i've replaced the 2.73 gears in my 86Gt with 3.73s. i specified pinion depth is 2.623" and mine measured 2.625 on the first try with the old shims! so i thought i was off to the races. took it back out, put on the crush sleeve, put it back in and bolted the ring gear into place.

prob is, when i torque everything to spec and tighten up the pinion nut my measurements get thrown off and pinion is too far out (or ring gear too far in, but that can't be changed - it's position is fixed). how do i draw the pinion gear further back to bring it into alignment? i'm not out by much, as the gears spin nicely in reverse, but if i turn the axles to move them in a forward direction, the gears bind. if i get under the car and manually turn the drive shift, the pinion flange moves towards the front of the car by a 1/32" and everything works fine.

what have i done wrong? has anyone who's done a gear swap had this problem/can give me some advice. i've taken it apart and re-installed it 6 times yesterday. i've measured and re-measured. i'm at a loss as to what the problem could possibly be.

steve

 

Sounds like the crush sleeve is not crushed enough? It takes ALOT of force to crush them. What are you using to tighten the pinion nut? You may have to use a long Johnson bar then check it with a torque wrench after.

 

glad to hear you say that - it's the only thing i could think of, and after 12 hours yesterday i had had enough and quit for the day - still some torquing to do on the nut. i read somewhere online that one guy had to use 180 lb-ft of torque to get it to begin crushing. the manufacturer says minimum of 140 lb-ft. i'm nowhere near that yet, so will get a long-armed wrench and do some more this week.

am i right in assuming this will work because as i tighten down on the pinion nut, it will draw the pinion out of the housing (ie: towards the front of the car)?

thanks again (you've helped me before!) for the advice and response

cheers

steve

 

Yes you are correct Steve it will draw it out. They can be a bit of a bastard to crush, but keep pluggin away you ll get er.