Changing a pinion seal

[thunderstang]

Alright guys due to an unbalanced one piece DS I now have a leaky pinion seal. I'm pulling the DS to have it rebalanced and changing the pinion seal. At the same time I'm going to pull the whole rearend out to weld the axle tubes.
My question is with the rearend sitting on jack stands and the brake calipers removed how do you guys keep the pinion and gears from turning while torqueing the pinion nut?

The reason for pulling the brakes is so I don't have to bleed them and to measure the rotating pressure with an inlb Tq wrench per the R/R directions so I don't over tighten on the crush sleeve.

 

[05stroker]

Alright guys due to an unbalanced one piece DS I now have a leaky pinion seal. I'm pulling the DS to have it rebalanced and changing the pinion seal. At the same time I'm going to pull the whole rearend out to weld the axle tubes.
My question is with the rearend sitting on jack stands and the brake calipers removed how do you guys keep the pinion and gears from turning while torqueing the pinion nut?

The reason for pulling the brakes is so I don't have to bleed them and to measure the rotating pressure with an inlb Tq wrench per the R/R directions so I don't over tighten on the crush sleeve.

There is a tool for the job. It is a bar that bolts to the pinion flange and is c shaped so you can still access the pinion nut. I borrowed one from a friend at my dealer.
You can see it here.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/re...t-Drive-Axle/Pinion-Seal/_/P-0996b43f802e4dec

 

[86GT351]

That tool works great!

 

[petersonb]

I made the tool myself out of a flat bar (cross section of about 1" x 0.25") and drilling holes to match up.

I'm not sure how much the tool costs (probably not much), but if you have a bar laying around, why not?

Good luck, that's a fun time

 

[86GT351]

That works also!

 

[thunderstang]

Thank you guys, I could make one of those easily. Time to get to it.

 

[BirdMan65]

Would you not need a new crush sleeve? I wouldn't want to have to remove everything, including the new seal to replace it to get the right rotational pressure, unless you have a solid crush sleeve setup.

 

[petersonb]

Would you not need a new crush sleeve? I wouldn't want to have to remove everything, including the new seal to replace it to get the right rotational pressure, unless you have a solid crush sleeve setup.

I picked up two new crush sleeves for $4.00 at O'Reilly's.... Totally worth it IMO

 

[Dread53]

It can be done without replacing the crush sleeve, it just needs to be done VERY carefully when retightening the nut. I probably did it a couple hundred times when at the dealership. Keep in mind I have a very 'tuned' sense of touch. I checked myself several times when setting up gears just by feel and I was never far enough off to worry about it. By that I mean a couple inch-pounds of rotational torque and .0005" on backlash.

 

[NotQuik]

I also reuse the old crush sleeve. ..I mark the nut and the pinion then count the threads. When putting it back together, I go a smudge past the mark. Never had any issues on any of my cars or my truck. Pretty simple job after you do it.

 

[avinaj80]

I also reuse the old crush sleeve. ..I mark the nut and the pinion then count the threads. When putting it back together, I go a smudge past the mark. Never had any issues on any of my cars or my truck. Pretty simple job after you do it.

Same here, been using that same technique with great results for many years.

 

[thunderstang]

So I dropped off my DS to get balanced. The guy told me that acceptable to him was .017 thousands off, my spyder shaft measured .070 thousands. That was the DS and pinion flange together. He said he would have to cut it and re clock it to get it back within tolerance. What the Hell???

 

[avinaj80]

So I dropped off my DS to get balanced. The guy told me that acceptable to him was .017 thousands off, my spyder shaft measured .070 thousands. That was the DS and pinion flange together. He said he would have to cut it and re clock it to get it back within tolerance. What the Hell???

Huh? He can't weld weight tabs on it? I don't understand his theory....