Pulled a 44 apart to replace the inner seals and noticed that the caps were installed wrong left to right. This was done by a previous owner 20 plus years ago. Its never given me any problems save for the leak. Should I put them back on the way they came out or the way they should be?
Thanks

 

Just on the off chance, what happens if they go on wrong?
If I put on new bearings and races can I put the caps in there proper spots?
If i did that would I need to worry about shims? there are currently none for side to side.

 

You should try to get them on right but at the end of the day, it wouldn't make any difference.
Why new bearings and races now ? Any time you change bearings and races anything can happen. I would check back lash and check for any horizontal movement in the carrier. I would also recheck the gear pattern with a compound.