[ElKotze]

Originally Posted by LH Lead-Foot

I have never had a problem with bearing grease as it melts quickly when gear lube hits it AFTER you get out in the road. It has never changed pinion pre-load readings regardless of which you use. Considering the pre-load is set first without a carrier installed, it eliminates the mess of cleaning gear lube running down your shirt. I was taught this in 1974 by a seasoned speed shop tech and later by factory instructor in 1979. Hitachi, Dana and Spicer manuals include the use of grease in the installation of pinion & carrier bearings and especially the outer axle bearings. GL5 is compatible with wheel bearing grease and provides protection to loaded bearing surfaces until the vehicle reaches road speeds during test drive. Everyone has their own opinions, but after working under warranty in dealerships for over a decade or more, never had a come back. I use high temp red RTV on the diff cover without a gasket. While OEM carrier bearing shims are one piece cast, aftermarket shims are not. This is where using the feeler gauge of 0.02" on both sides once backlash is correct, you now have to pre-load the carrier bearings. Adding a 0.04" shim (Or thicker cast shim) is in the factory service manuals. This is done using a differential housing spreader or driver with single cast shims. I use a spreader.
To get a correct pattern, I first check lateral runout in 4 places, the with a bar on the carrier, rotate the pinion at least three time forward to achieve a tooth pattern that is usable for diagnostics and should be done first before disassembly. Coast pattern will fall into place, yet should be checked as well.

Yeah, I was waiting for that! But You're right, everybody has their own way of doing things. But I didn't comment just for ****s and giggles about not using grease. Just a little about my back ground: I was working as an engineer for British Petrol (BP) in the new product development, all about the lube. Later I was on the team as an engineer and test driver at GM that developed the Corvette C6, some Cadillacs, the works, all high HP stuff. After that I was a test driver for V.A.G., the company that owns VW, AUDI, Porsche and Lamborghini, they mainly use SKF bearings in high HP applications. I still have my pass that I'm licensed to drive on all the high speed testing curcuits in Europe and North America, btw. So I have been around the block a couple of times and bearing grease on Pinion bearings is a big no-no, also on wheel bearings on full-floating axles.Why? Because grease creates a blockage that prevents gear oil from getting to the bearing, lubrication won't be sufficient and the bearing will burn up, plus it will mess up your clutch type limited slip, if present.Also, a pinion bearing spins multiple times faster than a wheel bearing and can create a lot of heat in a short amount of time. Splash-lubrication ensures heat transfer away from the bearing, grease will keep it right there.Oh, and the grease will not "melt quickly", modern grease types are heat and pressure resistant to prevent them from doing just that. Same with the bearings in semi-floating and full-floating axles, they are designed to take a lot of pressure, but can create heat, thus need to be cooled by the gear oil.