Richmond Pro gear alert heads-up...

CMcAllister · 10-27-2013, 10:43 AM

Richmond stuff has been questionable for a number of years. The Motive, Italian stuff, on the other hand, has been good. Nice finish, easy to set up, nice looking pattern. I was glad to hear Motive bought Richmond. According to their website, Motive is a division of Midwest Truck and Auto Parts in Chicago. Who knows if it's American owned. The no name Chinese stuff is to be avoided.

I have set up tools, but rarely use them. They would get it close, but I found I always had to fudge it one way or the other a little bit. 1 or 2 thou makes a difference in the pattern. Typically, I just start with what came out of the old set-up and work from there. If I don't have that, I start with a typical shim for that rear. On a 12 bolt, it would be a .025. I like to use the ones under the bearing race or I will polish the pinion to get a semi-light press fit on the bearing so that it comes off with no damage. I set up according to the pattern. That's the final determining factor anyway. Randy's has a nice selection of tools and quality parts.

ETA...On anything other than a normal street car, it gets an adjustable solid spacer kit for pinion preload.

10-27-2013, 10:43 AM	#24
CMcAllister Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Fulton County, PA Posts: 615 Likes: 17 Liked 920 Times in 259 Posts	Re: Richmond Pro gear alert heads-up... Richmond stuff has been questionable for a number of years. The Motive, Italian stuff, on the other hand, has been good. Nice finish, easy to set up, nice looking pattern. I was glad to hear Motive bought Richmond. According to their website, Motive is a division of Midwest Truck and Auto Parts in Chicago. Who knows if it's American owned. The no name Chinese stuff is to be avoided. I have set up tools, but rarely use them. They would get it close, but I found I always had to fudge it one way or the other a little bit. 1 or 2 thou makes a difference in the pattern. Typically, I just start with what came out of the old set-up and work from there. If I don't have that, I start with a typical shim for that rear. On a 12 bolt, it would be a .025. I like to use the ones under the bearing race or I will polish the pinion to get a semi-light press fit on the bearing so that it comes off with no damage. I set up according to the pattern. That's the final determining factor anyway. Randy's has a nice selection of tools and quality parts. ETA...On anything other than a normal street car, it gets an adjustable solid spacer kit for pinion preload. Last edited by CMcAllister; 10-27-2013 at 10:46 AM.