Technical 12 bolt Cevys

Is there a difference between a ring and pinion set for a car vs. a truck???? Its a 12 bolt Chevy

 

yup. The pinion bearing sizes are different, a**** other things.

 

I sourced a 4:11 ring and pinion from a cl***ified. Orig. had 5:38. It came with a ring gear spacer, but I can't seem to get the carrier back in the housing without locking everything up??? The pinions were the same dia.

 

which set came with the spacer? and is the spacer on the 4.11 gear now?

If the pinion bearings are the same, then it probably has to do with ring gear thickness...

do you have any carrier shims in it?

 

Well.........Yes the spacer is on the 4:11's...and I can get the big shim in on the p***. side, but when I tried to get the other side in....I broke the Da.. shim!!! If I try to move the carrier over to simulate the shim, it locks everything down, like the ring gear is too thick????

 

Did the 5.38 have the spacer on it?

 

No
I did read that I needed the spacer for the carrier I have, series 4 ??? that fit the 5:38's to make the 4:11's fit the carrier right. 5:38 ring gear is quite thick compared to the 4:11 gear

 

I think if you take the spacer off, it might work. The 4.11 gears would use a 4 series carrier, and so would the 5.38. The 5.38 ring gear is thicker only because the pinion gear is smaller.

See if you can measure each set of gears, the distance from the flat side of the ring gear, to the center of the pinion gear, with the gears meshed as they would be in the car. My guess is they will measure the same.

The 4.11s were probably previously installed on a 3 series carrier, so they had the spacer.

 

I'll give it a go in the AM...BTW,where can I get another thick shim like I broke, it meas. approx. . .240

 

You need a four series carrier with 5:38 gears and no spacer

 

Maybe if you're lucky,your chevy dealer or a powertrain shop may have some shim sets in stock for a 12 bolt.....

 

Lucky??!!?? ....That was back at the 8th grade picnic with Linda lou!!

 

Lucky is if you get the right backlash with the original spacers. They aren't universal.
What pinion spacer did you use?

 

Thick shims are OEM only ..Service pack shims come in various thicknesses..Usually 3 per side.
Aftermarket shim kits usually have a bunch of thin ones..You have to stack up a whole pile sometimes...I don't care for that deal.

 

This chart describes the different carrier deck heights so so you know what you have....Scroll down to see Chevy 12 bolt.
http://www.differentials.com/technical-help/carrier-breaks

Do a Google search for "installing truck 12 bolt carrier in a car" and you'll find it can be done but you might not want to do it

 

the best way to deal with it is find a friend who worked on a lot of these, and ask to borrow their shim box.