[Jerry Clayton]

read my earlier post---put the three pinion bearings in with a new crush sleeve--your gears aren't hurt--new bearings and seal---use the same pinion housing shims you have, just tighten the pinion nut until you get slight resistance in spinning the pinion--you probably won't even have to reset the backlash unless you took it further apart than your pics show---don't worry about 28/31 splines