Ok so for anyone who didn’t know, I’m quite a noob. But I want to learn everything, and do everything myself rather than pay someone else, etc.
The mechanic wizard/ new friend who took a look at my Bronco for me made a laundry list of issues, some need repaired ASAP, others can wait.
One that cannot wait is that the pinion seal on the rear end (9" Ford) is leaking. Now, I’ve watched a couple YouTube videos about it, and it doesn’t seem like rocket science. The only things that seem at all tricky are making sure to put the nut back on exactly the same as it was, same number of turns, and the fact that I don’t have a seal puller tool so would maybe be trying to do it with a screwdriver?
So tell it to me straight… For a noob like me, is this too big of a job to tackle myself? I don’t feel like it is. I think I can handle it. But I’d like to hear the thoughts of guys here who have done it. Am I missing something tricky and I’m gonna get it wrong and throw off the balance and have my driveshaft explode or something?
And any of the local guys (totally looking at you Brick!!) if you wanna come help me through it, I’ll give you beers and… well I don’t know what else I could give, I have a couple working refrigerators that I’d love to give to someone. Or a set of ugly 15" steel rims, got those too, all yours if you wanna supervise this job.
Or do I need to take it to my mechanic for this? :-/
Not too bad…
1 1/16" socket and big ratchet/breaker bar and a big pipe wrench to hold the yoke so you can remove/retighten the pinion nut. Tap the pinion yoke off with a soft hammer/block of wood. Pop the old seal out with a screwdriver, drive the new seal in with a hammer being careful to start the seal evenly.
Lube the inside of the seal with grease and reinstall the pinion yoke.
Tighten the pinion nut while holding the yoke, tighten a little at the time until all the slop in the pinion is gone, then a tad more. Don’t get carried away. You want a very slight drag when turning the pinion.
About the tightening of the pinion nut when re-assembling… I’ve read people say to just make it tight, or to count the rotations when taking it off and put the new one on turning exactly the same number of rotations, or to torque the nut to one value or another…
Here is something I found today on Ford-Trucks.com that has not just one but two torque values to target:
Holding Pinion Flange With Very Large Adjustable Wrench, Torque Nut To 175 Ft-lbs. Ensure Rotational Force Of Pinion Gear Does Not Exceed 5-8 In-lbs For New Bearings Or 8 In-lbs For Used Bearings. It Is Best To Check Rotational Force Often While Torqueing, As The Rotational Force Will Give You A Better Indication Of Pinion Bearing Pre-load Than The Pinion Nut Torque. Torquing Close To, But Not Exactly To, The Specified Torque May Be Required If Rotational Force Limit Has Been Reached.
Checking the rotational force, I’m assuming they mean to take a torque wrench and, without holding the flange in place, turn the pinion nut and monitor the reading on the torque wrench that shows the resistance of the system? I saw a guy on YouTube do it that way. Would that work with everything assembled, tires on and all? I’m not taking the rear end apart here, just replacing the pinion seal.
Looking forward to this one, just really don’t wanna screw it up.
Make sure your pinion bearings are OK first, when they go out you’ll have a leaky pinion seal. Take the driveshaft loose from the pinion, turn the pinion by hand and feel for rough bearings. Try to move the pinion up and down/in and out and see if there is play.
You can use a low in/lb torque wrench to measure preload but I’ve always just tightened the pinion nut until all the slop is gone then just a bump or two more to attain a little pinion bearing preload.
You will be tightening the pinion bearings against the crush sleeve. You don’t want to “crush” the crush sleeve any more than it is.
Actually simpler than it sounds, just take your time and don’t get in a hurry
The PO said the whole rear end was rebuilt within the past year, I think he said 9 months specifically. He said all bearings were replaced when he added the (wish he didn’t) Trac-loc. for the pinion seal to be leaking this quickly, that means he did something wrong. I hope all he did wrong was to not tighten the pinion nut enough, or put the seal in slightly cockeyed or something, rather than anything more serious. If he overtightened it, would that cause it to leak? It hasn’t had many miles put on it in that time, so hopefully if anything was done wrong it’s not been too destructive.
This is the part where you tell me I need to take the whole rear end apart and check that he’s got the pinion spaced correctly so it’s hitting the ring gear in the right spot, and check all the bearings, and then I hold my hand over my eyes and shake my head gently from side to side, isn’t it?
Usually the first indication of bearings going bad is a high pitched whine while driving… Either under power and/or while coasting.
Could just be the yoke has a groove worn in the seal area (see this a lot on PU’s/4wd) that won’t seal no matter how good the overhaul was done.
This is the part where you tell me I need to take the whole rear end apart and check that he’s got the pinion spaced correctly so it’s hitting the ring gear in the right spot, and check all the bearings, and then I hold my hand over my eyes and shake my head gently from side to side, isn’t it?
No, if the pinion rotates smoothly, has no slop (in/out, up/down) and the gears run quietly, there is no need to disassemble.
Ah yes, I’ve seen that on a couple YouTube videos, where there’s one or two grooves worn into that area. That would just mean buying a replacement yoke, right? I should start researching that now, where to find one for not too much money, if that’s what turns out to be the issue.
Excellent! I did get a chance to check for slop in the pinion/yoke last night, without disconnecting anything though. As it sits, there doesn’t seem to be any slop at the pinion in any direction-- the only place I could get any sort of slop is in the U-joint, just a little. That wouldn’t have anything to do with a pinion seal leak, right?
No
I don’t use crush sleeves anymore, I replace them with the solid spacers. Eliminates the need to “sneak up” on pinion preload. If a solid spacer is used and you need to change the seal or yoke simply change them out, retorque the yoke 150 ft/lb and good to go.
Any slop in the u joint is bad. Change it when you do the seal. Art has got you guided pretty well on the seal change and retorque. The turning for 5 to 8 inch pounds is for one sitting on the bench with no axles etc. (one can use the housing as a holder for the torquing but no axles and wheels on it for the inch pound measure) Wouldn’t do it in the car with axles in if it were me.