops of the races inwards and then working side to side, i tap the races into the housing until they are fully seated.

in order to keep track of my measurements i made up a little sketch and jotted down my dimensions

checking the back lash in 3 points proved that i was headed in the right direction as i got an .011", a .009", and a .010".

and heres my pattern as of now, tell me what ya think?

 

[xkotyx]

doing a great job on this thing man! keep up the good work

 

[4x4junkie]

That looks pretty good to me... I say run it.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

the only thing that concerns is how small/ tight the pattern is on the drive side, and how long and fat the pattern is on the coast side. is there anything i can do to make them even or am i just going to drive myself nuts trying to get a better pattern? if you guys say run it then thats what ill do, but i just want to make sure im not settling too soon. On a side note i just got a line on 2 free 8.8s, Fin' figures since i was looking for one for a year or better with no luck so i decided to build the 7.5, now i got more axles than i know what to do with!

 

[xkotyx]

your pattern looks good to me