HP 30 dana rebuild - pinion bearing question

My outer (closest to driveshaft) pinion bearing slides on and off the shaft with only minimal friction. The pinion shaft looks smooth and does not look like any bearings were turning on it. Is this normal? By comparison, my 8.25 was a much tighter fit requiring many whacks with a dead blow hammer to get the pinion out. Also, I don't see any solid spacer under the bearing. Just 4 shims. Two thicker ones and one paper thin. Is that normal? (I had expected a solid spacer similar in size to a crush sleeve.)

normal

Thanks - with the shims that came out I was getting 12.5-15 preload. With the thinnest shim removed I was getting 32.5-35 preload. FSM spec is 15-35.

More troubling was the carrier bearings! With new bearings and reusing the shims I took off, it was VERY difficult to get the carrier in, and my preload is about .020 where spec is .005-.008. I guess I have more work to do... I don't know if the bearings are not seated properly, or if its something else. I do know old the left carrier bear was SHOT which is why I began this project... and with the old pinion bearings preload was about 0-2.5.

How hard should it be to remove the differential without a case spreader? With the old bearings it came out with little more than a small pry bar and a few hammer whacks. With the new bearings it was a bear to get in and to get it out basically I had to put the pry bar against the case/carrier and use a ratchet strap to put a lot of tension on the pry bar. Then whack the pry bar with a mini-sledge. If this is normal for new bearings, I'll probably use a case spreader and hope for better results.

At this point, I'm going the route of setup bearings and measuring everything to make sure the carrier bearing preload is correct, etc.

Should not be that difficult. You definitely shouldn't need to use a ratchet strap.