Richmond Pro gear alert heads-up...

[HandOverFist]

I may try the "Smart Sleeve" of Ratech's on the next gearset...supposedly more stable with less than half of the normal torque values.

[ss wannabee]

Originally Posted by Ed Wright

A rear pinion bearing honed out to a slip fit would be handy for finding the correct pattern. I've heard of them. I've never seen one.

Easy to do...I honed one when I was racing...and set up several rears with it.

Good thing I bought my 12-bolt gears when I did...my 5.86 was used with low runs,
and my 6.14 I bought NEW from Moroso...when ring & pinions were in the catalog....

That was a LONG time ago...so they were US-built...when I checked the Moroso's...
noticed that they were re-boxed Richmonds....no big deal!

[Alan Roehrich]

If you know anyone who can hone connecting rods, they probably have a mandrel that will hone a pinion bearing. They probably won't like doing it.

Another option is to get shims that go behind the race, in the case. You can take the race out once or twice without hurting anything, if you're careful. Use a brass drift to take it out, and the correct diameter bearing driver to put it in.

[Glenn Briglio]

Forget about pinion depth dimensions. It's all about pattern. I purchased that td tool. Waste of money! I stopped checking pinion depth numbers 20 years ago and haven't had any problems at all.

[HandOverFist]

I made a slip fit bearing 25 years ago and still use it. Thing is a grossly inaccurate pinion engraving is about as useful as none at all...you still need a base or starting point.

The pinion in question has a checking distance of 2.534 on the head. It is now patterned and installed.

[trmnatr]

Someone mentioned used gears, just a tip which IMO is important. Before I remove a good uses set, I mark the gear teeth to the pinion teeth so when I install it, it will ride/mesh the same way. Some people say no big deal, but I have never had a problem doing this

[Pat Cook]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

For the vast majority of OE 12 bolt housings, start with a 0.035" shim on the pinion. Odds are, you'll be within 0.005" of where you need to be. If you're taking a similar gear out, use the shim from the previous pinion, and you'll be within spitting distance.

The numbers they give you are the opinions of the guy running the Gleason machine they test the gears on. What matters is the pattern.

And yeah, unfortunately, Richmond hasn't been great lately, and Motive buying them is quite unlikely to improve that.

Started doing this a couple of years ago and have good success. Use the old shims and check the pattern and they are usual right on. The only one that I ran across was in a Jeep that a shop tried to setup....it was a mess. Didn't have the old shims took awhile to figure that one.

[CMcAllister]

Richmond stuff has been questionable for a number of years. The Motive, Italian stuff, on the other hand, has been good. Nice finish, easy to set up, nice looking pattern. I was glad to hear Motive bought Richmond. According to their website, Motive is a division of Midwest Truck and Auto Parts in Chicago. Who knows if it's American owned. The no name Chinese stuff is to be avoided.

I have set up tools, but rarely use them. They would get it close, but I found I always had to fudge it one way or the other a little bit. 1 or 2 thou makes a difference in the pattern. Typically, I just start with what came out of the old set-up and work from there. If I don't have that, I start with a typical shim for that rear. On a 12 bolt, it would be a .025. I like to use the ones under the bearing race or I will polish the pinion to get a semi-light press fit on the bearing so that it comes off with no damage. I set up according to the pattern. That's the final determining factor anyway. Randy's has a nice selection of tools and quality parts.

ETA...On anything other than a normal street car, it gets an adjustable solid spacer kit for pinion preload.

[HandOverFist]

It's a given that most here already know how to pattern a gear. The issue is spec's provided by a manufacturer that are nearly a 1/4" off. Imagine if a camshaft or another critical part was shipped with similar wacked spec's...just not acceptable by today's standards.

[CMcAllister]

Originally Posted by HandOverFist

It's a given that most here already know how to pattern a gear. The issue is spec's provided by a manufacturer that are nearly a 1/4" off. Imagine if a camshaft or another critical part was shipped with similar wacked spec's...just not acceptable by today's standards.

I agree, the numbers should be right since they are based off of being run on a machine. I was just stating that I rarely pay attention to those numbers and would not return a gear set for that reason. If they are obviously machined wrong, then they would go back.