What brand gears were these? Did I miss the answer?

 

They're all made by the same couple manufacturers and re-branded by different companies. I think most come from India. Superior, Yukon, etc., etc. The other manf. is in China or Korea or somethin,I cant remember.

 

I'm with you on this^

It looks like the pinion depth was set too shallow but it's hard to be sure by looking at pics. A 5.38 gear set has an 8 tooth pinion. That leaves very little contact and raises your chance of failure, especially if the pinion depth is shallow.

 

In the rebuild package I got from Yukon, there was some yellow paint that the installer uses to smear into the teeth of the ring after the install is complete. Then you turn the wheels and let the yellow paint tell you where the pinion is engaging. If the pinion is not in the middle of the teeth of the ring, I guess you have to use a longer crush sleeve.

I am NOT a mechanic, but I just went through this (and it looks like I will have to do it again this weekend) and I remember the installer using this paint to mark the engagement.

 

You are probably right,
and with backlash being 15/1000th that create condition for damage,

I will bring it the gear today or tomorrow to mechanic who installed it, I am interesting what he will say