Please take a look at my pattern

[4x4junkie]

Did you hone out that old bearing you're using? If so, it being honed a bit off-center would certainly cause that.

I've seen gears themselves that are like that too though, in which case there might not be a whole lot you can do about it.

I would say try your new bearing on there instead. With the correct tools, you should be able to press on & off an unaltered bearing without any issues (how I did it when I did mine some years ago).
Also, make sure the bearings are 100% clean, and that there's no grit caught between anything (between the bearing cone and the pinion head, or between the ring gear and the flange on your carrier, etc.).

The way it looks, you're extremely close, if not already dead-on.

 

[Vexy]

Yes, I honed the old bearing, and there is a high chance of a little grit in the bearings.
Also, I do have the correct tools ( Snap-on bearing separator, and a hydraulic press), I just didn't want to mess up the new one since this is my first time doing this and I was being extremely careful to not mess anything up. But the amount of times that I have taken the old one on and off, I should have the whole process down by now.

This was getting a bit frustrating, thanks for the reassurance.

 

[Vexy]

Okay, I got the new pinion gear on, and cleaned every bearing real good and re-oiled em. The backlash and the Pinion shim stack are the same. The pattern seemed to have smoothed out some. Would you run it?

Drive

Coast

 

[Vexy]

Hmm, the second I feel semi-confident that my pattern is sufficient, I second guess my work.
Should I decrease the pinion shim a little, and tighten up the backlash a tad to help center this pattern?

 

[4x4junkie]

I think your pinion shim is fine. That pattern looks runnable, however if you try closing the backlash to about .008-.009 (assuming you're still at .010), I'm thinking the drive pattern should end up slightly more centered without it "falling apart" at all.

 

[Vexy]

Alright I'll close it up a bit tomorrow and see what she shows.

 

[Vexy]

Tightened up the Backlash to .008"

Drive

Coast

 

[4x4junkie]

Looks like you needed a bit more pressure on it while running that pattern.

I don't see any hard spots or angularity that stands out though other than the coast showing a tad bit deep... Probably not much you can do with it without ruining the drive side, so you might just be good with it there.

 

[Vexy]

I know both patterns are very important, but would you say that the drive pattern is prioritized over the coast? I don't want this thing calling it quits in a month(even with proper break-in).

 

[Vexy]

I just applied more pressure to the drive pattern and it looks good. Just a hair towards the toe which is good from what I read since the pattern tends to deflect towards the heel when under a decent load.

So the drive is all set, but the coast looks so-so. I could probably run it, but I just want to know if a coast pattern like mine would cause premature wear or even failure.

 

[4x4junkie]

You have to remember 99.99% of your miles on that thing are going to be while going forward. Unless you have some reason to be hammering on the throttle in reverse, I wouldn't really be too worried about it (I've seen worse patterns that have held up fine).

If you're that worried though, then try to get another opinion on it.

 

[Vexy]

You have to remember 99.99% of your miles on that thing are going to be while going forward. Unless you have some reason to be hammering on the throttle in reverse, I wouldn't really be too worried about it (I've seen worse patterns that have held up fine).

If you're that worried though, then try to get another opinion on it.

Yea, i was just being concerned because this was where my money has been going all this winter. Thank you everyone for bearing with me and helping me along the way. I really appreciate it.