i have a 2001 Ram 1500 5.2L 4x4 with the 3.55 rear end. Orginally i thought it was the pinion bearings cause u could move the driveshaft up and down and left and right, when u went to loosen the pinion nut it was loose. So i bought a new crush sleeve i figured the bearings were okay, that the nut just came loose. i put everything back together but when i tighten the pinion nut i get to the point where i cant tighten it anymore and there is still play in it. i took it back apart and the crush sleeve wasnt even crushed, now the old crush sleeve u could tell it was crushed cause it was bout half the size... anyone know? imma replace the bearings and races cause well it aint gonna hurt its got 150,000 miles. the other thing i noticed is the pinion flange looks like it has some wear at the base where it presses against the bearing it doesnt look like much though maybe a 1/16". so does anyone have an ideals? im kinda lost

 

You have to CRUSH the sleeve. Go eat a bowl of Wheaties grab a long pipe wrench and a breaker bar and tighten that nut.

Holding the pinion with your and and using a half inch or 3/8 ratchet isnt gonna cut it.

Once you reach 15inlbs of resistance in the pinion you are done.

If you dont have a in lbs deflecting beam torque wrench, please take the truck to a professional. Pinion bearing preload is nothing to monkey around with.

 

i made a tool to hold the flange cause mine is the circular flange i braced that against the ground and used a breaker bar with another piece of pipe and reefed on it. it sucks cause i dont have a garage i have a big *** tarp covering my truck and its been so damn cold i think maybe the prob is that i might not be able to move around so i can put enough force on it lol or im just a *****... my truck has been down for 2 months.... then i go to work on it again and the bearing i put on the dif cluster came apart.... brand new bearing and all i did was take it outta the box set it on the ground and roll it outta the way... so basically it sounds like i need to quit being a ***** cause im thinking the play is from the crush sleeve not being crushed