Rear Diff. - removing free play in pinion bearing

Howdy,
Have a lot of slop in the pinion bearing - hard to measure but alot. If I continue to unstake the pinion nut, and continue to tighten the nut to remove the slop, will the bearing wear out? Current no rear end bearing noises or issues and it feels smooth, just wondering how long I can remove the slop before I need to change out the bearing. Thanks to all who reply

 

You should definitely not loosen or tighten the pinion nut without pulling the third and and being prepared to treat is as a standard gear installation. Messing with that will require resetting pinion depth and backlash and if you don't do that your ring and pinion may not be long for this world.

 

^ This is the only reply you need.