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Decided to replace my pinion seal today. got tired of the oil on the floor.
i had read other threads on the procedure. i am going to go thru them just so when i get to my question, you will know what i did.
ok,
i marked the flanges so that i could mate them back up in the same position.
removed my 4 flange bolts and propped the driveshaft up out of the way.
i put one bolt back in the flange so i could use it to prop a pry bar against. then i pulled the e brake as tight as i could. i also marked my pinion nut for reference.
i got out my 24" breaker bar and got ready for the big fight. i was surprised the pinion nut came off a lot easier than i expected. it took some effort but i thought i would probably need another pipe on the end of the bar.
i took off the nut and the flange/cover slid off pretty easily. the old oil seal was put in even with the outer edge of the rear which is not what i read on this forum, but no big deal. i pryed out the old seal and prepared the new one to go in. i put a little ATV sealant on the outer edge to help it slide in. put some grease on the inner part of the seal. i wiped out where the seal slid in and it looked fine. so i tapped the seal in place. i saw the slight bevel there and put the seal in even with the inner part of the bevel.
before i put the flange back in i inspected the surface for grooves or other signs of wear. it looked fine but i polished it up with the 0000 steel wool. then wiped it down and put some oil on it. put it back in the same position and it slid back in smoothly. easier than i thought it would actually.
so i started the pinion nut back on. i put a bolt in the flange again and tightened up the pinion nut as far as i could with the 1/2" drive rachet. i checked the marks on my nut to be sure it was close to where it was before i took the nut off. all looked good. i set my wrench for 140 ft/lb, got my pry bar between the flange bolt and the frame. then tightened the bolt to torque. all seemed right. but it sure felt like it took a lot more force to get to 140 than it did for the nut to come off. in fact the e brake could not hold it. i needed the extra help of the pry bar.
next i was going to turn the rear so the flange mark was down to match where i had the u joint flange. but the rear would not turn. it was tight. i could not twist it by hand. i then grabbed both wheels and tried to rotate them. i could them backwards a little but not forwards. i moved them back a couple more times and rocked them and then the wheels would go forward as the pinion flange turned. i messed with it a few more rotations back and forth. each time it got easier to do. then the pinion flange seemed to move ok. i could turn it by hand. maybe not quite as easy as before . but each time i moved it to put in a flange bolt, it seemed to move easier and easier. So i figured i am ok.
but it does make me wonder. has someone else had the same thing happen? is that normal until it gets a few turns? i did not read anything like that in other posts. there are no other noises or anything like that in the rear when i rotate it now.
it is just that i had to crank quite hard on that torque wrench to get 140. i wondered if i maybe set the bearing too tight?
sorry if this got long. just figured i might save some questions.... or point to some...
Thoughts?
Thanks
i had read other threads on the procedure. i am going to go thru them just so when i get to my question, you will know what i did.
ok,
i marked the flanges so that i could mate them back up in the same position.
removed my 4 flange bolts and propped the driveshaft up out of the way.
i put one bolt back in the flange so i could use it to prop a pry bar against. then i pulled the e brake as tight as i could. i also marked my pinion nut for reference.
i got out my 24" breaker bar and got ready for the big fight. i was surprised the pinion nut came off a lot easier than i expected. it took some effort but i thought i would probably need another pipe on the end of the bar.
i took off the nut and the flange/cover slid off pretty easily. the old oil seal was put in even with the outer edge of the rear which is not what i read on this forum, but no big deal. i pryed out the old seal and prepared the new one to go in. i put a little ATV sealant on the outer edge to help it slide in. put some grease on the inner part of the seal. i wiped out where the seal slid in and it looked fine. so i tapped the seal in place. i saw the slight bevel there and put the seal in even with the inner part of the bevel.
before i put the flange back in i inspected the surface for grooves or other signs of wear. it looked fine but i polished it up with the 0000 steel wool. then wiped it down and put some oil on it. put it back in the same position and it slid back in smoothly. easier than i thought it would actually.
so i started the pinion nut back on. i put a bolt in the flange again and tightened up the pinion nut as far as i could with the 1/2" drive rachet. i checked the marks on my nut to be sure it was close to where it was before i took the nut off. all looked good. i set my wrench for 140 ft/lb, got my pry bar between the flange bolt and the frame. then tightened the bolt to torque. all seemed right. but it sure felt like it took a lot more force to get to 140 than it did for the nut to come off. in fact the e brake could not hold it. i needed the extra help of the pry bar.
next i was going to turn the rear so the flange mark was down to match where i had the u joint flange. but the rear would not turn. it was tight. i could not twist it by hand. i then grabbed both wheels and tried to rotate them. i could them backwards a little but not forwards. i moved them back a couple more times and rocked them and then the wheels would go forward as the pinion flange turned. i messed with it a few more rotations back and forth. each time it got easier to do. then the pinion flange seemed to move ok. i could turn it by hand. maybe not quite as easy as before . but each time i moved it to put in a flange bolt, it seemed to move easier and easier. So i figured i am ok.
but it does make me wonder. has someone else had the same thing happen? is that normal until it gets a few turns? i did not read anything like that in other posts. there are no other noises or anything like that in the rear when i rotate it now.
it is just that i had to crank quite hard on that torque wrench to get 140. i wondered if i maybe set the bearing too tight?
sorry if this got long. just figured i might save some questions.... or point to some...
Thoughts?
Thanks