Was talking to a co-worker today about installing a new Tru-Trac in his truck. So he already has the gears he wants installed an just wants to swap the Diff.. He is telling me all he has to do is change the diff shims to adjust for lateral movement an he will be good??. To me this does not sound correct, I was under the impression the pinion depth an all has to be re-done. Can someone clarify on this?

 

You are right, there is more.

If the diff comes out, you'll need a new crush collar and that will need the proper amount of preload.

Then you need to test the bite pattern.

 

If you remove just the diff and ring gear and leave the pinion gear in place, I see no reason to have a new crush washer. Measure backlash on the gears and check the pattern.

 

see I was with you Madmann, then I got to really thinking about, all that's being changed is the carrier..so just lateral difference will change... so now im leaning more towards FFDP.. lol so im in a toss up

 

FFDP is right.

 

If you're keeping the same ring and pinion then there's no need to remove the pinion. Measure backlash before pulling the carrier and try to get it the same with the new diff and the gear pattern will be the same too.

 

This. Bear in mind that if the gears are OEM (2 cut) you will need to make sure and get the backlash precise as 2 cut gears require a tighter lash.

 

I reused 140k gears, only changed the carrier bearings when I did my Tru Trac. No whining, clunks or issues in ~15k miles, tons of street abuse, some track time.

As far as shims, I ended up with .245" left and .210" right and .006" backlash with a perfect pattern. Stock was .230" left and .245" right, and .006" backlash.

https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...8/#post5307094