Carrier bearing preload ??

[SSGN]

I am assembling an 8.2 10 bolt for a friend. Motive gears,eaton posi and a complete bearing seal kit. How much preload do you use on the carrier. I had to damn near die trying to get the stock carrier out . I reused existing shims and man it was tight going back in. I have to remove because back lash is too much. I cant see the need for that much preload or force on the carrier. Any thoughts?

[L.Fite]

At the factory they used to use a spreader tool to spread the carrier...
There's 4 holes that the tool fits in...
The ones I used to wonder why they were there...

[SSGN]

When changing gears on a street car I always used to put the shims back that I took out as a starting point. I would tap them in with a brass punch. They were always very tight but this set is way too tight.

[Robin Lawrence]

I have done a lot of 8.8" Ford Units in my younger days. If I remember correctly the manual instructed to slide the shims in by hand to set backlash. Once correct backlash was set it said to increase each shim by .004. That was very tight so I mostly increased them by .002 on each side. I had all the shims Ford offered and 2 of many. They got crazy on the pricing so I switched to the adjustable stack shims.

My GM and Mopar buddies all used case spreaders. The solid shims could be installed by driving them in. The stacked shims are a bit more fragile.

Good luck!

Robin

[Mark Ugrich]

You?ll want 20-25 inch lbs of rotating torque, much like setting pinion bearings.When I was a GM tech, occasionally we?d run into a carrier so tight you couldn?t remove it. I?d loosen the bearing caps and put a wrench on one of the ring gear bolts, then put the car in gear to ? walk? it out. I don?t know why they were that tight,the usual result was worn or damaged side bearings.Set the preload first , then add or subtract shims to get your backlash number.

[CMcAllister]

If you don't have the luxury of a good selection of solid shims, I like the good adjustable shim packs. You can measure what came out of it, take a few thou off each side, to get a starting point,

With the pinion set and the turning torque of that known, start with shim packs that allow you to tap them in with some drag, making sure the bearings are seated. Install and snug the caps each time. Checking BL each time, move shim from one side to the other to move the carrier as needed. Fine tune the pattern as you get the BL where it needs to be.

When you get everything where you want it, load an equal amount of shim to each side to get the desired preload. I like to add 6-8 lbin to the total turning torque for a race set. Shim pack should go in snug with a soft wide faced drift or better yet, a tool with an internal radius to fit the shims. Not so tight that you damage the shims. I don't use a spreader to put it together. Final check and confirm the pattern

This has worked for me for years.

[Mike Pearson]

I have a Dana 60 in my car. The shims for the carrier/spool go between the bearing and the spool so you have to put them on before the bearing. Most Dana 60 spools are made where the carrier bearings slide on and off without a puller or hammer. I like mine to be snug where you can tap the spool in with a dead blow mallet. Not so tight that you have to beat it in with a hammer. once the shim pack is the right thickness you can move shims side to side to get the backlash where you want it. I like about .010 on the BL