i have a 2000 f150 8.8 open differential rear end with 3.08 gears. I got a new ford racing traction lock differential that's for all 8.8 86-14 and 3.73 gear kit for the same years.
I pulled my rear end apart and had the .032 shim on the pinion with the thick shims on the sides.
i put the new pinion and differential in with same size shims as came out and it wouldn't move. I removed shims from left side and added to the right side. Then I got my back lash within spec, added marking compound to ring gear and according to the ford racing ring gear install instructions online (it didn't come with any instructions) my pinion was too far away. I pulled everything apart and add .009 shim to get a total shim thickness of .041. I put everything back together and it is still saying pinion is too far away, but it looked like it got worse in that aspect this time. Is there something I'm missing or do I need to add another shim? Anyone ever convert on of these to limited slip? This is the second time of shimming. The first time, it seemed to be lower in the groove.
This is also second time of shimming.
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you don't change from 3.08 to 3.73 and use the same number of shims...... The pinion should have a depth stamped on the face of the gear telling you how to shim it... You should have some directions on how to build up a new gear set.. No directions given ? And you got too much grease or whatever on the teeth..Thin coat of contact bluing works good.

 

I am going to take it back apart and look at the front of the pinion for some info. I am assuming that it says something like the depth of the pinion gear as to the actual shim size that I need?. It didn't come with directions but I found them online from ford racing and it says to add shims for my gear pattern indication. Does .042 seem too much? Looking at the pinion from underneath, looks like the pinion is out +/- 1/4 inch past the inside of the ring gear.

 

watch this and get a general idea of how to set the pinion "depth".... look for numbers on the face of the pinion gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk6imita0cc

 

for a gear pattern, look at the 24 minute mark on this movie.......
FIRST you need the pinion set correct TO SPEC
SECOND you need to set the bevel gear with the correct backlash
THIRD you need to check the gear pattern and it SHOULD be close to good.

 

I'm not planning on buying the depth tool. It would eliminate the guess work but I have a shop full of specialty tools that I have used once. Has anyone ever had to use a shim larger than .041 to get the correct pinion depth? I keep hearing of people having to torque the pinion nut to height ft ibs to get the proper in ibs of preload on the bearing. I torqued my pinion nut to 50 ft ibs to achieve the 25 in ibs on bearing preload. Sounds way too low. Anybody run into this?

 

you don't need special tools for the pinion depth, but you must set the pinion at the CORRECT depth that is stamped on the pinion face. You do this before you torque / preload the bearing and you might need to change the shims to get the proper depth. All this is done before you install the cross shaft / bevel gear and set the backlash.... in the movie, don't look at the "TOOLS" as much as the PROCESS needed to complete the alignment. I have done it with feeler gauges and a block.

 

I got home early and looked at the end of the pinion. It had a few numbers mixed with letters. It almost looked like a serial number of some kind. I installed a .029 shim and my pattern looked a little better. Pulled it back apart and went to a .026 shim. It looked even better. I'm going to pull it again tomorrow and go a size smaller. It definitely got the pattern off the top of the teeth but it is still in the drive/heel and coast/tow pattern. I looked at "Randy's ring gear service" on "ringandpinion.com", he says that some gear patterns will not center and it is acceptable as long as it has a space at the top and bottom of the teeth where it doesn't land. I will post pics tomorrow of new patterns.

 

 

I finally got everything situated. The ford racing pinion and gear kit comes with the 2011-14 mustang bearing and race. I was checking it with the old bearing that didn't fit the new style race.
I found the mhd method and it worked perfect. I measure my old and new pinion depth. Made up the difference with a .028 shim and everything so good. Rear end has no roars or noises.