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14 bolt gear setup pattern

6K views 60 replies 13 participants last post by  Nick@RCD 
#1 · (Edited)
Need to know where to go from this. These are used gears.



 
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#32 ·
I forgot to mention which side is what. The concave side in your last to pic's is called the "coast" side which is where the pinion contacts in reverse. When setting a used set up, the best place to start at is by looking at the reverse side which isent used nearly as much.

You first pic has a decent reverse side pattern to it. What shim size did you have behind the pinion carrier when you took the first pics in your post?
 
#33 ·
Leaving town for the weekend, i think i had about .018 pinion in the first picture
.

I have it shimmed out about. .050, which i'm assuming is way to far out. Not getting any results
Now.

Should i go back to .010 and and see where that leaves me? I don't think these gears will ever leave a good drive side pattern, i was trying to get a good one off the coast.
 
#34 ·
Yes you have the idea for what your doing by going off the coast side. I would try .010-.015 behind the pinion and set the lash at .008-.010 and then take a pic.

Sometimes with different manufacture bearings/races/ring/pinions, you will need to put up to .120 behind the pinion to setup a NEW gear set. Hope ya have a good learing process with this.
 
#40 · (Edited)
Then buy new gears and install kit and have a professional set them up. :poke:

Not looking for perfect but I'm looking for the best out of what i have. I don't want to throw it together, I want to learn to set up the gears, and looking for advice on that. using the old shim from this housing even if i did have it does not make sense, I have changed the carrier and the gears, It would be nice to work off off but I wouldn't just put the shim in and call it good. Next time I build an axle or re-gear these there is no doubt I'm going to buy new gears, this is too much of a pain in the ass, but I'm not giving up now. I won't have someone else set them up either.

I had simular issues with my 44, all you can do is take your time and do it right. Have you come up with any reference points yet to work from?

I don't know what you mean by a reference point. I can add shims from where I am. i have my smallest shim in the axle right now, its .008. I can work from the .018 shim by adding, but the pattern wear patterns I get don't make sense in reference to gear setup wear patterns I see online, most likely because they are used gears. I may have a shim in between .010 and .018 also, but the pattern between those does not show much of a difference.

The only thing I can thing of is just keep adding shims until I can shim it out any more in every combination, until I get a good pattern, and if i don't I can choose the best out of the pictures I take. Unless the last 3 look any decent, only thing i can do is add shim, or maybe buy a different shim kit.
 
#42 ·
I've set up about five or six 14bolts, they are by far the easiest axle to set up. Or at least should be. The biggest issue is crushing the crush sleeve. Usually the pinion only needs a few shims, on mine the perfect set up was with no shims. With that said, your pattern is fucked, even for used gears.
When its together can you see the mesh between them at all? It looks to be barely touching.
If its meshing and you just can't get the paint to reflect that, run it.
If its not then get a new set or another used set. It looks like you have the wrong pinion or something and no amount of shims or work is going to get it right.
 
#43 ·
I'm going to try it with no shims, and look how they mesh. Its possible the pinion is wrong, but most likely the ring gear got f'd up when it was machined down.
If i don't get a good pattern i'm going to just have to chance it and run it.
 
#50 ·
Are you putting drag on the ring gear as you rotate it?

Are you rotating both ways?

How many revolutions have you turned it?

The coast looks runnable but the drive doesn't have much of a pattern. By the look of the gear you can see that it may have been run that way.
 
#51 ·
Are you putting drag on the ring gear as you rotate it?
Both axle shafts are in attached to hubs

Are you rotating both ways?
Yes

How many revolutions have you turned it?
quite a few

The coast looks runnable but the drive doesn't have much of a pattern. By the look of the gear you can see that it may have been run that way.

From what i have heard going of the coast on a set of used gears is better, have no idea how to fix the drive. any input and i will try it, I know how to get this pattern now.
 
#52 ·
I wrap my hand with an old t shirt or a lintless rag and press against the gear to give it drag when I rotate the pinion. It helps push the paint out from the contact patch. As for the pattern, I bet it is the best it is going to get by looking at the wear pattern on the drive side.
 
#53 ·
You need more add more shims to the pinion, like .055 to start with and see what it looks like. Anytime you make a pattern, you need to use a pry bar on the ring gear to make a GOOD amount of drag on it. The coast side needs to be more centered on the tooth for it to be runable. The more resistance you put on the ring gear will make the ACTUAL drive points on the gear show up better. I use a 1 foot breaker bar on the pinion and the pry bar on the ring gear to make drag. Just make sure that the backlash is at .010-.012 because its a used gear and is broke in. You will get it
 
#59 ·
Added 2 shims, a .014 and a .015. this leaves me at .039 at the pinion, last pictures were with a .010 shim.

backlash is set at .012.

ignore all the little specs all over the gears, they are paint chips. they will be cleaned off before further adjustment.



 
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