[Tx Firefighter]

^ He's right, the nut needs to be torqued exactly to where it was before. The pinion bearing preload is set with the nut. Count the number of threads sticking out past the nut bfore you loosen it, and like he said, mark the nut, pinion, and yoke to make sure you can torque it to exactly to where it was. This is muy importante! You screw this up, and you will be paying to rebuild the rear end.

Too loose- bearing play, goodbye bearings
Too tight- bearing wear, goodbye bearings.
New bearings= remove carrier and re set up the gear set.

Kevin-(man who has learned to respect pinion bearing$)