treeohfive

so i read a few FAQ's on using crush sleeves.....

so my question is.....Should i use them or buy the alternative??

Solid bearing spacer or crush sleeve??

can you reuse the solid bearing spacer??? does this effect preload?

RB83L69

IMO the solid spacer is a much better way to go.

Yes it affects the preload. It's the part you use to obtain the correct setting. It comes with a handful of various thickness shims; you select the shim thickness that produces the correct spacing between the bearings to result in the correct preload when you fully tighten the pinion nut.

Yes it is re-usable. It's alot easier if you get an extra tail bearing and use a brake hone on its bore so that it slips easily over the pinion tail; then put a non-modified one in when you obtain the correct spacer choice that gives the desired preload. Basically just like you'd do with the head bearing in order to select the correct shim for under there.

I usually start out with all the shims in it, and slowly reduce the amount of shim until the play goes away, and then continue to reduce it further in the smallest increments that the shim assortment allows until I get the preload I want; about 1½-2 ft-lbs, or 18 to 24 inch-pounds, with new bearings.

With the solid spacer, you can tighten the nut until it screams for mercy; you don't have to stop tightening when the crush sleeve reaches its specification "crush". And, if at any time during the life of the rear, anything happens that tends to crush a crush sleeve further, or the bearings wear a little bit, the nut becomes loose; with the spacer, the nut stays as tight as you left it.

treeohfive

yeah, the solid spacer is rather expensive though.....but honestly to me, it sounds EASIER to use the solid spacer....especially if you do the ear swap with the rear still on the car....ever try to start the crush under a car on jackstands with no impact gun?? damn near impossible.....

i believe i will be buying the solid spacer.....just seems like a better idea.....Seems like the crush sleeve was about the worst idea thought of.....

wonder why the factory didnt use the solid spacer to begin with

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

I've thought about using the solid spacer too. I've noticed on the rearends I have with a lot of miles on them, the play in the pinion yoke seems to increase, and I wonder if that is due to the crush sleeve collapsing over time or maybe just the wear in the bearings increasing the play. I guess the question I have is do you just throw the .035 pinion shim rule out the window when using the solid spacer or is this still a good starting point when setting the proper preload? Any tips on this RB???

RB83L69

I don't know what causes the nut tightness to go away; but I've had more than one high-mileage car where it has backed off.

The crush sleeve or solid spacer has nothing to do with the .035" shim; that's the one that goes under the head bearing, and sets how far the pinion extends toward the center of the ring. You would still establish that in the same fashion (for correct spec depth, or contact pattern, or whatever other method you prefer) before you begin working on the bearing preload.

The factory doesn't use the solid spacer because it would multiply the assembly time by a significant factor. It would probably increase the labor time by a good 20 minutes per unit, maybe more; I'd guess that would amount to about $60-$80 cost per car that they would have no way to recoup at the dealership. They'll never commit economic suicide like that, as long as what they're doing is making it dependably through the warranty period.

treeohfive

yeah very true, shimming takes time, crush sleeve doesnt shim...

id say yoke play comes from periodic times of massive acceleration and the torque/cyntrifical force pulling on the pinion and drawing it to the tranny or pushing it to the ring.

either way, i just placed my order on the solid spacer...23 bucks shipped. pricey, but if you are a first timer with gear swaps itll pay for itself with the amount of times you put the rear togather and take it back apart to try to perfect the gear setup.

that and its easy to over crush the crush sleeve if you arent used to them.. and crush sleeves are 5 bucks a piece...

Chris89GTA

iTrader: (2)

What takes away from the tightness and preload is beating on the rear end at the track and on the street. You put a ton of stress on the crush sleeve and it starts to slowly crush. That is what causes the nut to loosen up. That is why the solid spacer is the way I would go. It may cost more, but it will strengthen the rear end considerably.

I wish I had put one in when I added the gears to mine, cause after beating on it its starting to whine again.

TKOPerformance

It definately isn't just beating on it at the track. I've observed this problem on a lot of high mileage vehicles. My Blazer had this issue when I first got it. It had 100,000 miles on it and an adult behind the wheel since it was new. I replaced the crush sleeve and pinion seal and reset the bearing preload and it was back to factory fresh.

I think it has to do with the bearings wearing in and also the sleeve collapsing over time. That sleeve is a mickey mouse deal in my opinion. The next time I build a serious rear I'm going to use a solid spacer.

Chris89GTA

iTrader: (2)

Yeah its probably not just beating on it at the track or on the street. High milage has a good deal to do w/ it as well. But take a high milage rear end, beat on it some, and it will definatly have problems that more than likely can be attributed to the crush sleeve.

I know mine did. 90,000 mile car that had probably never seen a track until I got it. Took it to the track, and not 2 months later the pinion gear blew up b/c the pinion nut had backed off.