I had a whine in my rear at most speeds, really noticeable at highway speeds. I went about replacing the bearings in the differential of my 2004 F-150 5.4L non-limited slip, 3.73. After cutting old bearings off, I pressed on a new pinion & carrier bearings with a 20-ton Harbor Frieght shop press. This was also the 1st time I have used a press before, but it seemed easy enough.

I am not able to get the gear & carrier bearing assembly back in the differential. It seems to be just a hair too wide. It's difficult to keep the assembly straight as I lift it up, then push in, and not knock down the shins while keeping fingers on the carrier bearing races so they don't slide off. Is it possible to need new shims? I am stuck on how I go about putting this assembly back in.

Thanks in advance for any help.

EDIT: Resolved the problem. Being the first time I have pressed bearings on, I pressed the carrier bearings on until they were flush with the shaft and could press no further. I ended up using the arbor plate/die and a 4x4 block of wood to press around, but not on the shaft, so the bearings would sink in the additional 1mm or less of space. I was able to fit the gear assembly back into the differential after this.