Ok, I’m at the point of putting my final drive / differential together. I’ve already run into some problems setting pinion depth and preload. Here we go.
I had no outer shims on my pinion and just 4 inner ones. I measured them with a thimble type micrometer and bought new ones to match.
There was no spacer between bearings
I have a +4 on my pinion, so I set me depth to 2.625+.004=2.629
Left the seals off and torqued output nut to 125 ft/lb.
My preload is really tight. I’d estimate around 40 in/lb just bc the lowest my digital torque wrench goes is 60. Doesn’t feel right, however bearings aren’t lubricated, so not sure.
I used a piece of key bar stock laying on the carrier bolt holes and measured with a standard digital micrometer zeroed out for the thickness of the bar, which is a huge pita btw, and I keep getting numbers around 2.634-2.640. I know this isn’t the exact tool needed, but it’s what I have. There seems like a large potential for user error based on if I’m perpendicular to the bar.
So, any suggestions? Do the outer shims set the preload on the pinion. Seems to me with no outer shims, it should be the loosest setting… Do I worry about getting pinion depth perfect before preload? How much .001 slop is acceptable? Thanks everyone…
After going through this for a couple days, I went out and spent a few bucks on a dial indicator and magnetic base. I don’t think I could have done a good job without it.
Hi Steven…the inner/outer shims on the pinion are to move the pinio in or out…the crush sleeve sets the pre load…however…depending on the crush sleeve thickness/material /make etc a specific torque could have different results…i assume back in the day when Jaguar wrote the Service manual they knew that a specific troque would crush their spacer by a known amount…i doubt the crush spacer is the same as originals…so ideally you need to go slowly a bit at a time till you achive the required preload …and yes you need you set it exact…Steve
So… What the manual refers as the spacer is the crush sleeve? Should I leave it off until my pinion depth is set? Ugh… I have a dial indicator setup like that, but not sure how that helps me set the depth of the pinion. Backlash I can understand, but depth??
It depends what actual diff you have…there are 3 types…early ones i think use a spacer and shims between the bearings…later use the crush sleeve…basically what your doing for preload is pressing the 2 bearings together on the pinion with something between them…with the crush sleeve the more touque on the nut the more the sleeve crushes pushing the bearings closer together and making them tighter…set pinion depth first…sequance is in the manual…but the manual refers to 3.8 model so probably dosnt include crush sleeve details
I made one by grinding up a piece of toolsteel to fit the recess which then fitted into a home made puller. It was clumsy but worked fine.
If you want to email me I can post you the photos which for some reason I can’t upload to this site.
The axle I stripped and repaired 18 months ago was from the xk range, it wasn’t a limited slip diff and didn’t have a crush sleeve.
I also made a pinion preload tester and all the other related tooling and have photos.
I live in York UK.
I got the carrier bearings off this morning by cutting the outer race off, then fitting my bearing separator on the top lip, then using some pieces of wood on my press. I’d be interested in seeing the pics of how you were able to measure such a low torque for the pinion bearing preload.
I assume that you are going to scrap the carrier bearings so it’s destruction is not of particular concern. I cut the roller cage off and have been able to get a grip on the upper lip with my smaller bearing puller.
Your problem will be shimming up the new bearings becaus you will have to fit bearings measure then shim as req which will mean removing bearing…a simple way to measure preload is with fishing type scales…so for example a 1lb pull on a 12in radius from center is 1ft lb
Based on the fact that the pinion output flange has around a 2" radius, then it would be about a 2-3 oz pull on a scale, right? I think the setting for pinion preload is around 14 inch / pounds, or 1.4 ft / lbs…
Briefly. With the axle on the floor, I got an old wheelbarrow wheel without a tyre and bolted it to the pinion flange. I wrapped a length of old electrical flex around the wheel to give a diameter of about 8 inches. I then fixed a pulley to the garage roof and threaded the cable over it. The cable terminated in a hook onto which I could hang various weights. I worked out the value of the weight which would cause the pinion to turn once the inertia was overcome. Worked great!
If you are calculating a torque value here, this is not the correct answer. Torque is force multiplied by lever length. So to get 14 inch-pounds you need 7 pounds at a lever length of 2 inches. The Service Manual (early type 1 diff) on page H.4 quotes a pinion bearing preload of “8 to 12 lbs/in.” but I think it means “8 to 12 lbs-in.”. Or maybe I need a cup of coffee to clear my head…
I believe this is correct. With my wheelbarrow wheel method I went for a 4 inch radius. A 3lb weight hung on the cable just started to fall which was good enough for me.
Ok, did I dry fit of my differential and I’m happy with everything. My backlash is about .007", however I’m afraid tightening will affect my gear pattern which I’m happy with. The manual says that backlash will be written on the ring gear, however I don’t see anything that looks like a number. Here is my current issue. Doing the final assembly, the crush sleeve is pushing up my flange enough that I can’t even get the nut on (even without washer) to begin the crush. Any ideas?
Hi Steven Just buttoned up a later differential out of a Ser III XJ12 which, in addition to the pinion, also has crush sleeves in the hubs. I’ve done the diff out if my '68 but don’t have a clear recall it’s innards. I’m confused about a couple of things you report in your first post. Para 1 - the 4 inner shims were between the bottom of the big pinion bearing and the pinion itself - yes? Para 2 - You have to have a spacer on the pinion shaft between bearings, either crush, or the type that is shimmed - or somebody in the past rebuilt the diff and didn’t install one. You can set pre load on the bearings without a spacer in order to check pinion depth, in fact it’s recommended you do that, but without the spacer the pinion nut wouldn’t be much more than finger tight. You need a spacer of some kind to torque the nut up to. A crush spacer gives you both preload setting and the resistance to torque the nut on.
None of the E Type manuals I own talk about the 2nd or 3rd type of differential. I do have a factory manual for the differential out of the XJ12 I just rebuilt. As stated it’s pinion uses the crush sleeve. It calls for pre load of 30 - 40 inch pds with the seal installed, (nothing else installed) and I see no reason why that wouldn’t be applicable to your differential.
As to the problem with getting the flange down. I suspect you must either have a second spacer on the pinion, the sleeve you are using is hanging up on something, or the bearing is slightly too small. Can’t imagine what else it could be. Also I’m not commenting on whether your diff is spacer and shims, or crush sleeve. I don’t know when that came in - I can’t recall whether my 68 was one or the other. I believe however that you can use a crush sleeve on the early diff instead of the shim method…
