when i go to rebuild my rear end. which pinion shim should i match. the one that is in my car right now with my 2.73:1 gears or the Shim that was on my 3.23:1 gears? they were factory gears that were in a 86ish V6 camaro. just want to get it right the first time and not waste a pinion bearing.

 

you should use the shim that gives you the correct pinion depth. hone out the old bearing so it'll slip on and off easy, that way you don't hurt the new one changing shims.

 

Shims go with the housing. Gears and carriers are all very close to the same dimensions; it's the housings that are random.

Do as ede said, to make a bearing that's easy to work with. Start your trial fitting with a shim that's the same as the one that was on the pinion that came out of the housing you are using. At least 95% of all these rears come from the factory with a .035" shim in them, so if you don't know what thickness it was, or you're too lazy to measure it, start there.

 

well i didnt have a bearing puller so i had to cut them off so i dont have a bearing i can do that with. the shim that the gear from the other rear had a 0.036 shim so ill just see what mine has and see how it goes.

 

Just go to the parts store and buy a pinion head bearing cone and hone it out.

If you don't have a bearing puller, and you don't have an easily removable bearing cone, what are you going to do if your first guess at a shim is wrong?

 

cut it off and buy another.

 

What if it's still not right, and you have to try yet another size shim?

Do the sensible thing. Buy one, once, and hone it with a brake cyl hone until it slips on & off wihtout too much of a fight; then once you get the shim right, put that one the shelf as a tool, and put a new unmolested one on as the permanent one.

 

RB it looks like an unlimited budget for parts and zero budget for tools or shop labor.

 

well i dunno what im gonna do. that is why i am asking questions. but if the rear that the gears came out of is a .035 shim and my rear end has a .035 shim it should be all right then. atleast thats what ive been told by my parts store.