I am about to drop some 4.56's in to my front and rear axle and while I'm that far into my axle I'm going to go ahead and replace my rear seals and bearings. My question is how difficult is the shimming part on the pinion gear to the ring gear? I am a mechanic but I work on electrical industry machines not automotive. I know how critical a proper meshing gear is for the life of it and I don't want to bit myself in the butt and screw up. I have most basic tools nothing fancy tho. ( I'll have to get my pinion gear bearings pressed on at work) but are there any tips, tricks, or precautions I need to be aware about if I proceed on my own? Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

There are multiple steps but it isn't hard if you work methodically, don't rush and perform the various checks along the way.

Take your time, lookup some vids on YouTube, read this link:
http://www.differentials.com/technic...n-instructions

If you can achieve the pattern illustrated then you have done it right.

 

Thanks for the link man!

 

There is a special spreader tool required to spread the diff housing apart for carrier removal and insertion.

 

A 2" bolt with nuts and washers? Are you talking about the clutch pack/ trac lok?

 

I don't really know what I'm talking about. On a thread here a few months back about replacing trac-lok clutches I recall reading about spreading the diff housing to extract the carrier. It sounded weird to me, but there was a FSM page with the info on it.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

You will require a dial indicator to check the backlash as well.

 

I don't really know what I'm talking about. On a thread here a few months back about replacing trac-lok clutches I recall reading about spreading the diff housing to extract the carrier. It sounded weird to me, but there was a FSM page with the info on it.

Please correct me if I am wrong.


EDIT: yes, it was to install the trac-lok spider gear cross pin, not to remove the carrier.