67/68/69 cuda dilemma

Also finally got the pinion out of the 8.8 rear. A Ford buddy of mine said one light smack and the pinion should practically fall out, and I would have to hold onto it as I was tapping it out. Well that wasnt gonna happen. Years ago water had gotten behind the pinion nut and past the splines on the yoke. There was minor surface rust between the pinion shaft and the fwd bearing. I set a piece of plywood and padding under the rear, pointed the pinion straight up. And used a 1/4" thick aluminum plate and a mini sledge to pound it out. I didn't want to bugger the threads on it since I wanted to reuse the gearset.

Anyways a little grey scotch brite pad, and some WD40 and I was able to scrub the surface rust off the pinion. I took the crush sleeve and measured its thickness, then pulled out a crush sleeve eliminator I purchased from Yukon gear. It comes with a bunch of different thickness shims to stack up to get the same thickness as the one pulled out. I feel this is the way to go. When I reassemble this, I plan on putting a bit of grease in the spline areas of the yoke, and a small amount of sealant behind the nut. Not expecting to go through any foot deep water with it, but just trying to correct the problem.