Initially, I wasn't going to do this install as Jeff had purchased a Genuine Gear. After we discovered that they had slipped in a higher quality brand into the box then I was ok with it. Jeff wanted it done right so he supplied the master kit, solid collar and a new flange.

The ring gear had the "304" on it (Yukon). Nice to have a camera with a decent macro. ;)

Tapping in the new races....(with a soft steel punch).

edit---Best to stay away from all punches... use an old race to evenly "pat down" the new race. Using a punch could result in "oscillating" pinion preload measurements with the torque wrench. 1-8-2011 ZUK

With the help of my machinist dad, I transformed a cheap Harbor freight bearing separator into a special purpose bearing puller.

This allows me to remove even the most stubborn bearing and no damage...to the tool or the bearing.

Micrometers can be had for as cheap as 20 bucks.....a must have for its precision.

The solid collar is especially important in rear end use. I used .060" worth of shims here.

This resulted in a nice 10 in/lb of pinion drag.

New Timken carrier bearings.....

Best carrier bearing puller I've ever used. The pointy shape of the fingers and the strap in the middle that pulls the legs together is a nice design.

Almost ready to do a pattern check....just need to preload the carrier bearings some...

too deep...

the coast agrees with that...

still a touch deep...

Everytime I changed the pinion shim, I made use of the press. I could have used a hammer to beat the pinion shaft out but it might have dented the outer pinion cup.

I got a little carried away and now the pattern went shallow.

Good pattern with .091" pinion shim

coast looks nice.

I might spend 20 minutes or more getting the backlash dialed in and some strong carrier bearing pre-load.

Done! :)