RING & PINION

SETUP BASICS
The prospect of installing and adjusting driveline ring & pinion gears can be
intimidating for shops that don’t routinely perform this task. Even if you farm this
work out to a specialist, you should understand what’s involved.

W
ith any auto-
motive repair
job, whether
you’re dealing
with used or
new compo-
nents, it’s critical to first clean those
parts with solvent. Working with

Photo courtesy West Coast Differentials

driveline ring & pinion gears is no
exception. Let’s get right to it.
Using a fine file, remove any burrs
on the rear of the ring gear and carrier
mounting surface, then clean the sur-
faces and housing to remove any metal
particles, including any oil passages
in the housing. Be sure to clean out
any oil grooves adjacent to the carrier
bearings. With axles removed, clean
the axle tubes with solvent-soaked rags Whether new or used, check the shaft under the rear pinion bearing.
until they’re absolutely clean. All seal ring gear mounting surface for nicks During initial setup, try using the
surfaces should be inspected for im- or burrs and correct as needed to en- original shim depth for your first at-
perfections. If necessary, polish seal sure a flush mounting surface. tempt. The rear pinion bearing must
surfaces with a fine-grit emery cloth When setting up a differential ring be pressed on the pinion shaft and
and clean with solvent. & pinion, the critical adjustments the pinion races must be tapped in-
If you’re dealing with a used ring required include pinion depth, pin- to the housing with a large punch
& pinion set, whether rebuilding an ion bearing preload, gear backlash so they seat evenly. Install the front
existing axle assembly or installing a and carrier bearing preload. Go slow bearing and carefully tap the pinion
used set of a different ratio, inspect and pay attention to details. Expect seal in place with a properly sized
the back face of the ring gear for flat- to perform an initial test fitting and seal driver or an old race. West Coast
ness. A slight taper may have occurred adjustment prior to final setup. As Differentials notes that Ford 8- and
during heat-treating. Any taper or un- noted by West Coast Differentials 9-in., and GM 10.5- and 12.25-in.
evenness can be corrected by lapping (www.differentials.com), pinion ring gears use a pilot bearing that
the ring gear face on a flat glass plate depth shims are placed either under must be tapped in, with a retainer
with sandpaper or emery cloth. the rear pinion race or on the pinion for the Fords. Mount the ring gear to

Jim Gibson
30 October 2015

Performance.indd 1 9/22/15 5:19 PM

h

the carrier with a drop of red (high- has been established. Always use a Heel
strength) threadlocking compound new crush sleeve for final assembly. Drive
on each bolt. Carrier bearings are When installing a crush sleeve,
pressed on the carrier and secured slide the sleeve onto the pinion shaft
with green Loctite. Note that in Dana and install the pinion through the

Illustration courtesy Richmond Gear

Spicer differentials, the carrier shims rear of the housing. According to
are located between the carrier and West Coast Differentials, the yoke Coast
carrier bearings. usually must be tapped on while you
It’s important to note that pinion apply pressure on the pinion gear
bearing preload is always measured head to hold it in place. Use an im-
in inch-pounds at the pinion nut, so a pact wrench or huge breaker bar to
quality, calibrated inch-pound beam- apply the torque necessary to crush
or dial-type torque wrench is need- the sleeve. Proceed very slowly so Toe
ed. Be sure to apply clean oil to the so as not to overload the bearings.
pinion nut washer surface during all The pinion preload will be zero until On a ring gear, the outboard area is re-
ferred to as the heel, while the inboard
assemblies and high-strength thread- the bearings contact the races but area is the toe. The drive side receives the
locking compound (for example, red will then increase very quickly. Again, push-force from the pinion gear. The shad-
Loctite) on the pinion nut threads use an inch-pound torque wrench ed areas depict an ideal wear pattern.
during the final assembly (not during to check the preload. If the pinion
initial test fitting). bearing preload exceeds the specified first carefully clean the shims to re-
Some designs feature a crush allowable range, install another new move any particles that may cause
sleeve for setting pinion depth, while crush sleeve and start over. If the a false preload reading or cause the
others require the use of preload design calls for a crush sleeve, it’s a shim stack to change thickness over
shims. If the design calls for the use of good idea to keep a handful of these time as the vehicle is driven. Main-
a crush sleeve, it may be easier to ini- sleeves handy during test-fitting. tain a clean surface on your work-
tially install the pinion without a crush If preload setting requires the use bench while organizing shims to pre-
sleeve until the correct pinion depth of shims instead of a crush sleeve, vent contamination.
Slide the shim pack over the pinion
shaft to the shelf. West Coast recom-
mends using the original shims on the
first assembly, or adding .003 in. to the
original preload shims to make up for
the bearings settling into the housing.
Gradually tighten the pinion nut in
increments to a final value of approx-
imately 250 ft.-lbs. Recheck preload
with an inch-pound torque wrench as
you go, between nut-tightening incre-
ments, to avoid damaging the bear-
ing. (Don’t immediately tighten to
full value, and keep rechecking pre-
load.) If the preload is too tight, re-
www.vdo.com/usa move the pinion gear and add shims
so the bearings will not be as tight
They’re not just OEM quality... against the races. If the preload is too
loose, remove shims so that the bear-
...they’re the OEM parts! ings will be tighter against the races
and increase the preload.
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Once you’ve achieved the proper

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preload, lightly tap both ends of the
Program offers ‘OEM-only’ European, domestic and
pinion to seat the bearings, races and
parts, direct from the Asian vehicles.
yoke. Once the pinion has been seat-
manufacturer – that’s us! For more information, call: ed, recheck the pinion preload with
The line includes Electronic 800-564-5066 or email: your inch-pound torque wrench.
Throttle Valves, Air Actuators, salessupport-us@vdo.com Insufficient carrier bearing pre-
MAF/MAP Sensors, Water load allows the carrier to move when
under load; this can cause the back-
Circle #19

32 October 2015
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 Now even more
CARB Coverage!
Eastern Catalytic ECO CARB
Converters are CARB compliant and
Illustration courtesy Richmond Gear

now we have even more coverage

Illustration courtesy Richmond Gear

Place Shims Needed to available in Universal, Direct-fit,

Get to the Required Pinion
Checking Depth in These Locations and Integrated Manifold
Distance 2.468 Checking
Distance configurations for OBD II
and pre-OBD II
CARB vehicles.
Place Shims Needed to Get to the Required Pinion Our ECO CARB
Depth Between Bearing Support & Housing
Converters are
These are examples of the checking distance between the axle centerline and the pinion designed to fit right
on typical GM and Chrysler applications (left) and on Ford 9-in. applications (right).
and work right, first
time, every time. NOW: More
lash to open up. West Coast notes middle area of the teeth. Resetting CARB Integrated
Manifold
that carrier bearing preload is not the pinion depth may be necessary 23 CARB Converters!
specifically measured, but a good, as well. Executive Orders
tight fit is important in all differential If the carrier features a thread-
designs. Backlash is measured by ed screw adjuster design, first lube • Over 42,000 Vehicle Applications
mounting a dial indicator to the hous- the adjuster threads with oil on both
• 1,600 California part numbers
ing with the plunger set perpendicu- the housing and the adjusters. While
lar to the ring gear teeth. While hold- holding the races on the bearings, • 70+ CARB Integrated Manifold Units
ing the pinion yoke steady, rotate the place the carrier in the housing. In-
ring gear back and forth. Backlash stall the carrier caps according to the • READY TO SHIP TODAY!
will generally change about .007 in. marks made during disassembly so
for each .010 in. the carrier is moved. the threads are seated evenly on the Install Eastern with confidence
To decrease the backlash, move the adjusters. Note that third-member All Eastern Catalytic CARB compliant
carrier closer to the pinion center- differential designs require a 10- to converters are covered by our 5 year /
line; to increase the backlash, move 12-in. spanner wrench to tighten
50,000 mile warranty.* Broad CARB
the carrier away from the pinion cen- the adjusters. West Coast notes that
terline. Backlash may be adjusted by Chrysler differential designs require coverage, rock-solid construction,
threaded adjusters or with the use of an extension bar and special span- and a supplier that stands behind
shims, depending on the design. ner to access the adjusters through you, Eastern is the right choice for
Typically, backlash for a street ap- the axle tubes. Tighten both the left
you and your customer!
plication will be in the .007- to .009- and right adjusters evenly by hand
in. range. The backlash adjustment for until they’re fairly tight. If the back- *See easterncatalytic.com
GM and Dana applications is typically lash is excessive, tighten the left ad- for warranty details.

accomplished with the use of shims juster until the backlash is correct;
APEX
See us at A
placed behind the carrier bearing cups. if the backlash is too tight, tighten
Once the gears are initially in- the right adjuster until the backlash
stalled, paint the pinion gear teeth
with a gear-marking compound or
is correct. If necessary, loosen one
adjuster and tighten the opposite ad- Booth 625
machinist’s dye to check gear-to-gear juster. Once the desired backlash has Circle #20
tooth contact patterns. Rotate the been achieved, both adjusters must
ring gear several times by hand and be fully hand-tightened. The final ad-
inspect the ring gear teeth. If the wit- justment requires tightening the left
ness pattern shows heavy on the “toe” adjuster, since the ring gear is forced
(inboard area of the ring gear), sub- away from the pinion gear while un-
tract shims. If the pattern is heavy on der load.
the “heel” (outboard area of the ring Differentials that require shims
gear teeth), add shims. Ideally, the may need them between the carri-
contact pattern should be seen in the er bearing races and the housing, In USA and Canada: (800) 553-7199
Worldwide: (001) 215-702-3600
Fax: 215-702-3606 • info@easterncatalytic.com

October 2015 33
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 Too Deep Too Shallow Acceptable
Heel Heel Heel Heel Heel
Coast Coast Heel Coast
Coast Coast Coast

Toe Toe Toe

Drive Drive Toe Toe Drive Toe
Drive Drive Drive

Heel Heel Heel

Heel Heel

Illustrations courtesy West Coast Differentials

Coast Coast Heel Coast
Coast Coast
Coast

Toe Toe
Drive Drive Toe Drive Toe Toe
Drive Toe Drive
Drive

Heel Heel Heel

Heel Heel Heel
Coast Coast Coast Coast Coast
Coast

Toe Toe Toe Drive Toe

Drive Drive Drive Drive Toe Drive Toe

The ring & pinion gear contact wear patterns shown on the left indicate that the pinion was adjusted
too deep. The patterns in the center indicate that the pinion was adjusted too shallow. Acceptable
wear patterns are shown on the right. The ideal pattern is seen in the top two examples on the right.

or between the carrier bearing and of the shims. The carrier should be hammer. While holding the races on
the carrier case. Carrier bearing pre- shimmed tight enough that it must the bearings, and with outer shims
load is established by the tightness be tapped in with a plastic dead-blow on the races, start the carrier into the
housing and tap it in with the ham-
mer. Install the carrier caps accord-
ing to the marks made during disas-
sembly. Measure the backlash. If it’s
excessive, move or add shims to the

Jump In! left side. If the backlash is too tight,

move or add shims to the right side.
If the carrier is too tight or too loose,
remove or add shims as needed.
The pinion depth specification
(measured from the pinion face to
the axle centerline) should be marked

Photo courtesy West Coast Differentials

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Circle #21

34 October 2015

Bardahl Jump In 4.5x5 Ad F.indd 1 9/16/15 5:40 PM

Performance.indd 4 9/23/15 2:41 PM

 on the face of the pinion and must itraction/limited slip design, a friction
be set, staying within .002 in. of the modifier will be required in addition
specification. Depending on the style to the gear lube. The amount of fric-
of the assembly, either a crush collar tion modifier can vary depending on
or shims can be used to adjust pin- the application, but generally some-
ion depth. Once the pinion depth where between 4 and 8 oz. should
has been set, pinion preload must suffice. If a friction modifier is not
be applied while rotating the pinion. added to the lube when required,

Photo courtesy West Coast Differentials

For used bearings, set preload at 15 driveline chatter may occur (as a re-
in.-lbs.; with new bearings, set pre- sult of clutches sticking), possibly
load with 25 in.-lbs. Once preload most notably in Reverse with the
has been set, install the pinion seal steering wheel turned.
and the pinion locking nut (apply red For street operation, with gears
Loctite high-strength locking com- sets of 3.73 or lower (3.73 or higher
pound or equivalent). With the pin- numerical ratio) it’s recommended to
ion gear installed, position the ring drive the vehicle for about 500 miles
gear and carrier into the housing and at varying speeds. Avoid constant
Inadequate lubrication resulted in a severe
inspect gear backlash. overheating condition, as evidenced by this cruising in one speed range.
Never mix & match ring gears and example of a badly burned ring & pinion set. Thanks to West Coast Differentials
pinion gears. These are made as sets, and Richmond Gear for their assis-
and gears are lapped as a set. Inspect and seal surfaces just prior to instal- tance with this article.
each gear to verify that the serial lation. Refer to the gear maker’s lu-
numbers match. bricant recommendation; generally, This article can be found online at
Always apply a coat of gear oil on a synthetic 75W-140 gear lube should www.motormagazine.com.
all bearings and grease on all seals be correct. If the differential is a pos-

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Photo courtesy West Coast Differentials

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Circle #22

October 2015 35

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