Whats up with the pinion nut situation on Sierra kits and aftermarket gears?

[Lead Head]

This specifically refers a differential overhaul kit and aftermarket gears I recently purchased for my 62. When testing fitting things with some 4.88 gears I just bought, I accidentally grabbed my old pinion nut and noticed it just slipped right over the threads on the pinion. I then tried the new pinion nut supplied in the Sierra kit, and it fit perfectly (thankfully).

So what's the deal? Do all the aftermarket gears for TLCs just use a smaller diameter pinion nut for whatever reason and the Sierra kit accounts for that? Is my 62 a freak with a larger diameter nut for some reason? While obviously it worked out because I was changing gears, I would have been stuck if I was just refreshing my axle with the original gears.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Toyota used several different pinion nut (and spline) dimensions. Aftermarket gear manufacturers just do one.

 

[Lead Head]

Toyota used several different pinion nut (and spline) dimensions. Aftermarket gear manufacturers just do one.

Gotcha. Might be worth mentioning on the gear install kits parts listing what size pinion nut they come with.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Gotcha. Might be worth mentioning on the gear install kits parts listing what size pinion nut they come with.

Great suggestion!

We need to revisit all of our R&P install kits and add more data. We stock a huge variety of OEM and aftermarket pinion nuts, 20+ sku's to cover all the applications. Most are going to be 19mm, 20mm, 22mm, 26mm, castle or stake, with and without washer. You can see how we end up with many to choose from

I'll put dimensions on our list to do!