I dont think so cause the bearings are probably stuffed too but plenty of people have put the but back in the same palce (counted turns) and its been fine

Ideally the crush tube should be replaced and the nut done up to the correct torque but you can get away with just whacking it back together

OK, so if I eyeball the bearings and look decent and put it back together with a new crush sleeve that will be OK yeah?

I'd rather not just dodge it back together

My mate is a mechanic, and he tells me, if you want to do a diff, send it to a diff specialist.

IMO he is a very good mechanic, and if he says that, well, its off to the diff specialist for me when diff work is required.

The bearing is a press fit on the pinion shaft so you'll need a puller to get it out to replace the crush tube. Do you have the torque setting?

Not sure about Sierra diffs but 100 series have a Toyota only puller due to the recessed bearing (read: a bastard to get onto and get out!). Doesn't the service manual tell you what the setting should be? Do you have fish scales?

OK, so if I eyeball the bearings and look decent and put it back together with a new crush sleeve that will be OK yeah?

I'd rather not just dodge it back together

The guys that think you can count the turns and whack it back together must have access to lots of cheap diffs because it doesn't last - once the preload is off spec the bearings go out fast

Steve.

The crush sleeve is there to aid setting the preload, it might also apply some resistive force to teh whole thing to keep tension on the whole bearing -

nah, the outer bearing holds it in which is a tight fit onto teh pinion

when I pulled apart my previously good diff I had to flog the crap out of it with a big hammer to get it out, destroyed the nut in the process (didnt matter)

But just to confirm, the pinion should come out pretty easy, right?

Yeah but your point is wrong

With the nut in position X the distance between it and the shoulder up the other end of the pinion that the bearing is pressed against is always going to measure the same regardless of how many times you unscrew it.

The thickness of the flange, both the bearings and the tube are all also the same and wont change when you undo the nut, so if no single part has changed its size how does the bearing preload change?

If the nut doesnt go back on as far, less preload which is bad, if it goes back on too far, too much preload which is bad and also a crushed tube you cant use anymore which is also bad but I fail to see where its going to cause problems otherwise.

In the diff I just rebuilt the pinion was nowhere easy to get out. It took a brass drift and a 4 pound hammer to get the flange side pinion bearing off the pinion.

I'm happy to run through the rebuild with you tomorrow night if you like. Dspending on if you trust me after my efforts with the hilux last time around.