Another D-30 pattern?

How does this look?









JIM.

Those pics are not really great but it looks shallow to me. If you can take some clear pix up close I can give you a better read.

Set your camera to macro mode

JIM, the macro setting usually is associated with a flower symbol.

Any better?







JIM.

they prolly are going to need a straight on pic showing all the bolt holes

Pinion looks too close to me. Put more of the marking compound on, you can get it thick then you really can tell what the pattern is.

Reason for me thinking the pinion is to close is because you can see how the crown of the mark is on the face, or top of the tooth and then tapers down. Thats on the coast side, again put more compound on the drive side so I can see it, and try to get a clear close photo of both sides like the last one you posted. I would first subtract about 2 thousandths for the pinion depth and then mark it again.

The latest pattern looks O.K. but youy used too much marking compound. Clean off all the marking compound then recheck the pattern making sure to put tension on the pinion to get a good reading. I think you are good with that pattern though.

Less marking compound.

ILLXJ said:

Less marking compound.

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That pattern doesn't look bad. I think you're good with that.

jeeperjohn said:

That pattern doesn't look bad. I think you're good with that.

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Thanks,
JIM.

ILLXJ said:

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That is NOT a good pattern. Is this what it currently looks like? Also never settle for a less then perfect pattern. A perfect or dang close pattern will make the setup much stronger then the average setup. Dont settle for second best when doing this even if it cost a few more hours and a few more bucks in bearings if you have to junk them.

FiveNdime said:

That is NOT a good pattern. Is this what it currently looks like? Also never settle for a less then perfect pattern. A perfect or dang close pattern will make the setup much stronger then the average setup. Dont settle for second best when doing this even if it cost a few more hours and a few more bucks in bearings if you have to junk them.

Click to expand...

The pic you posted shows the coast side of the ring gear teeth. This side is not nearly as important as the drive side of the ring gear teeth. It's always difficult to look at one or two pictures of a gear pattern and determine if it is right or not. I like to see what it feels like to mesh the gears together and look at how the marking compound redeposits on the unmarked teeth. I try to give folks the best advice I can using the pictures they post. There is a good reason most people advise against people trying to do their own gears without any training or experience. Sometime you can get a pattern that looks acceptable because of other factors but is misleading due to too much marking compound or some other factor. ILLXJ, if you can run another pattern using only a very light coat of marking compound I think we can get a better feel for what the pinion depth is.

Is your back lash good?

Back lash is .006.





JIM.

Pinion is too far away. What is your pinion shim at, Take .002" out and try that. It should be more in the ball park for ya.

To be honest with you, I hope your prepared to take this thing apart and put it back together as many times as it takes. It can be super frustrating at times, and at times you will want to just walk away or say its good enough. A set of gears that is set up right is MUCH stronger then a set that's not. I am only typing this to hopefully keep you from saying its good enough like I have wanted to do with mine. I am so glad I didn't settle and got the shims and pattern perfect! Good Luck!

Also are you working with new or old bearings, or setup bearings? Reason I ask is that if your using old/setup bearings the pinion depth will be deeper after you press new ones on, at least .002" and even .005" more. If your using old bearings then you wont have this issue since your setting it up to use the old ones. Granted sometimes it might not change but that's not likely. Just a heads up if ya didnt know. Again Good luck! If you have any questions just post!


If you want to see a good pattern for a D30, I just posted mine in the (Binding Gears in D30) thread in the Modified Tech Section.

Your pinion is too shallow. You need to add about .003-.005" of shim behind the inner pinion bearing cup and see what it looks like then.