HP D30 pinion shim question

note: ive never messed w/ shims/gear set up/ etc so i prolly effed this up

i was replacing my pinion seal today and i couldnt get the seal out so i tapped out the pinion. long story short all the shims are bent. the one behind the race for the pinion bearing, and the little ones behind the outer pinion bearing (name?) i donno the tech part names but i know they are shims and that they are bent. few questions?

1. is this normal?

2. if not, can i run it with the shims bent( actually i guess warped is more of a correct term).

3. is there any way i can get around this with out having to pay someone to set up the gears in my front end?


thanks and sorry if this has been covered

I've only set up one HPD30 so I'm no expert but I would have it re-setup with new shims. Try and save the shims so whomever sets it up has a starting point.

You could just throw it all back together but I wouldn't. Your shims need to be spot on. .005" or .010" could really screw things up when it comes to tooth contact and pinion preload.

Someone with more experience can chime in with some advice. That's just my 2 cents.

Honestly, I have put bent shims back into place cause I was too lazy to measure out shim packs. Never had any problems.

However, the correct way is to get new shims, measure them out, and put them in there.

I had a mechanical engineer buddy of mine chew my ass for trying to put bent (used) shims in and 8.8 I was putting together for someone.

EDIT: Did you remove the bearing races? If not, disregard, you are good to go. Don't worry about them being bent behind the races if you didnt remove 'em. Make sure you get your pinion preload correct when you re-assemble. That's all.

KarlVP said:

Honestly, I have put bent shims back into place cause I was too lazy to measure out shim packs. Never had any problems.

However, the correct way is to get new shims, measure them out, and put them in there.

I had a mechanical engineer buddy of mine chew my ass for trying to put bent (used) shims in and 8.8 I was putting together for someone.

EDIT: Did you remove the bearing races? If not, disregard, you are good to go. Don't worry about them being bent behind the races if you didnt remove 'em. Make sure you get your pinion preload correct when you re-assemble. That's all.

Click to expand...

as far as pinion pre load...HP 30s use a shim, not a crush sleve right? so if i put it all back in the same way it came out, i should be able to tighten it back down to spec, or get it tight and align the pinion nut w/ the yoke right? ( i marked the nut and yoke b/c thats what the haynes manule said to do)

so im takin it that the bend shims behind the races are good to go?

so i COULD put it back like it is with out problems. but its risky right? randys ring and pinion has a shop here local, you think i can just take the shims down to there place and get them to measure them and buy new ones? (i dont have any thing to measure that precise.

o and this is a junkyard axle and the gears looked to be in good condition, no bad wear patterns

As long as you put the same thickness shims in the same places you'll be good to go.

Straight shims are better than bent ones...that being said, if they are only wobbly and not kinked they won't have much of an effect. I've seen many people re-use old shims without problems...myself included. However news ones are always the safer bet.

KarlVP said:

Honestly, I have put bent shims back into place cause I was too lazy to measure out shim packs. Never had any problems.

However, the correct way is to get new shims, measure them out, and put them in there.

I had a mechanical engineer buddy of mine chew my ass for trying to put bent (used) shims in and 8.8 I was putting together for someone.

EDIT: Did you remove the bearing races? If not, disregard, you are good to go. Don't worry about them being bent behind the races if you didnt remove 'em. Make sure you get your pinion preload correct when you re-assemble. That's all.

Click to expand...

Mental note, watch Karl very closely if I ever ask him to do some gears for me.

FiFo said:

Mental note, watch Karl very closely if I ever ask him to do some gears for me.

Click to expand...

Why he's correct.
The shims behind the races or behind the bearings set the pinion depth. If the outter edge of the shim has been bent it will not adversly effect how deep the pinion sets after it is reinstalled.
the pinion preload shims that sit behind the outter bearing are just that, a set of spacers that adjust how tight the pinion bearing rides on the race. So long as these are not creased they will perform fine. If they are creased, get new ones. Ask at a service center, there are always left over shims after setting up a R&P.
As to how tight? best way is with an inch pound torque wrench, but you'd want the carrier removed to accurately measure the rolling resistance of the pinion alone. Still if you pulled that axles and measured the pinion, something in the 20 inch pound area would probably be reasonable for used bearings and the carrier still installed. you might want to put it back together that way, tighten it down to your mark, IAW your Haynes book, then check the pinion resistance with the axles removed. At a minimum make sure there is no forward to rearward slop in the pinion/yoke.

Derik