Differential setup

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Curt

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Perfect.Good job
 

CalSgt

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Perfect.Good job
^^^^ This

Good pattern. Should just have to take it back apart one last time to set pinion preload
 

59840Surfer

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Hey fellers...need some insight and opinion here...take a look at these pics and you fellas tell me where you think I'm sitting. Backlash is already at around 5 thousandths...just trying to get contact pattern in the green.
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BACKLASH is what is left when all the other settings are correct.

Backlash never is something that is a goal although it HAS to be within logical reason!

If the tooth pattern is correct, then changing the depth of the pinion or the side-shift of the carrier to get a nice tight backlash is counterproductive and also counterintuitive.

In your pixs, I'd like to see a little less depth in the power-on side on the ring gear --- but what you have is do-able if you don't put a lot of horses into that gearset.

Plus (EDITED) the actual power-on contact patch should be less-formed with very little - if any - well defined edges.

I like this pattern for the vague bubble-looking pattern as this doesn't put a lot of pressure on any define-able zones on the hardened/nitrated surface of the gear teeth.

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If there is a definite "line" that you can see --- that's a high-pressure point that will cause the case-hardened surface to flex more than it is really designed to flex and premature flaking can occur as small pieces of that case hardened surface falls off the gear faces.

Think of the hardened surface as a microscopically thin coating and the untreated internal steel under that hardened surface as a candy-coated M&M.
 
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BKING33

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I apply the parking brake or adjust the brake shoes out to apply some resistance to load the gear set when checking patterns.
 

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