All
I have my differential apart and have to reassemble with new pinion gear. I know there is a pre-load tolerence but there is also a space measurement to the inside of the diff. How critical is this? If im off by a couple thousands of an inch am I screwed? This question goes to the carrier and ring bearing spacing for meeting up with the pinion gear as well. If they are off too much I won.t get the proper backlash. correct? I am way over my head with this job. HELP

 

All
I have my differential apart and have to reassemble with new pinion gear. I know there is a pre-load tolerence but there is also a space measurement to the inside of the diff. How critical is this? If im off by a couple thousands of an inch am I screwed? This question goes to the carrier and ring bearing spacing for meeting up with the pinion gear as well. If they are off too much I won.t get the proper backlash. correct? I am way over my head with this job. HELP

 

Sorry 98 Blazer. How do I know if I have a Full size or S-10/ S-15? All I know is its a LS 2 wheel drive

 

The ring and pinion need to be replaced as a set. You can't just replace the pinion. And if you want the gears to last, they have to be set up EXACTLY right, like within a thousandth of an inch. You'll need a few special tools and a bunch of "regular" ones. It's not really a job for a shadetree mechanic (no offense). You'd probably be better off buying a complete used axle assembly and swapping it in.

 

Yes your right but after a couple of hour on youtube I was feeling a little rambunkcious and had the whole thing figured out........so I thought. After changing wheel bearing then u-joint then outer pinion bearing I thought I had to much time invested to give up and that is when I got in a hurry and careless. I forgot to put pinion nut back on to pound it out to release pre load and damaged the pinion shaft. I knew better but it got to me. I thought that the pinion and ring were percisioned percise enough that they could be interchanged with the proper shimming but there I go figuring again. Thanks for your assistance. 1 more ?, how do I know if I have a full size, S-10 or S-15? I know its 2 wheel LS but nothing else on paperwork that I remember seeing. Again thanks for any help with this mess.

 

Do you have a picture of it?

 

Ratech sells a pinion depth tool for specific axle sizes and is inexpensive and will help set pinion depth. The correct pinion depth is stenciled on the face of the pinion gear. You will need to shim the pinion bearing the right amount to get the correct pinion depth. The 2 critical measurements are pinion depth and backlash. You will need a dial indicator to check backlash. (Harbor Freight) will work. I used the original bearing that I sanded the inside to become a slip fit bearing to use to calculate the pinion depth without having to press the bearing on each time. Once you know what shims to use you can press on the new bearing with the correct shims. For backlash I used the original shims on each side and they ended up being correct. The last thing is to check gear tooth pattern. The most important after that is accomplished is to follow the break in procedure. I watched a lot of videos online with respect to Ring & Pinion set up and that is where I learned about using an old bearing as a set up bearing. I forgot to add that the free running torque of the pinion gear and crush sleeve is important.