Does this pattern look ok??

My backlash went from .008" to .018 but I can get that in spec. My last set of gears I did went real smooth but then again I didn't check anything and just lucked out 20k later

 

if im viewing that correctly seems as pinion isnt deep enough and seems as a little out on the heel

 

Definitely seems pinion isn't deep enough, but you have to get the backlash within spec to get a correct reading. Also, only worry about getting it centered within face (top land/peak) and flank (root/valley) not about getting it centered between heel and toe. Just in case you don't have it already, I attached yukon's install manual.

 

Yep, doesn't look deep enough to me either. That is a pain to set. You really need a test bearing. I grind out the inside of a bearing with a flap wheel sander until it slides on the pinion. Removing shims will set the pinion deeper. Once you get the proper depth use the same shims but with a new bearing pressed on. Now you can install the crush sleeve. Buy a couple of them, I always seem to mess one up once in a while, and its cheap to have a spare. When you check the pattern make sure all the bolts to the caps are tightened down completely.

 

Yep, setup bearings make it a lot easier. I also made some with a 3/4" grinding stone and a drill press set to the max RPM.

 

If I get the backlash set correctly would it fix it or am I having to play with the pinion depth shims. I don't have a press and had a shop pull off the old bearing and shim and reused just the shim on my new pinion, being my g2 gear and install kit came with all the bearings needed. There must be 2 different styles of pinion bearings. The factory one's race I took off was about a half a cm shorter than the race and bearing I installed out of the g2 install kit overall they were the same height so I'm sure thats not a big deal. I reused the carrier bearings and there races being I don't have a press. The truck only has 40k miles. I should've reused all the bearings. Im not to gear savy, gears and trans is my weak point.

 

thanks for the manual, Ive been using axis's write up here on pt.

 

Well if your backlash was 0.018" that means your carrier was too far from the pinion since it's supposed to be 0.006"-0.010" so the pattern will end up looking better if you just correct the backlash. There's no way to say whether it is enough to get a perfect pattern though. What did your pattern look like when the backlash was 0.008"? And what did you change between the two?

 

The backlash is actually more like .025". With the stock gears it was in the 007. 008 range and pattern looked good on the 3.23s. All Ive done is swapped the carrier bearing shims around. Im gonna get back in there right now and put the carrier shims back in factory orientation and see what the backlash looks like and run a new pattern ill post results. On a side note does anyone know why the inner pinion bearing is different than the factory one? Overall there the same height and width, I just find it odd that the race is a different height.

 

Are you measuring the backlash with a dial indicator like Axis does in the write up? Those 0.007" WILL be the difference between a quiet long lasting gear set and a noisy set that only lasts a few hundred miles. Get that into spec before taking any patterns, otherwise it's a waste of your time.