CK5
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Check this gear pattern
- Thread starter 496truck
- Start date
Oh, and backlash is at .0045. Spec is .006-.010. If I remove the thinnest shim it jumps to .010. Personally, I like to run them on the tight side and let them wear in rather than the loose side and have them wear out of spec. Any thoughts?
Shallow pinion. Need more pinion shim. Really not too bad though.
Just out of curiosity, are you re-gearing? What was your old ratio? You're on 35s if I remember right - is this true?
Neat-O 
n4xplay
Registered Member
yep shallow pinion... by moving the pinion it in to the ring gear you may not need as much shim for the back lash either
definetly a good starting point
definetly a good starting pointThose were my thoughts too. On one hand I was saying "If that was mine, I'd run it" on the other "that's not mine, I'd like to see it a little better". I brought the pinion in to work to add a .010 shim. I have tomorrow off so I will have time to set it all up again and see what happens.
i love this pic i have posted before . its good help in setup http://coloradok5.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2965698&postcount=2
Just out of curiosity. How much will not having a perfect pattern effect gears in real life?
I like that. Much easier to see than any other book I have read through. Thanks for showing me.
When looking at a gear pattern, you want it in the middle of the depth of the tooth. Meaning, it should be between the valley and the ridge. The pics I posted, the pattern is biased towards the ridge. If it were mine, I'd be OK with running it like that. But, since it's not mine, I want to see that pattern a little deeper in the tooth. Especially behind that powerhouse of a 6.2 in Rich's K5.
To answer your question, if the pinion is not running deep enough in the tooth, it could eventually break off a ring gear tooth under the right circumstance. Usually meaning heavy throttle, bouncing, "brodies" in a field, etc. Too deep and it will be noisey or worse, it could bind once heated up causing bigger failure.
The length of the pattern, or where it sits in relation to the heel or toe of the tooth can usually get close to the middle via backlash adjustment, as illustrated in the link above. But, not always and it is less critical. Even in the instructions that came with this gear set, they illustrate some acceptable patterns that are way in to the heal and toe.
n4xplay
Registered Member
it depends on axle and gears but over all it can affect longevity, noise output and heat generated also you lose strength by not having full tooth contact in the middle. i have only set up 5 difs 2 toy 2 zuks and a dana 30 but i have fixed a few engagement problems and there main complaint was gear wine and exsess heat. the mechanic that did those gears was present during the trouble shooting and said the lash was spot on when he buttoned them up but he did not set the pinion depth correctly and the lash grew after only 100-200 miles. I am a home garage mechanic but both of my gear sets logged 10K miles with no problems and i set gear lash by feel (didn't have the tool)
n4xplay
Registered Member
i shoot for even patern right in the midle top to bottom and left to right of the tooth as your looking at it.
to deep in the root and yes you can run in to binding, to far to the outsides of the tooth and you find the weak spots.
just make shure you have resistance on the carrier when you are turning the pinion so that your patern is clear and true.
to deep in the root and yes you can run in to binding, to far to the outsides of the tooth and you find the weak spots.
just make shure you have resistance on the carrier when you are turning the pinion so that your patern is clear and true.
A neat trick I learned... turn the ring gear instead of the pinion. It uses the preloaded pinion gear as resistance to smear the gear marking compound and create the pattern to look for.
Most of the gear set ups I have done were various GM 10b and 12b as well as an assist on an AMC 20. One 12b was in my buddies 68 Camaro around 1997 and he's still rockin that thing today. Another 12b in another buddies 72 Camaro which he has since sold but gets beaten on regularly at the dragway by it's current owner. This is my first 14bsf but the principals are still the same just bigger components. One of these days I'd like to do an easy one like a Toyota or Ford 9"...
Most of the gear set ups I have done were various GM 10b and 12b as well as an assist on an AMC 20. One 12b was in my buddies 68 Camaro around 1997 and he's still rockin that thing today. Another 12b in another buddies 72 Camaro which he has since sold but gets beaten on regularly at the dragway by it's current owner. This is my first 14bsf but the principals are still the same just bigger components. One of these days I'd like to do an easy one like a Toyota or Ford 9"...
or a 14ff there just like toy and 9" 
Brian, how hard is the pinion bearing to do in this? I am thinking while I have mine out I should just do it.
n4xplay
Registered Member
Looks spot on, full contact with a nice sweet spot in the middle.throw the cover on and add oil
