Another way is to use what's called mounting distance.....
Nope....not on that one....you measure the thickness of the pinion gear head and subtract that from the mounting distance. The mounting distance for a Dana 60 is 5.000". If the gear head is say 1.875, your desired pinion depth will be 3.125" . That's a common depth setting for a 60. Are you using a pinion depth checking indicator? If you are, you could start at 3.125 and check the pattern.Isn’t that what the pinion depth gauge and the etched numbers on the pinion gear are for?
Thanks Doug.Like I stated most pinion cup shims I've used are .035-.040". I polish the front of the pinion so the front pinion bearing can be removed without beating on the pinion to remove it. Hav ed a spare pair of side bearings honed for slip fit.
Doug
You can put the shims behind the pinion bearing or behind the race. Sometimes I'll start with the shims behind the race since it's easier to grind the race down a bit for a trial fit than it is to hone the bearing cone (races are cheaper too) then once I hit the depth, I'll remove the shims from behind the race and install the same thickness behind the cone...The pinion shims do go behind the race on the Dana 60.
I haven’t completed this project yet, but I’m going to start with the same shims that I pulled out (.045 behind the race. I was thinking I didn’t have an existing shim set for reference because I didn’t get the large pinion bearing with the stuff I bought, but I did because they are behind the race)
Thanks for all the help fellas