Dana pattern

[vintage chromoly]

hello all.
I’m putting a Dana together for my coronet. It’s a virgin setup as far as shims go. As in, its not just a gear swap with existing parts.
I started with .045” on the pinion depth. This is the pattern I achieved with a .010 backlash.
I thought it was too close to the ring so I pulled it apart and set it up with .035”

 

[vintage chromoly]

Here’s the pattern with the .035 pinion shims. It looks like it’s a tad too far now.

 

[vintage chromoly]

Looking for opinions.
Thanks

 

[dvw]

2nd pattern is pretty close. It looks like the pinion shim could go back a touch thicker. .037?
Doug

 

[69L48Z27]

Your first is deep but not too deep. On the second I would go to .007” BL and see if it goes towards the valley. Split the difference and see what you get like @dvw said.