Does the pinion shaft come out ALL THE WAY?

[JackLikesTrucks]

Be gentle. Newb here.

Replacing the axle shaft seals and am having trouble with the part where it says to removel the pinion shaft.

I have the retaining bolt out, no problem there.

But am I supposed to be able to slide it out all the way? Its cut only enough to allow it to slide halfway out before the uncut part hits the ring gear.

What am I missing here? Does it have to come out all the way to get to the c clips?

THANKS!

 

[Sunk]

I assume you mean the crosspin in the carrier? Is there any way you can rotate it? It got in there somehow. I only thought there were issues with clearance on the ring gear with 4.56+ ratios...

It may be possible to have the pin halfway out, then rotate the axle so the pin is away from you and try to pop the clips off from the backside, but I don't really think so..

 

[Shran]

What axle are you working on?

You should be able to slide the cross pin out of the carrier without the ring gear stopping it...it will need to be most if not all the way out because you push the axle shaft in, and the c-clip will easily accessible.

 

[JackLikesTrucks]

Its a 7.5" 2wd 2.3L. Non-Locker, 2002 XLT Ranger. And honestly, I have a hard time figuring out how they got it in without doing a buildup.

Like I noted, the crosspin will hit the ring gear on the way out but the half that is near the lockbolt is flat on one side of the shaft so it clears the ring gear. But its shaved only half way down the shaft. It eventually hits the pinion gear and won't come out all the way. And since its not flatted on the other half, pushing the crosspin out only makes it strike the ring gear.

Weird. Keep the ideas coming. Please.

How have others done it?

 

[4x4junkie]

It's apparent you have 3.73 or 4.10 gears in your 7.5" (the ring gear gets thicker with deeper ratios).

The pin is stepped like that to allow it to move far enough over to remove the c-clips off the axle shafts, it does not need to come all the way out. Maybe try turning it over or push it out the other way if it's not moving over far enough.

 

[Hahnsb2]

It's apparent you have 3.73 or 4.10 gears in your 7.5" (the ring gear gets thicker with deeper ratios).

The pin is stepped like that to allow it to move far enough over to remove the c-clips off the axle shafts, it does not need to come all the way out. Maybe try turning it over or push it out the other way if it's not moving over far enough.

+1, you should able to turn the pin 90* and slide the notched part past the ring gear allowing the axles to be pushed in to remove the c-clips. You can take a dremel and clearance the ring gear tooth just enough to remove it if you really want to.

 

[JackLikesTrucks]

Allright. You can all relax. I got it.

The pinion shaft does NOT have to come out all the way on a 2002 2.3L XLT non-LSD Ranger.

The pinion shaft only slides out enough (about half way) to let the axles get knocked inward and the half-moon clips are easily plucked out from there.

BTW the right bearing pullout and install tools make life worth living.

I loaned some new bearing puller and bearing/seal install tools from Autozone and it was the easiest repair I have ever done.

Thanks guys.

 

[AllanD]

If you CAREFULLY assemble the a 3.73 ring gear to the carrier
in a 7.5" rear you can set it up so that the pin IS completely removeable
and thus a Full diameter pin can be used.

Often this requires some careful moto tool grinding on the inboard end of two ring gear teeth (outside the contact area)

7.5" rears with Limited slip and 3.73's or 4.10's must also have the
ring gear removed from the carrier to remove the axle pinions and
replace limited slip clutches

It's the primary reason I recommend switching to an 8.8 axle even on a 2.3 truck.

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[351crownvic]

On mine with 4.56 gears I have the cut cross pin that u turn90 degrees right and left to take off the c clips on the axles since the pin can not be removed with out taking the ring gear off...