I think its ok to use an impact gun. All the force that the pinion nut generates is applied onto the yoke which is then applied to the portion of the bearing that the rollers reside in which is applied to the crush collar. While you are torquing down the nut the actual rollers themselves are still floating around with no force on them until the crush coller deforms enough that the rollers kiss the races. Its once they touch the races that you get your preload. That being said. As long as you dont over torque with an impact mashing the rollers into the races you can pound away as the collar deforms. Trust me, I tried with breaker bars, but I couldnt get a good enough grip on the yoke to budge the collar.
As for the other houseing, I guess its possible. But its definitely gear noise. I dont think an axle being out of parallel would effect the center section. I think having an aluminum driveshaft radiates the resonance given off by a loose pinion. All i know was that it was god damn anoying on the highway and im thankful its gone for now.
|