Spider gears too tight? on 80 Front locked diff (1 Viewer)

[Thedrz]

Hi, in the middle of a regear on my 1993 Tripple locked to 4.88. I have the front axle back together up to the axles. When turning them by hand I get a slight resistance. It feels like the backlash on spider gears is too tight. I replaced the old worn ones with a whole brand new set and reused the original shims. Will these loosen up? or do I need to tear it all down again? the back of the new 4 small gears was a rough black oxidized finish and the old ones were shiny smooth. That oxidized finish will wear off but not sure it would be enough to not cause some kind of damage.

This is my first Land cruiser project so I don't have much interaction on here yet.

 

[Thedrz]

Well, I figured out how I screwed up I misread the FSM. I remembered it called out .0008" to .002" backlash when it is actually it is .002" to .008". They had about .001 max this axle has been a huge time suck. I kinda want to drive it for a little bit. Just the first gear break-in interval and see how they feel after.

 

[Kay9Cop]

You’re going to drive it without fixing the backlash? If it’s too tight it can overheat and/or lead to damaged gears.

 

[I Lean]

Are you talking about the ring and pinion backlash, or the side/spider gear backlash? Your first post sounds like spiders, second sounds like R&P.

 

[Thedrz]

The back lash of side gears that engage the 4 spider gears. I am having a hard time finding a source for new thrust washers that go between the side gears and carrier. All that I can find are thrust washers with unspecified thickness.

With the diff unlocked spinning an axle by hand I can feel a slight amount of varying resistance which tells me that the side gears and the spider gears are meshing to deep together.

Using a nitro master kit and revolution gears the whole diff has been gone through and other than the side and spider gears the whole rebuild went pretty normal and I have a good pattern on the gears and backlash on the ring and pinion set to .006

The varying resistance I feel is only when spinning one an axle. the ring and pinion gear are not rotating. Just like if the whole vehicle was in running state and you had the front axle up on jackstands and spun one of the tires.

I could spin them by hand on the bench that’s why I went ahead with the rest of the rebuild.

i’m just so sick of working on this thing I just want to go wheeling! Between Covid, forest fires, and lockdowns I haven’t gotten out of the house/ garage in months.

I’m probably going to tear it apart tonight see if I can source some thinner thrust washers

Are you talking about the ring and pinion backlash, or the side/spider gear backlash? Your first post sounds like spiders, second sounds like R&P.