Ok I have the tires off of the ground. check out how loose the pinion is. I tightened that nut up pretty good to get the 20 in/lbs pinion preload. I don't recall it being that loose when I put the new yoke on.

Check out the video link below. This exlains the "crap load of play" i was reffering to.

rearendjuly004.mp4 video by Chris092183 - Photobucket


I drove the truck this way to the muffler shop 12 miles round trip. Do you think I damaged the bearings? I was being very cautious and light on the throttle.

I don't know if this is relevant but I did use an old pinion nut.

 

I wonder If I even put any pressure on the crush sleeve?

 

Got it all back together without puting a new crush sleeve in. There was still alot of pinion play at 20 in/lbs so i tightened the pinion nut more. I now have 30 in/lbs pinion preload. I took it out for a spin and it seems I have a loss of power. I am not sure if this is because my pinion is too tight causing drag or because of my new exhaust setup (true duals into an x pipe exiting right before rear passenger tire. Old setup was true 3 in duals no x pipe exiting right under cab with turn downs). Any thoughts?