I'm about to install a new carrier and gears in my 12 bolt. Question is it seems the large and small bearing on the pinion gear need to be pressed on. The larger one I can install with my hydraulic press. How do I press the smaller bearing on when I'm putting the gear in the housing? Do I just torque on the pinion nut to force the bearing on? The installation instructions that came with the bearing kit don't specifically address this.

The rear (big)bearing is pressed on the front (small) one should just slide on use some lub...FRED

The small one may be hard going in. We use an air hammer to get the small bearing in at the shop I work at, and we do these all day every day. Be sure you get a good pattern on the gears and backlash should be between .008 and .012. Set this before you install the seal and crush sleeve, or you'll tear up those bearings and mess up your gears. Also remember to transfer the shim from the old pinion to the new one, and be prepared to remove the large bearing again if the pattern isn't set right on the first try. You'll need to add/subtract from that pinion shim to get it right. To get backlash correct, you'll need to add/subtract from the correct side of the carrier bearings to get it correct. Good luck.

[This message has been edited by Scooter (edited 03-03-99).]