[bamato]

So I finished my gear job on Saturday. Took me 14 hours to set up my d30. I spent four of those hours making perfect setup bearings which I plan to save for any future upgrades. It took so long because I wanted them perfect so they didnt screw up all my initial measurements. So here is a nice read to tell everyone that they aren't as bad a job as it would seem..

It's funny that it only took me 30 minutes to uninstall and reinstall my locker in the new carrier. As stated above, I decided to make setup bearings to keep from having to press on and off the bearings from the carrier and pinion during setup. And this by far was the best idea I had in this whole process. Made the job so much easier and less stressful. I also decided to leave the D30 in my rig so as tightening the pinion nut was much easier. 210 ft/lbs would have been impossible with the axle on jackstands. Using an impact wrench was out of the questions, because like said before, I wanted this perfect.

It took me 13 tries to get pinion preload right. And that was only because my mind was functioning backwards that day and for some reason I thought adding shims increased preload... when in turn it decreases it. So that was a waste of time on my part.

It took 6 tries to get the overall shim stacks on the carrier right. I used the old shim stack as a reference, but it was way to thin.

It only took two tries to get backlash into spec.

Here is the real winner.... It only took "1"... I repeat 1.... try on the pinion depth. I marked the gears, stuffed some shop towels behind the carrier, spun it round twice in both directions, and I've never seen such a perfect mark on the ring gear from the pinion.

So after all that was done, I began final assembly. Heated the bearings in a toaster oven to 180 degress, and they slid right on Bolted everything up, rechecked all my measurements and loads, and I was done. Final assembly took a whopping 45 minutes.

Bolted up my new driveshaft, took her for a light test run... smooth as butter, no noise... I'm one happy jeeper. Can't wait till I finish the break in time..

[tank29]

Originally Posted by bamato

So I finished my gear job on Saturday. Took me 14 hours to set up my d30. I spent four of those hours making perfect setup bearings which I plan to save for any future upgrades. It took so long because I wanted them perfect so they didnt screw up all my initial measurements. So here is a nice read to tell everyone that they aren't as bad a job as it would seem..

It's funny that it only took me 30 minutes to uninstall and reinstall my locker in the new carrier. As stated above, I decided to make setup bearings to keep from having to press on and off the bearings from the carrier and pinion during setup. And this by far was the best idea I had in this whole process. Made the job so much easier and less stressful. I also decided to leave the D30 in my rig so as tightening the pinion nut was much easier. 210 ft/lbs would have been impossible with the axle on jackstands. Using an impact wrench was out of the questions, because like said before, I wanted this perfect.

It took me 13 tries to get pinion preload right. And that was only because my mind was functioning backwards that day and for some reason I thought adding shims increased preload... when in turn it decreases it. So that was a waste of time on my part.

It took 6 tries to get the overall shim stacks on the carrier right. I used the old shim stack as a reference, but it was way to thin.

It only took two tries to get backlash into spec.

Here is the real winner.... It only took "1"... I repeat 1.... try on the pinion depth. I marked the gears, stuffed some shop towels behind the carrier, spun it round twice in both directions, and I've never seen such a perfect mark on the ring gear from the pinion.

So after all that was done, I began final assembly. Heated the bearings in a toaster oven to 180 degress, and they slid right on Bolted everything up, rechecked all my measurements and loads, and I was done. Final assembly took a whopping 45 minutes.

Bolted up my new driveshaft, took her for a light test run... smooth as butter, no noise... I'm one happy jeeper. Can't wait till I finish the break in time..

Good job!!!!

I never thought about using an oven to heat the bearings up, good idea!

I was thinking about making a set of set-up bearings myself, how did you go about doing yours? Mine will be for a D60/D44 combo. Thanks.



Todd

[bamato]

I spent a larger amount of time with a dremel and bearing hone going very slowly. You can reuse old bearings, but then all your initial settings will change greatly when you install the new bearings. So I spent the money on new timken carrier bearings and one outer pinion bearing. Was an awesome idea. That way I didnt damage the new bearings pulling them on and off. And I only took a few thousandths of an inch off the ID on the bearings, so they were still snug.

[YJ_Aaron]

Yes setup bearings make it much easier. I've still got mine left from a 44 and need to make a set for my 60.

Gears aren't hard to do just time consuming and can be frustrating. Good job man.

[Rodeo1488]

Hmmmmmmm, too bad the rest of us can't see your "Awesomeness" without some pics. Booooooooooooo to you, bamato. Such a great job and no pics to see it. J/K, bamato, way to go.

[Joe Dillard]

Awesome! Glad to hear it seems to have worked out well for you.

[bamato]

Originally Posted by Rodeo1488

Hmmmmmmm, too bad the rest of us can't see your "Awesomeness" without some pics. Booooooooooooo to you, bamato. Such a great job and no pics to see it. J/K, bamato, way to go.

Ya know.... that crossed my mind halfway through the job... But my shoes were covered in gear oil and my hands were disgusting... So I wasn't about to track through the house. So I asked my wife to take pics, and the pizza came so we forgot... freakin upsets me now..

[SonofSam02]

did you follow a write up to do this?
if so where did you get it?

[tcourdin]

Originally Posted by bamato

Ya know.... that crossed my mind halfway through the job... But my shoes were covered in gear oil and my hands were disgusting... So I wasn't about to track through the house. So I asked my wife to take pics, and the pizza came so we forgot... freakin upsets me now..

Same with my install, it was so time consuming there was no time to snap pics! I also managed to lay on my tube of gear marking compound, smearing it all over my back and head...that stuff about never came off!

Congrats on doing it yourself, I had a blast doing mine, I just dont ever want to do it again!

[bamato]

Originally Posted by tcourdin

Same with my install, it was so time consuming there was no time to snap pics! I also managed to lay on my tube of gear marking compound, smearing it all over my back and head...that stuff about never came off!

Congrats on doing it yourself, I had a blast doing mine, I just dont ever want to do it again!

I feel the exact same way. I thought to myself... "what happens if I ever want to go to 37" tires?" Then I realized... "33" tires make me happy enough".

Originally Posted by SonofSam02

did you follow a write up to do this?
if so where did you get it?

I used Billa Vista's technical writeup on pirate4x4.com. Extremely useful and very helpful. Probably the only reason I got it done at all.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

[themonkeyman]

Pardon the ignorance, but what exactly are "setup bearings"?

[1 ton yj]

The carrier and pinion bearings are pressed on, and setup shims are often placed behind these bearings. This means bearings have to be removed and re-installed several times in order to adjust the shim stack and obtain proper preload and tooth mesh pattern settings. The "setup bearings" are simply another set of bearings that are machined in the inner race so they slide on and off without pressing or pulling. Since gear setup is largely trial and error, setup bearings help make the process easier and faster since you can just remove the bearings by hand quickly to adjust the shim stack thickness, instead of having to pull and press them every time.

Once the proper pattern and preload is achieved, slide the setup bearings off, press the new bearings on and reassemble one final time.

[themonkeyman]

Ahh ok, now I get it. Thanks for the explanation.

[BudmanV6]

In addition to putting the bearings in the oven on low, you can also put the carrier in the freezer. This also applys to ring gears, etc. One upside to arbs is that the shims are mounted on the outside of the bearings and don't require setup bearings. But for detroits, and everything else you HAVE to go pick up a spare set of bearings and hog them out with a die grinder if you want to do it right. After being quoted upwards of 1G to do my 4.10's and arb in my dana 30 I did it myself and couldn't be happier. The wear pattern in my front axle is spot on after 30,000 miles and worlds better than the original d30 gears or my 8.8, all of which were setup at the factory. Since then I've installed close to a dozen lockers with great results. Don't let anyone overcharge you to install a locker, just do it yourself. The only measurement to keep track of is backlash and making sure you have enough preload.

[bamato]

Don't forget pinion depth and your overall carrier shim stack. Both of which can be read from the contact pattern on the teeth.

I thought I might add one thing... Gotta have a few expensive tools, and having a buddy around helps a lot.