Rear Pinion Seal Leaking

[Tractor Dan]

Swapped in an 8.8 with 10 inch drums out of a 98+ Ranger into my 97 three years ago with 4.10 gears. I had a 7.5 with 3.73 gears and 9 inch drum. When i done this being pressed for time as it was my senior year of highschool and since all the seals and gaskets looked fine i left them alone and just changed the fluid, brakes, and diff cover gasket. Well found i have a nice leak coming from the pinion seal last night. It's enough that the rear end had fluid on it and it buggered up the ABS sensor. Here are my questions. I'm mechanically inclined just have never done much axle work so wanna make sure i'm 100% clear on what i need to buy and fix. I'm planning on probably just doing all the seals and the brakes as well. Atleast brake drums i know i need new ones.

1. Do i need to replace the pinion yoke and retaining nut? I only ask because i have found a kit for $35 that gives you the yoke,nut,and seal.
2. Is it worth getting the speedy sleeve for the pinion? I have read where sometimes it's needed and sometimes it's not. I think knowing my luck and history probably is worth it.
3. To remove the pinion retaining nut what's the best way? I'm thinking an impact wrench. I could use a ratchet and cheater bar i suppose if i could jack the body up high enough to get some leverage on the nut.
4. While i have this opened up should i just go ahead and replace the axle shaft seals and bearings as well? I don't believe there is a leak in the seals but there could be and i figure i would rather do it all at one time then six months down the road go back at it.

I'm not doing this right away. It's gonna be parked for a bit until i get time and money. Also gotta find a place to do said work. Unless yall think i would be fine doing it on a non busy street behind my condo? My biggest fear is having issues with the axle shafts. I know the pinion seal i can do on the street no issue. I can't do it in the condo parking lot or i'll have the association going off. They can't say anything about the road. It's a public road maintained by the county.

 

[projectnitemare]

You are only replacing the pinion seal correct? No need to replace any other seals or bearings unless they are bad or you want to replace them. For the pinion you want to make sure the bearings aren't bad which would wipe out the seal. Pull the driveshaft, spin the pinion, listen for rough bearings and check for play. When I check bearings, before i pull the driveshaft I will have the truck running on jackstands and listen to each bearing with a mechanic's stethoscope. Likely you will need to pull the pinion nut with an impact gun and need a gear puller to remove the flange. If there is a groove on the flange then you either need a speedi sleave or new flange, as you have already found a new flange is cheaper than a sleave. New nut isn't required either, put thread locker on it and tighten it back up. Be careful not to overtighen, just want to put it back to it's original location, or you will start smashing the crush sleave in which you are adding more pinion bearing preload.

 

[Tractor Dan]

Thanks for the info. Right now it looks like only the pinion seal is leaking. However i may just go ahead and do the differential cover gasket and axle shaft bearings and seals while i'm at it. I have nice weather still and would rather be able to rest assured come winter that i have new parts in rather then old ones. If i were to blow a bearing or seal in the winter it would have to be sent to my mechanic since i don't have a garage. I think if i do have a groove i will just go with a new flange. Sounds easier in regards to time and money than the tech library article that talked about sleeving it.

Also on the axle shaft bearings i know there is obviously one out at the wheel hub but is there one back at the opposite end of the axle shaft where your C clips are? I figure i'll find all this out once i open it up but trying to plan ahead.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

No bearing for the axle shaft at the inner end. Just the carrier bearings and there is no need to touch those.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2

 

[kimcrwbr1]

I wouldnt worry too much about over tightening the nut either it will take around 150 ft lbs or more to effect the bearing preload. Just get the nut good and tite, crank it down until the nut stops and give it a good tug. Plus one on checking the bearings before taking it apart put the gearbox in neutral and grab the driveshaft right in front of the rear u joint and man handle it good you should see no wiggle anywhere. It may be a good time for U joints while you have it apart they are cheap.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

If the rear axle seals are not leaking you can allways do those down the road just stop the bleeding for now and replace the pinion seal. To pull the axles you need to block it up real good on level ground you dont want it falling over with both wheels off of it. With a impact wrench you should be able to swap out the pinion seal in about an hour or less and just take your time getting the parts together for the rear brakes and seals yea it wouldnt hurt to get new hardware and wheel cylinders when you do the brakes.

 

[Tractor Dan]

Thanks. That's what i thought the inner end of the axle shafts rode on the carrier bearings. There is no way i'm touching those. If it ever comes time to do those or any bearings that involve the actual guts of the differential thats where it goes to a shop. As for the U joints i know those are good. I replaced my gas tank straps last September and checked them then as well as recently because i kept hearing noise in the rear end. At that point the seal looked maybe a little wet but not catastrophic. Well less then a week later it went from a little wet to a mess. So i know the U joints are good and i have good level and solid ground to work on thankfully. Guess that is the plus side to living in the flat lands of northwest ohio. Even our "hills" are gopher mounds in comparison to some states. Pennsylvania in the Poconos comes to mind.

thanks again for the input everybody now i just gotta get my parents other car fixed and wait a bit to fix my truck.

 

[Tedybear]

Forgive me for saying this:

Do NOT just ram the nut down!! A local shop did this to the company mini van I used to drive. (Express van). The pinion seal crapped, and the idiot! "Tech" manually ran the nut down and just rotated the yoke until it felt "Right".

1 hour later?

Total (and I mean TOTAL) BEARING FAIL! Every bearing in the axle, except the wheel bearings/Axle bearings--Were totally destroyed. The dealership had to clean up another shops mess, they showed me what was left of the bearings. We're talking chunks and carnage.

Do it right! Count the exact numbers of turns when you remove the pinion nut, including making a mark at let's say 12:00 str. up! Use that as a reference. This isn't that hard a job, but that nut is critical to get right.

Best of luck!

S-

 

[shane96ranger]

Do NOT just ram the nut down!!

Agreed. Member BRUTUS_T_HOG did an excellent write up on how to do it. Check it out:


http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102444

 

[Tractor Dan]

Don't plan to. My plan is to one measure how much shaft is sticking out of the nut. Two count the turns like suggested. Three make a mark. Four to be extra extra safe obtain a torque wrench that can be set to inch pounds and torque it to the specified rating. I'm doing this 100% right and if i have any doubt at any point the project is halting and i'm coming on here or calling in a friend who has done this before for reinforcements. I'm all for new and learning experiences as long as the job gets done correctly. Well that and i still have all my fingers and toes at the end of the day.

 

[projectnitemare]

Exactly, the true correct way is to use a torque wrench to check the preload. Make sure to look up the used bearing specs. In a pinch you can use a known weight (like 1 lb) and a legnth of material to use to determine torque. Nothing wrong with putting the nut back to where it was either.