Feels loose....no carrier bearing pre-load (CBPL).
Sliver is out of Utah and had a 4x4 shop set his gears. Here's a copy/paste of part of Slivers post....
"I had my gears set up by --------, UT and they aren't right. I have taken my runner back to them three times, the first time the pinion gear was hitting my carrier. They claimed that they fixed it yet it still screams at me when I let off the gas. I have taken it back to them twice since then and made them ride in the rig and listen to the noise that it makes. The mechanic claims that it is U-Joint chatter."

About 600 miles on this new 3rd yet the pinion has no pre-load (PPL).

Backlash was measured at .013"....it should be closer to 007 or 008.

The painted load bearing pattern indicates it's way too deep...too much pinion shim.

Coast says too deep.

The ring gear bolts were ok.

Nothing special here...a basic crush sleeve.

Pinion seal pops off for pinion bearing inspection.

The 4x4 shop used a thick grease to keep the coil spring from popping loose during the seal install process....this is good.

Using a soft punch, I checked the races for being seated all the way and they were.

The inner pinion bearing is easily removed for a shim inspection...

The pinion bearings look ok.

Pinion teeth show a shallow pattern. Shallow on the pinion means deep on the ring.

The 2 shims on the pinion head add to .103". This should be closer to 093 based on the brand used.

I pressed the pinion bearing on with a 093 shim. I left the crush sleeve out until later. The nut was tightened until it reached about 6 inch/pounds of PPL. The bearings have plenty of gear oil splashed on them to make the readings legitimate.

The backlash is set to 007

Much better....this is a keeper.

Coast shows the proper depth has been reached.

A new crush sleeve is now installed.

Thick grease is used on the spring and an rtv on the seal to eliminate any chance of oil slipping by.

The red Loctite will make sure the nut never backs off and acts a little bit like a lubricant during the crush process.

I crushed it until it reached 8 inch/pounds of drag.

Lots of anti-sieze on the threads.

The trick is to get the desired .007 backlash AND get the 150 ft/lbs on the adjusters. By placing 150 ft/lbs on the adjusters, that is equivalent to 15 inch/pounds on the actual carrier bearing drag.

75 ft/lbs on the 4 bearing cap bolts....

...10 ft/lbs/loctited on the tab bolts

Final specs are dremo'd on the ring gear.

Ready to go back to Utah. ZUK