[quote=owtcast;352574]Ok, are you needing to know this value so you can get the correct pinion shims put back in there? You are correct on not being able to measure the preload with the carrier installed... unless there is some other set of values that take the friction of the carrier gear and bearings into consideration. It seems you could measure the preload shims and the thickness of the bearing, add them up and replace with new shims of the same size. After all, that is the way it was set up when new and everything was "fresh". I would definately contact a "rear-end specialists" to confirm though. I'm more of a "top end" kind of guy so take this with a grain of salt.
The Sterling 10.5 uses a crush sleave to set the pinion preload instead of shims like a dana, so the amount of torque required on the pinion nut can vary. It's not like a dana set up where you use shims to set the preload and the torque on the nut is always the same value (175 ft/lbs for a D60 if I remember correctly). Anyway, I'm just pulling the pinion yoke and replacing the seal behind it and I can't figure how to measure the preload when I re-install the pinion nut. I'm thinking its going to end up being done by feel instead of by measurement and that has me a little worried. Thanks for the quick response, you pretty much confirmed what I was thinking, that there is really no way to do this correctly without pulling the carrier out.