They made it look easier than it is for the home mechanic. Well when they went to set pinion depth the had a bearing that was milled out precisly that it slid on and off of the pinion so it could easily be removed to avoid putting on and taking off the bearing. when it came time to put on the real bearing they showed a nice trick if you dont have a press. They sat the bearing on a waffle maker etc. heated it up when it was heated it slid right on! the did the same thing to the ring gear and the diff bearings. Was a nice trick thought I would share.

The part about heating the bearings will work fine, but I don't like the part about using one bearing to set the pinion depth and then swapping it for another. I have takes 2 new bearings and races out of the box and measured the thickness of them and came up with .004 difference between them. That is a huge difference when setting the pinion depth.

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'69 RS/SS396 Pro Street
427 4 speed 9"
Byars Performance
High Performance Drive Train Parts And Service
www.lubedealer.com/biggearhead (http://www.lubedealer.com/biggearhead)

randys ring and pinion sells those bearing for setup.at least m pretty sure they do.i saw them in some truck mag awhile ago.eric

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efi the only way to fly

Heating bearings (all sorts) to get them to fit things easier is an old trick- however, normally a waffle iron isn't used- the part is often boiled in oil...

big gear head is absolutely right - never assume pinion bearings will be exactly the same size. I saw the same show as you (I think) and my comment is that they may have slightly mislead the veiwer by over slimplifying a ring/pinion set-up. They condensed an easy 6 hour (or more) job into twenty minutes. And likely didn't show the first six patterns that were not perfect. Just my 2 cents.

<font face="Arial,Verdana" size="2">Originally posted by big gear head:
I have takes 2 new bearings and races out of the box and measured the thickness of them and came up with .004 difference between them.
</font>

I could see that with bearings from different manufacturers, or with bearings from an offshore source. But I think any bearings of the same size from the same north american source will have tolerances closer then that.
We all know of the bearings to stay away from!

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70 Camaro Z/28 with 461cu.in. BBC & auto, 3.31 12 bolt posi.

The bearings that I measured were Timken, the only bearings that I will use http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/biggrin.gif.

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'69 RS/SS396 Pro Street
427 4 speed 9"
Byars Performance
High Performance Drive Train Parts And Service
www.lubedealer.com/biggearhead (http://www.lubedealer.com/biggearhead)

I would tend to think that alot of variance creeps into manufactured parts- even those made in North America (although alot less deviance hopefully). Ever work in a production facility of any sort? I worked at a Jeep plant years ago and 50 vehicles could slip through with bad spot welds before the millwrights would get off their a$$es to come out and repair/adjust the welders/tips. Same thing I would think in a machining/cutting environment- unless someone is continually monitoring and adjusting the system- there will be slight variations among pieces. Although I would have to agree that QC in overseas (read: East/South Asian) parts is far far worse than that in North America.

I have to agree that there is an of amount variance in manufactured parts. However bearings are precision parts and subject to much closer scrutiny by quality control. There is liability involved when precision parts are to far out of their specifications.


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70 Camaro Z/28 with 461cu.in. BBC & auto, 3.31 12 bolt posi.

<font face="Arial,Verdana" size="2">Originally posted by wayner:
when precision parts are to far out of their specifications.</font>


Good point- maybe that's the problem- the limits/variances allowed are too much?

If you think about the tolerances that many parts are made to, .004 inch is pretty small, but still a big difference when setting pinion depth. The pinion needs to be set to within +/- .001 inch, and .004 is just too much. Every set of bearings may not be this far off, but you never know.

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'69 RS/SS396 Pro Street
427 4 speed 9"
Byars Performance
High Performance Drive Train Parts And Service
www.lubedealer.com/biggearhead (http://www.lubedealer.com/biggearhead)

[This message has been edited by big gear head (edited October 17, 2003).]