Chevrolet 1988 Light Duty Truck Repair Manual page 216

4B5-24 DANA REAR AXLES
Figure 75— Tightening the Pinion Nut
• Remove shim s to increase the preload.
• Add shims to decrease the preload.
ASSEMBLING THE DIFFERENTIAL TO THE AXLE
HOUSING — B OR U MODEL
Tools Required:
J 23690 Differential Side Bearing Installer
J 8092 Driver Handle
J 24385-01 Differential Carrier Spreader
1. Assem ble the d ifferential case (22) with master
bearings installed to the axle housing. The pinion
must be installed.
2. Mount a dial indicator having a m inim um travel of
0.200-inch with a m agnetic base on the ring gear
bolt side of the housing (figure 77).
3. Place the indicator tip on the chalk mark made
earlier.
4. Force the ring gear into mesh with the pinion. Rock
the ring gear to allow the teeth of the gears to mesh.
5. With the force still applied to the differential case,
set the dial indicator to zero.
Figure 76— Checking Pinion Preload
Figure 77— Measuring Differential Movem ent
6. Force the differential case away from the pinion
gear to obtain an indicator reading. Repeat this
action until a consistant reading is obtained.
7. Remove the indicator and the differential case from
the carrier.
8. Remove the master bearings from the differential
case.
9. Using the total shim pack size determ ined earlier,
(Refer to " Determ ining Total Differential Shim Pack
Size" in this section) subtract the reading found in
step 6 from the total reading. The reading found in
step 6 will be the shim size on the ring gear side.
The rem aining portion of the shim pack will be used
on the side opposite the ring gear. Add an additional
0.38 mm (0.015-inch) of shim s to the side opposite
the ring gear to preload the bearings.
10. Place the proper shim s on the differential side
b e a rin g hub (rin g g e a r s id e ) a nd d riv e th e
differential bearing onto the hub using J 23690 and
J 8092 (figure 78).
• If installing a new bearing, be certain that it is
the same width as the old bearing.
Figure 78— Installing the Differential Bearings
F-04725