Sterling's rear gear install
(US GEAR brand 5.29 gears in a standard 8" 3rd)
August 2, 2002
(23 low res pics loading)




OK Randy....I need more yellow paint next time....




comparison of a standard crush sleeve to a 'custom' solid
collar....overkill is good.




The dealership offers the collars but forget them as they don't
seem to include shims like they used to. Now All Pro offers a well
made collar for about $25 and includes shims. In addition,
Marlin Crawler has some nicely machined solid spacers with shims
for the same price. Follow the active links to Allpro and Marlin.




Now pressing on the first set of shims on the pinion...will try .098" first.




Another shot of the solid collar.




Want to make your own collar? Here's the info.




Removing old carrier bearings...




...and they almost "fell off"...took very little effort to pull
them off. This is somewhat common on 8" third members. The press
fit looses its "press" but this spun damage is very minimal.




A little bit of this special compound on a clean surface and the
issue goes away.




With the old ring gear removed and new carrier bearings in place
it's a good time to put the LockRite in now. First punch the pin
out using a sacrificial drill bit.




Remove big crosspin and then remove the spiders/side gears.....




then install the locker....




...was only a 5 minute job....




Time to locktite the ring gear in place and check the first pattern...




This is with the .098" pinion shim...could be a touch deeper...




another view....




Using a micrometer, I reset the pinion with a .1005 shim....that's
about 2.5 thousands deeper than before. This pattern is very good.




another view....




here's the coast side....




another angle....




Tighten up the carrier bearings and maintain .009" backlash...




Beats using a screwdriver and hammer!




Done and clean....the 3 tools I made from scratch for Toyota gear set-ups.


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