Gear swap/inner pinion bearing question

[mark5pt0]

A buddy of mine wants to change his 3.31s to 3.73s, and came across a recommendation that the inner pinion bearing needs to be changed when doing so. Typically when swapping gears, I've always reused the bearings and shims (if they were in good shape) and have had good results (no gear whine/howling). Does anyone know why this bearing should be changed?

 

[nonliberal]

A buddy of mine wants to change his 3.31s to 3.73s, and came across a recommendation that the inner pinion bearing needs to be changed when doing so. Typically when swapping gears, I've always reused the bearings and shims (if they were in good shape) and have had good results (no gear whine/howling). Does anyone know why this bearing should be changed?

As long as you get the proper year ring and pinion you can reuse the bearing if it's in good shape.

The 2011+ have a different size pinion bearing so when people buy used gears they are often off older cars and need to replace the bearing.