Yep pointless to argue. If it was mine I'd remove it. I've got too much invested in gear set up to risk that being wrong. Beside who care it's not your rig nor mine. We can say whatever we please.

 

well i don't know about you but i wouldn't give anybody advice that i wouldn't consider my self.

to the op.. dont sweat it!

 

I gave the advice I'd do. Shoot its not like he'd be wasting oil, a clean bucket, permatex, and elbow greese no worries.

How about yose guys drop a plastic cap in your dif and wheel it like you stole it. Do a write up.

 

i always wheel it like i stole it.

ive had welds break in my third and get ground to glitter all while barely scarring up the rnp(imagine what plastic would do?). i just set up a guys ifs third the other day, and the original ring gear had 4 teeth that were only half there. he had been wheeling it like that for a while and didnt even know it was broke lol.

pay pal me some money for gear oil and ill be happy to do a write up ill even dump several of those caps in there for added suspense lol.

and for some reason this thread brings my attention to and oll 4wheel magazine article. something about a diff cover with no fill whole, and them putting ziplock bags full of gear oil in there in order to fill it up or something like that.. hmm i wonder if i can find it on the net.

 

Ring gear deflection is just where the backlash increases (pinion depth decreases) temporarily (elastically) as the ring gear bends away from the pinion under strain as a result of worn out bearings our housing flex would just be what happens to allow deflection. This places the load on the teeth farther towards teh tips of the teeth which are inherently weaker than the bases.

"Ignorant" in reference to the debate isn't the word you're looking for I don't think. Were having fun for the most part over an inconsequential difference of opinions. Muddpigg I'm sure has a pretty good handle on what he's talking about as do I, its just we're duking it out over a theoretical event, which, in reality, neither of us know 100.00% what's going to happen as I don't think either of us have ever done it. I'd say I'm 99% sure which means it would be a risk i'd take without hestitation. Muddpigg doesn't have the same degree of certainty, which is fine as well. No offense taken.

 

I don't really track with the last part. But I don't know. I'm as you stated people shouldn't give advice they ain't willing....yadayada

I've seen lots of shade tree gear setup crap out in time, I'm sure that's not the case the you. But please explain why if it don't matter about ring deflection why the more competent installer painstakingly measure pinion depth and backlash through the whole ring. But these guys are the same that set up 5:70 that are offroad capable. Do your thing. I still think your full of it. and of course after all one or two gear setups qualifies you as an expert.

 

I agree Matt: I subsribe to the choas theory and Murphy's Law. I don't see the value in taking the risk, when its a keep easy fix, a couple bucks and some elbow grease.

 

your right lol, bad word choice.. doesn't even make sense now that you pointed it out.

im having fun with this debate also. im not trying to be an ass, so plz keep me inline.

and yea deflection is a bitch.. that why the proper pbpl and cbpl are so imprtant. i torque all my adjuster wheels to 110 ftlbs. made me a lil tool like zuk has

 

Ring gear deflection is hugely important, its implied in housing flex. Deflection is when the gear teeth push away from each other. This occurs when you have housing flex or the bearings plain wear out. When the R deflects off the P, pinion depth decreases (contact gets shallower) and the load on the teeth is placed closer to the tip of the teeth. The tips can't take as much strain as the base, so teeth chip off when major deflection occurs. I don't know if you've messed around with diffs much, but if you have you'll know how much preload you crank into those carrier bearings so that they hold the ring tightly in position about 0.007 (new diff spec) from the pinion. Its just that I don't think a shred of cheap soft plastic is going to be able to bend those bearing towers held in place by two 12mm shaft dia. grade 10.9 (right?) bolts that thread into a couple inches of cast steel.

I just wrote a hefty paper on the negative effect of cortisol (stress hormone) on early pregnancy... so I'm enjoying writing about something else to be honest (ie: the potential of plastic causing breakage as opposed to the consequence of rubber breaking)

 

double post

 

i never said ring deflection doesnt matter.. i said that a lil plastic cap is not going to cause or increase the chance of deflection happening.

and just because we disagree doesnt mean you have to be an ass.

oh and ive only done 7 gear installs so im no pro.. but i will say that i do a good job.

how many have you done?

 

Right on. All I'm saying is your adding something extra to the mix. And if this plastic cap ends up between the ring and pinion gear on an old setup. Add some thottle...

My best friend has a trail queen, mines a DD. He doesn't understand why ZUK build my diffs, and the time ZUK didn't. I had second thoughts and sent it to ZUK for a check up, side tracked. All I'm saying is why throw something else into the mix.

 

I wonder if it would matter if it got into the bearings.......maybe not, but just something else to think about.

 

I would say exactly the same as would happen if it when into the teeth- is soft plastic VS. hardened metal. In fact, bearing races are harder than gear teeth.

Think about the last time you drove over a squirrel- the road didn't get much of a dent.

 

lol, this thread amuses me


as for my opinion, if any one even cares I'd say it's not going to hurt anything, but at the same time it's not going to help either... that being said, I'd try my damndest to get it out, but after a few failed attempts, I'd say screw it and leave it in there to get chewed up by the R&P

I have seen this method preformed on automotive mechanic shows on TV. Although that's relevent to the situation, I do feel a hard plastic cap would be a little bit harder to chew up than a polypropylene baggy