I have an 08 2500 4X4 with 380,000 miles. I am in need of rebuilding the rear end. It is growling going down the road. I pulled the cover and their were real fine metal particles in the oil. I am sure the bearings and bushings are worn. My big concern is the pinion depth. I understand there is a shim under the pinion gear. I do not have the tools to measure the depth that is mentioned in the service manual. I was wondering if anyone has did this rebuild and how they set the pinion depth. I understand that is probably the most critical of the rebuild other than the back lash. I only want to do this once and would like to get it right the first time. I have a depth mic up to 6 inches and a 1 inch dial indicator with a magnetic base. At this time I have only removed the cover and the axels. The pinion does not seem to have any play in it so it may be ok. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

First if you have shavings in the lube you have to pull the pinion and check those bearings. I used the shim that I took out. Follow the manual for the set up of the pinion, torque specs and you should be fine. Back lash is important but if you are not changing the gears it should go right back in. Hope this helps.

 

Well I finally got it tore down. Not a big issue there. Bearings have a lot of wear on them, they are very loose. However those bearings on the ring gear are a bugger to get off. Any suggestions on getting them off? I was thinking of applying a little heat and a three jaw puller. That is what I have available today. I have ordered a two jaw puller but it is not supposed to be here till Monday. The last thing I want to do is mess up my ring gear with the cutting torch. If anyone has did this before I would greatly appreciate any input. I found a web page of a magazine that shows how to do it but it don't seem to be working like they said it would. LOL Have a great day.

 

A bearing splitter, $30 at Harbor Freight. Plus a little heat. Torching them off would be the easiest if you are good with a torch.