How much can gears be worn before they need to be replaced? In the rear i installed, the gears have a some beveling on the upper outter portion of the teeth and in one place a small ammount of pitting developed in one place on the portion of the tooth that is beveled due to surface fatige failure. My question is how much wear is too much to the point that it causes noisy operation or other problems? If it is a problem, now would be the time to fix it but i dont feel like blowing 180 on used gears and an install kit. I ran the rear under no load at around 40 mph on the speedo and i didnt hear any unusual noises when up close to the rear, other then the whirring sound of the bearings going around, and there is no detectable play at the yolk. Any opinions would be apreciated.

This is pretty much the first time ive had any hands on experience with a rear end so im not gonna know much untill i be a pain and ask lots of questions.

 

if there is no noise and no play i'd say you're in good shape. i bevel the ends of the teeth on both gears when i do a set because over time metal will flow or deform at the ends and the blvel helps to eliminate a burr forming there.