ford 7.5" 410 pinion shaft removal ??? HELP WTF

[dennis461]

I have a Ford 7.5" 410 rear axle, ABS tone ring open carrier.
1996 Supercab, 3.0L automatic.
I was attempting a axle seal repair today, now I'm stuck.

I have loosened the ford 7.5" 410 pinion shaft lock bolt.
It is long.

I can slide it out till it hits the bearing carrier cap.
At this point one end is still in the carrier, so it won't come out fully.
I can remove the bearing carrier cap and get it out.
Is that standard operating procedure or a quirk of the 410 carrier.

Next problem is harder.
With the pinion shaft lock bolt pulled out as far as it can go
I can get the pinion shaft to slide down but
The ends of the pinion shaft are D shaped.
The center where the spider gears roll is round.
The round part hits the inside edge of the ring gear and it won't come out.

Do I need to unbolt the ring gear and slide it to the right to get the pinion shaft out?

Picture in a few minutes..

and

 

[dennis461]

Never mind, I figured it out.
By wiggling the pinoin shaft, I was able to get it to come just far enough to clear the axle.
It still will not come out, but I got the c-clips off, seal replace, which was my main goal.

So, looks like the Aussie locker installation would be a difficult option.

 

[Captain Ledd]

I tied a piece of heavy wire through the hole and stuck a screwdriver through the loop and tapped it out with a hammer.

Also try spreading the axle shafts apart with a screwdriver a bit to try to squeak the shaft by them. There's probably a small lip getting caught by them. I had to do that to get the shaft IN on my L/S carrier that I ended up selling. That sucker was packed tight.

I always thought the flat spot on the pin was twisted 90° so it faced one of the open sides in the carrier?

*EDIT: I guess I take too long proof reading my posts... lol

 

[DieselTech07]

I installed a lockrite in my 7.5" 4.10 axle a couple years ago I had the same problems as you did but I was able to get the lock bolt out if I recall correctly I rotated the carrier so the lock bolt was under/behind the main bearing caps and was able to slide it right out and install a new one. To get the pinion shaft out I took my die grinder with a stone about 1" in diameter and took the corners off of the teeth in front of the pinon shaft, check both ends of the shaft the teeth in front of one of them should need less grinding to get it out. That is probably how most mechanics would get the shaft out, it is also how most guys on this site recommend removing the shaft just make sure you get ALL the grit/shavings out when you are done. if you install the locker make sure you use the solid pinion shaft that comes with the locker not the notched one that is in the axle now. the pic I attached shows the teeth I took the corners off of.

 

[cwebbtat2]

I have been trying to remove the Pinion Shaft for two days now. I just came across your guys' posts; I am really stoked right now. I never thought of this solution because I thought damaging the teeth would effect the performance of my ring gear. I appreciate the help guys.

 

[4x4junkie]

I have been trying to remove the Pinion Shaft for two days now. I just came across your guys' posts; I am really stoked right now. I never thought of this solution because I thought damaging the teeth would effect the performance of my ring gear. I appreciate the help guys.

Not a problem.

The material you're taking off never comes in contact with the pinion gear teeth, so it's not an issue.

Welcome to TRS

 

[dio1985]

pinion shaft removal

@ DieselTech07 & 4x4 junkie:

Have you had any problem with this since then? i am thinking about doing the same thing.

 

[brinker88]

My 4.56's are shaved and I've had no problems what-so-ever.

 

[4x4junkie]

I did this with the 5.13s on my 8.8 back in '04 (35,000 miles & numerous wheeling trips ago). No issues with it at all.