S2KOZ

i know this is the wrong part of the forum but it seems people look more at this part of the forum. im just got my gears and i took it to a shop where they told me they install them and now its been three days and i havent gotten my car because they told me since tuesday that i was missing a thrust bearing washer which goes on the shaft which rotates the gears so i was wondering if any of you guys had the same problem? i bought them from ricks and i was pretty sure it came with everything i needed

twilight dancer

have you tried contacting ricks? also, try using a period at the end of a sentence.

Emil St-Hilaire

Everything needed is supposed to be included in the install kit.

Wisconsin S2k

the thrust bearing washer (if memory serves right) is a custom made shim that needs to be fabricated. rick's has some (PM stratocoaster), however, they alone will not be enough. even with the shims from rick's, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEED A CUSTOM SHIM MADE!!!

also, considering that every 4.57 gear has a small variance, no two setups will necessarily be the same, so providing a washer of say .108 thickness may work for one diff and not for another.

considering your shop doesn't know this, makes me scared for your diff install. it sounds like they dont know what they are doing.

you have to actually set up the diff, guesstimating what shim depth you'll need by using what's called the checking distance (as described here from rick's: http://www.ricks2k.com/info/instruct...andpinion.pdf). then you go from there and make adjustments on shim thickness until you have it right.


I cannot stress enough how you SHOULD NEVER take your diff to a mechanic for a gear install that doesn't know what they're doing.

Stratocaster

We were contacted. I explained that it sounds like the shim from the description. It is part 11 in this pic (Click on the pick for a complete parts list) There is 27 differant shims. They range from 3.08MM to 3.455MM. The shim is selected based on size. The diff housing and pinion would have to be exactly the same for us to ship the same shim to everyone with the gears. Even if the gears were al the same, the housing would not be all the same.

The new 4.57-R use the stock shims and most of the installation that we have done, fall into the bottom end (smaller) range. A good number of them have even used the same size shim as the OEM 4.10 (.128).

So basicly if your installer is looking to us to supply the proper shim for the installation, he does not know WTF he is doing. Now if he can tell you the size of the shim he needs, then that is some we can help you get.

Wisconsin S2k

ah, didn't know the new gears were able to use OEM shims. with the previous set, even the smallest OEM shim is not small enough.

also, I double checked, and yes, the "thrust bearing washer" is the shim, which is #11 in the picture.

my best advice is to buy the oem shim kit (this has never been provided for free with the gears by ricks2k.com as far as I know). Then what they have to do is use the checking distance to determine what size shim they need. then they put it all together, and test the contact patch. depending upon the contact patch, that will tell them whether they have the right size, or if they have to go bigger or smaller on the shim depth.

however, once again, I have to stress that if your installer doesn't know this, and is not aware of this, then I suggest you find a new installer. they are likely under the mindset that it's just a one-size-fits-all scenario, and that's simply not the case. if they continue with that mindset, you're likely to end up with a whiny loud gearset. if they really botch it up, the gear/pinion could be riding on the teeth edge, and eventually snap off a tooth and grenade inside your diff.

coachray

This is exactly whty I just ponied up the extra dough for the complete reinforced dif with gears already installed. I do not know of a mechanic locally that can handle this.

Now that it is installed, I do know of a great guy.

Good luck with your install. I hope it works out for you.

TheOtherHalf

Im looking for the 4.57 vs stock video, can anyone help?

RedChili

Just look in Wisconsin S2k's first post. It is on the bottom part of his sig.

TheOtherHalf

thanks!!!!!!