Rear pinion seal replacement (2 Viewers)

[asu4runner]

well i always use this site for looking things up, but i have never done a repair thread so here is a little job i needed to get done today.

tools for the job
-30mm socket
-breaker bar
-two 14 mm wrenches
-2x4
-hammer
-flat head screw driver
-gear oil
-new seal (national seal pn-1177)


first things first, put on the parking brake, or block the wheels, or both if your not in the flatlands like me, and take out he four bolts holding the driveshaft to the pinion flange

use either the flat head or my favorite tool (your boot) to knock the driveshaft loose from the flange and swing it out of the way

use the 30mm socket and your breaker bar to get the lock nut off , so that the flange may be removed

now heres one of the tricky parts, get the old seal out. my method involved tapping the sharp end of a screwdriver through the middle of the seal and prying it out, completely destroying it in the process. make SURE you get all of it out, like the little spring circle on the back side of the seal.

clean off your surfaces and tap the new seal into place with a mallet and block of wood so as to not damage the new seal.

its probably best that your clean up your old flange, get all the gunk off so the seal sit properly

i went ahead and painted my flange just because. get it back on, replace the washer and tighten down your lock nut. i found a lot of different specs on what it was supposed to be cranked down to, but mainly it was just tight as ****. i had my wrench set at 150 ft pounds and didnt quite reach it because its a short wrench. make sure to notch the nut with a screwdriver or punch so it doesnt back off.

bolt back up your driveshaft and your rollin'!

 

[KLF]

Nice work. Two comments:

* You are likely gonna be sorry you put that aftermarket seal in there. The OEM seal is MUCH better.

* You really aren't supposed to re-use those stake nuts.

 

[asu4runner]

yeah i knew about the steak nut i had to order it next day delivery ill get it on tomorrow but i got the seal for like 8 bucks from work and honestly ive never had a problem with national seals. (i work at advance auto) so i get an employee discount, ill always try ours before i pay toyota ha

 

[asu4runner]

also thanks i was hoping that if i started posting about my fixes that some more seasoned vets would throw in some pointers

 

[lovetoski]

It's cool you posted. Thankyou!

 

[Finnyfam60]

Cheers! I'll be doing this soon!

 

[vasellers]

Been waiting to do this, thanks for posting.

 

[ashack2004]

Awesome Post! Mine just started to leak...lol

 

[asu4runner]

i have to ask, i know im SUPPOSED to replace the lock nut, but why? i mean i just punched a little notch in it just like the way it was, do they not stay tight on the threads the second time around?

 

[TobyB]

The lock nut is fine. As long as it dimples, it'll work.

What might not be fine is the crush sleeve. From what I can tell so far
(haven't gone in yet, but I HAVE looked at the FSM a bit)
Toyota uses a crush sleeve system to set up the pinion.

The short version is that you tighten the nut to set bearing preload, and you
do that by crushing the washer a certain amount. If you overcrush the washer,
the pinion bearings will be overloaded, potentially to the point where they destruct.

Others will chime in with the Toyota specifics- I've learned the hard way with a
different make of diff that sets up the same way...

t

 

[REDBACK62]

TobyB is correct. There is a crush sleeve on the shaft to set bearing preload. Unless this is correct you run the risk of premature bearing wear or failure. Some models came with a solid spacer and all you do is torque to the factory setting. You can get solid sleeves to replace the crush sleeve, but you will need a torque wrench capable of greater than 200 ft/lbs. The old school way is to use a solid spacer and torque it up until it is free to spin but has a slight drag. The diff needs to be on the bench to do this.

 

[asu4runner]

i did read up a bit on that, and to be honest im a bit worried. but i my seal was shot and leaking alot, so for the mean time all i could do was replace it. from what i could see replacing the crush sleeve was a lot bigger job than just taking the flange off, i assume i need to take the diff out? what a PITA. i tightened the nut back down to just passed where it originally was. i guess ill find out if it was ok or not. seems to be riding fine so far.

 

[REDBACK62]

It probably will be fine. From memory I think you may be able to get the sleeve out without removing the diff. Not sure. When I put my lockers in I had the diff on the bench and mine is the solid sleeve, so no need to replace. But you remove the sleeve from the pinion nut side. it sits just behind the washer on the shaft. It just may be hard to get it to slide out.

 

[lovetoski]

I had an experienced toyota diff guy replace my pinion seal while the diff was out of the truck (the seal was leaking). He noted as above that the crush sleeve system isn't supposed to be reused. However he said about 1/2 the time that you can just throw on a new seal, tighten the nut to the FSM spec and it'll be fine. If the diff is out you can tell easily by how the pinion turns (does it bind). Because of the axles and brakes that will be tough to tell when in the truck.

You might be lucky and it'll be fine. You fixed the leaky seal for only a couple of bucks. If the pinion bearings are now binding you'll begin to hear a whine from the diff. In my experience you can drive a couple of thousand miles with a whine in a toyota diff. Not recommending that, just it's how things worked out for me. If it's whining, a low milage used diff from a front axle is the cheapest option.

 

[asu4runner]

right on guys. ill be switchin out for some 4.11 thirds soon i hope and ill be sure to go through them before i throw them in. thanks for all the info. toyota gotta make s*** so hard haha

 

[Estancio]

FYI, I was NOT lucky with my seal replacement/crush washer/pinion preload some years ago on my 60. The resulting damage cost me a complete third member when gears ripped thru the differential housing....just saying....

 

[Tim-HJ61]

FYI, I was NOT lucky with my seal replacement/crush washer/pinion preload some years ago on my 60. The resulting damage cost me a complete third member when gears ripped thru the differential housing....just saying....

Ditto. That crush washer and the bearing preload IS important.

Having said that, simply replacing the seal and retorquing the flange to the same point as before will prolly be okay.

Sent from my iPad using IH8MUD

 

[on2it]

Question. I forgot to grease the insides of the seal. Was oiled not greased. It's all sealed up and running fine. Should I undo just to put some grease into seal insides and spring?

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

no. As has been mentioned, the best thing to do when replacing the seal, is to mark the nut and count the turns and get the thing back to right where it was plus maybe a eighth or quarter turn more- the last bit based on torque and play(or lack there-of) in the pinion.../

 

[Mace]

The nut is already marked, it's the point where it gets dimpled to fit the slot in the pinion shaft. You have tightened your nut down more than it was before. Will it make a difference? Who knows. Commonly the seal dies because the bearing has gone toes up anyway..

IMHO, it's a temporary fix, but I've been wrong before.