I actually posted this with the hope that somebody would say exactly what you have said- that they’ve seen this before. because I cannot figure out why mine sticks out so much and there is absolutely no way the yoke could be closer to the case bc the yoke’s sitting on the bearing which sits on its race and the race is fully seated in the case.

Once I install the seal, I’ll take another picture. Maybe it will look better. I know there’s a lip on the seal that comes over that outside edge of the case so maybe that’s it

If it's and original Chrysler yoke, has to be the crush sleeve ( wrong one?) or machining on the pinion

I have seen them like that, If the machining or spacer was off once tightened there would be fore and aft play in the pinion after torque up If the pinion feel right after torquing (turning torque) Send it.

There is always a reason for everything, you just have to find it. I would concentrate on one part of the situation and see where it goes. If It were me I'd put both pinions in and measure from the face of the outer pinion bearing cone to the end of the pinion. That would give you the available room for the yoke and the sleeve.

No carrier is the same for an 8 3/4 , i haven't seen and offset one like used on Dana 60 , maybe it's because it has threaded adjusters and one can move the carrier as required ?

I just saw this on market place .

I just got rid of a bunch of rear chucks , I never noticed that , but I wasn't paying attention to them. It is what it is .

My 2 cents , I don't know the miles on your original 3.91's but you'd be doing yourself a huge favor and ditching that POS cone type .. take a close look at the bearings you pulled out with a magnifier of some sort , you'll more than likely see little indents in the rollers and races from the metal chips it generates that passed thru the 2 parts ... at minimum epoxy a couple of small magnets out of the way of the ring gear to collect the metal particles ...

I like to see at least a thread sticking out past the nut , you could get a different nut that's slightly thinner , or make yours thinner ? Otherwise like B1maxx says , torque it with red loctite , and send it ...

I went out and took a shot of my 489 center section, 3.55 SG, factory gears.

Yup I have the preload set up and measuring between 20-30 in-lbs with the pinion nut torqued to 240 ft-lbs.

Btw, I picked up this new torque wrench off the fb marketplace. 90-600 ft-lbs measuring a whopping 41” long! Makes quick and easy work tightening and removing that nut.

And before yall jump on my homemade yoke holder tool, I know my welds suck. Im a much better grinder than a welder. But as crappy as it looks, its still sticking so idc! Lol

Look at the dize of my tool! Its HUGE! (Twss)

Wow! Thats very similar! Its a 741 case too. So the possibility for this exists across cases. Crazy.

I agree with your comment about the cone sure grip! Ive got two clutch sure grips I could use but one is in the 742 case with the 4.30 gears im taking out. Those gears ran smooth and were running perfectly so I wouldnt want to tear it apart.

But I have a another 742 case with a clutch sure grip with some 6.xx gears in them that ill never use so I’ll snag that suregrip and put new innerds in it. I have no idea of the history of that3rd member as I picked it up cheap at a swap meet in St Louis a bunch of years ago. It was like $50 but missing a differential cap. I just wanted the suregrip out of it. Ill includ a pic bc its such a steep gear no one believes me! Lol! Look at the meat on that ting gear! The pinion has like 5 or 6 teeth on it. Its a beast and must weigh another 20 lbs bc of the extra steel!

Great suggestion though. Bc I did look at the bearings when I first dissambled it a month or so ago and I did see some ugliness on the rollers.