Re: Pinion yoke was D300

[Darrel Kline <darrelk@domain.elided>]

>>You're not talking about rotational play are you?  I don't think you should
>>ever have true detectable side to side play in the pinion shaft... but I
>>could be wrong... so forget what I said.  <grin>
>
>No, not rotational (twisting 'shaft)... but rather the yoke itself can
>deflect a little side to side and up/down.  I grabbed the yoke itself and
>performed this operation.
>
>If it were spinning as I did this, I would call it a wobble.
>
>-Tom

Tom,
You shouldn't have any side to side play of the pinion gear, or any
end-play for that matter. Of course, some rotational movement is
normal...that's that slack between the pinion gear and the ring gear.
Even though you could probably get away with it, I wouldn't just tighten
down the nut. I would pull out the carrier to check the pinion gear
preload, and the condition of the bearings.
The pinion shaft uses two bearings with shims under each bearing. The inner
bearing shims sets the pinion height and the outer bearing shims sets the
preload. If you have too many outer bearing shims or if the nut is loose
you will have the play you describe. When I set up a pinion gear I keep
removing shims until I achieve the correct preload. The preload is checked
by measuring how much force is required to turn the pinion gear. This is
measured with an inch-pound torque wrench, with the nut torqued down. Be
careful not to tighten the nut way down with too few shims...this can
distort the bearing cage.

Darrel Kline
Colorado Springs