is there a easy way to do this so easy a caveman can do it?,my skills are nil in this matter,pinion depth baffeles me,not to mention backlash,i can make a side bearing adjuster but thats about as far as my skills go,how do you tell when the pinion depth is correct?
i did a swap on a ford truck decades ago ,it came with a kit and instructions and used shims on the carrier gears,not so with the 8 1/4

Simply plug into The Matrix!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dAqAqODmcj4&vl=en

Sure, it’s Dana stuff, just the first hit in my search. Probably has good/relative info.

.....and I won’t go on about how you oughta just spend the dough and be done with it. It’s good to learn new stuff. Learning can be expensive also

Good luck in your endeavors....

ive seen that video before,it doesnt show how to set pinion depth,just the preload on the pinion bearings,also the one he is working on uses shims to set backlash not adjusters like the 8 1/4

It's just trial and error. I believe it's about a million times easier if you have "setup bearings" for the pinion. These are regular bearings with the center bore ground out enough that they are a slip fit on the pinion.

Also the shim pack you take out is many times pretty close to what you need with the new gears.

I prefer to let a rear axle expert do any gear swaps.

R.