[CUSTOM/10]

So a couple steps forward and one back !!! I got most of the parts for the rear end rebuild and got started on it. Removed the old bearings ( witch were in very good condition, someone had been into this rear end before, had the punch marks to ID witch side the caps went on ) honed out the old pinion shaft bearing so they would slide on the pinion for mock-up bearings. This way I could remove shims easily without use the press and damaging the bearings or shims. Richmond says .008-.010 backlash ( Final ended up @ .009 ) took a few tries.
Started with a .003 shim for the pinion depth and ended up with .0037 to get a descent gear pattern. Once I got everything within tolerances I pressed the new bearing on, installed the new races, slipped the new crush sleeve on and proceeded to torque the pinion nut on to get the proper in. lbs of preload. It took some "REAL BEEF" to start the crush sleeve to start to give. I used a homemade yoke wrench, a breaker bar, and a floor jack to do the job. Once it started crushing the impact wrench could do the rest. So the backwards step was I found a broken spider gear thrust washer. So it looks like I'll have to get into the possi and order more parts. The pictures tell the story !