Gear Setup

[pathybuilder]

I've looked around the forum for a thread on setting up gears for the H233B and the R200A differentials and am not finding anything. Does anybody have a good manual, or better yet a video that describes in detail how to do this. My 95 originally had the 4.3 gearset and 235/75/15 tires. I had upgraded to 31"s and am now upgrading to 33"s, a detroit locker, and an LSD up front. I went ahead and ordered 5.143 gears. I know a number of people on here are likely going to say this is too big of ratio and I should've went with 4.9s. This rig will only see street or highway on the way to the trail. It's not daily driven. I also want the ability to SAS and run 35"s at a later date if needed, without re-gearing the rear diff. Anyhow, any information out there on setting up pre-load, backlash, and any tips or tricks people have used would be appreciated. I probably sound like a newb to this and should take it to a shop, but I'm not afraid of taking my time to get it right.

[Slartibartfast]

Try section PD of the Factory Service Manual: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/pathfinder/1995_Pathfinder/

 

That's for the stock setup though, I assume you'd have a few other steps putting in different gears... did you get any info/instructions with the parts?

 

Props for doing it yourself, but do make sure you do it right. The PO (or somebody) of my dad's Triumph botched the mesh of the ring and pinion, and the ring spat off a tooth with enough force to punch a hole in the casing.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Slartibartfast

[Heloflyboy]

Hey pathybuilder,here is a pretty good you tube for info. I know it is a toyota,but the 3rd member is about the same. It is not that hard I have done about 4 ring and pinion's and they all came out good . Just take your time. Have you ordered new bearings? I was not lucky enough to reuse pinion bearing's on mine. It is better to get new one's to begin with . Also good time to change axle seals if they are leaking.

Good thinking on gears,especially if you want to go 35" latter. Good luck.

 

[unccpathfinder]

harbor freight sells a decent vice grip attach dial indicator for checking backlash...

 

 

yes clamping on mating surfaces is bad but it was the only one i could get to work and i knew the RTV would fill any scratches but don't recommend it

[tmoore4512]

Where did you get your gears from, friend?

 

Link us please!

[pathybuilder]

Thanks for the links, been through them and they look to be very useful. I'm hoping to rent the tools I need either from one of the Nissan dealers or from parts source or something. I see there's a number of specialty tools that could be handy. I haven't received the locker or gears yet, but I'm sure they will come with some instructions as well. Just ordered the LSD from Calmini. The gears and locker were ordered from Rugged Rocks, This is my first time dealing with them, they seem really good, computers are down where they make the gears so I'm told I'm waiting on a set from Japan. Front and Rear. I plan on replacing all seals and bearings while I'm in there, my rear pinion seal is currently leaking so it needed to be done anyway. I really have to post up a build thread, trucks been sitting 8 months torn apart. The end result is 33s, upgraded steering, Detroit Locker / LSD, lower gears, T-case gears, replacing all bushings, Rough Country UCA's, prepping frame with POR-15, This is mostly in addition to what I've already done with OME rear coils/shocks, Sway Away T-bars, OME front shocks. I haven't had a lot of time to work on it, now I'm in a cast for the next 6-8 weeks so there won't be much progress, but I could post up what I've done so far.

[pathybuilder]

So, I've spent the last couple weekends tackling this, as the main parts of my build are on hold until the Front Diff and rear axle are back in.

 

What have people been using for shims? Nobody seems to make a rebuild kit that includes shims, just bearings and pinion seals. I was told that the rear may use the same size shims as a Ford 9". I went to a local driveline shop. They were very helpful, let me look through their piles and piles of different shims, but nothing was a match for front or rear. Ordering Nissan Factory Shims is very expensive. I've already done this for the front side bearings. It works, but is pricey. So when complete I may have a whole bunch of shims I'm willing to sell at a discount.

 

Nissan factory used a number of jigs/arbours to set up bearing pre-load and to identify the required pinion height. I tried to identify which pinion height spacer was required for the front by measuring the factory shim, and using the difference between the numbers printed on the pinions to identify which height was needed, (Nissan gives them a -6 to +6 printed on the pinion each adding or subtracting 0.01mm from the measurement obtained using the Jig/Arbour) but it appears the factory tech had poor writing skills so my gear mesh is definitely off by a little.

 

R200A Original R&P

 

 

R200A New R&P

 

 

Gear Mesh still to be adjusted. It looks like too much toe contact to me, so the pinion height will need to be reduced.

 

 

My Plan for the front is now to order another selection of pinion height adjusting shims, and also order new pinion bearings. I'll grind out the inside of the old bearings so I can use them as "dummy bearings" for setting up the pinion height and not have to continuously press them on and off.

 

As far as the rear goes. The numbering on pinion is a little more clear. I have replaced all bearings already, and plan on using the same height adjusting washer as both pinions are "0" (so no adjustment required). I will order a couple spacers on either side, just in case.

 

The biggest issue with the rear end is the pinion bearing preload. As soon as I assembled the pinion/bearings and torqued the pinion nut to spec, my preload was around 25 In/lbs, way over the 10-13 in the FSM. I have ordered a selection of spacers to correct this. There is one big difference between the front and rear in that the rear pinion bearing spacers but up against the pinion itself, so by changing the pinion (due to differences in machining, you change the pre-load on the on the bearings. The front diff, the spacers but up against the front bearing and aren't affected by changes in the pinion, so technically once set, you should be able to use the same pre-load spacers regardless of the pinion you use. Bearings may change this, but I was told by a friend that owns/operates a 4WD shop that differences in bearings are "minimal". This is why many can use dummy bearings to set up their differentials and not affect pre-load by pressing on a new set. It does still need to be checked though.

 

H233B Original R&P

 

 

H233B New R&P

 

[andreus009]

harbor freight sells a decent vice grip attach dial indicator for checking backlash...

 

 

yes clamping on mating surfaces is bad but it was the only one i could get to work and i knew the RTV would fill any scratches but don't recommend it

Well you could put a small shim of wood between the vise grips and the mating surface. I didn't know about this when I did my locker. I used a mag base. It worked, but had to be careful not to bump it.

 

 

 

Cool info on the gear set-up. I would like to do axle gears, but the $$ is more than I'm willing to spend. I did the tcase gears already and pretty satisfied with that as far as off-road capabilities.

 

I'm not sure how your are supporting/working on your H233B 3rd, but I cut a hole in some plywood (3/8-1/2 i think) and put it across a 5 gal bucket with some sand in the bottom. it allowed me to put the 3rd with the flange down / gears up to work on it. I mean that doesn't help for the pinion stuff, but for the locker install it was helpful.

Edited January 29, 2013 by andreus009

[pathybuilder]

I've just had it laid out on a workbench, I haven't found it too difficult to work on, although the pail sounds like a great idea.

 

I also used the vice grip style dial indicator, however mine seems to have a longer attachment so I didn't need to clamp on the mating surface.

 

Looking at this now, just doing the locker would've made things a lot easier, especially with the 3rd using side adjusters rather than pre-load shims like the front. It's going to be a challenge and require some patience, but I think when complete I'll appreciate that I have done it.

[pathybuilder]

I've posted a couple of photos of my gear patterns below. I feel that at this point the front R&P is set up very well. Now I just have to replace the grinded out dummy bearings with my new bearing and re-verify backlash / pre-load / and gear pattern.

 

The rear end is giving me some grief and i could use some assistance. It seems like for forward movement the pinion contacts the ring gear on the backside of the gear teeth (which is opposite of the front) The pattern on the backside is looking ok, however the pattern on the front side, doesn't look so good. This I believe is the side of the gear that makes contact with the pinion while in reverse. Keep in mind that the backlash still isn't perfect as I'm waiting on some parts to show up for pinion bearing pre-load. Backlash during the time of these photos is about 0.0040" while it should be between 0.0059" - 0.0079") Any idea's as to what might cause a good gear pattern for forward rotation, however a poor pattern for rear rotation?

 

Thanks,

 

Pics of the Front

 

 

 

 

 

Pics of the Rear