Rear Differential flange can't sperate to remove pinion seal.

[bdiemer]

Had a loose rear pinion nut. Replaced bearing but could not separate flange from seal on shaft. So put new bearing in, torqued it, staked it and all was great. Now rear pinion seal is leaking. How do I separate the flange/shaft/pinion seal assembly. It was like the whole flange/shaft/pinion seal were stuck together. I replaced the rear flange and pinion seal a year ago when I switched to a H-42 from the original 3 speed to make the drive shafts work. Any ideas? It is all assembled right now but I'm thinking about fixing leaks while its a 115 degrees here in AZ. Also the new bearing is working to spec, no vibration or noise. Could the loose pinion nut have caused it all to "weld" together

 

[miker]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you did but how did you replace the front pinion bearing without taking out the pinion seal?

 

[bdiemer]

Miker, I'll pull the flange and all attached tomorrow and take pics. Basically, from the flange to the assemblies rearward including the seal came out together like a pressed unit, which I know is not right.

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Sounds like the seal is welded onto the shoulder of the flange, just as you guessed. Just pull it out, cut/grind it off, and install a new seal into the snout of the diff. the flange should fit inside of that and slip around nicely. Bet the old seal is sliding around in the diff housing. John

 

[bdiemer]

Ink, will do. You got it; just what i was thinking, heated it up, beat on it, and figured that the seal wasnt smokin, must be good, in prep for Payette, went to FL instead. Haven't been to Quick lately. It's travel season. Gonna make July!

 

[inkpot]

If the new seal is a bit too loose in the diff, you may have to get creative. Like add some shimstock, I have some strips of 1-2-3 thousanths. Or get a hammer and punch and enlarge the OD of the seal, or shrink the diff hole. Might be some entertainment there! Missed at the Draw. I took my new 80. Did fine, but I skipped out on the big bad water trap. My copilot talked me out of it. Last time I went in the Piggy and it was dry. See ya Friday. John

 

[Pin_Head]

It sounds like you are confusing the dust shield with the seal. The dust shield is a sheet metal ring that is pressed on to the flange. The actual pinion seal is pressed in to the differential case. The dust shield is nice, but not necessary and often gets mangled by rocks.

 

[bdiemer]

If I remember correctly, I think it is the dust shield that is stuck preventing the pinon seal from coming off.

 

[miker]

Miker, I'll pull the flange and all attached tomorrow and take pics. Basically, from the flange to the assemblies rearward including the seal came out together like a pressed unit, which I know is not right.

Yeah, that's not right. The dust shield is supposed to be pressed onto the flange. Its not a real tight fit and should not be too hard to get off. The pinion seal is pressed into the differential's snout. The seal should not come out of the differential's snout unless it is pryed or pulled out and this generally destroys the seal and a new one is required. The seal has to be removed from the differential to get the front pinon bearing out. You said you replaced the pinion bearing so I could not see where or how the seal could be stuck to anything. I'm thinking now that maybe there isn't any seal installed or what remains of the seal is somehow stuck in the dust shield.

I would like to see a picture of what you are dealing with. Something sounds fubar.

 

[AF Sergeant]

I have a front pinion seal waiting to go in...just need to know what i'm dealing with before i dive in. if anyone has a picture or two, might help. From what i gather, seems like i have to remove the dust shield to expose the seal, then pull/replace seal. Is there more to this? thanx

 

[miker]

I have a front pinion seal waiting to go in...just need to know what i'm dealing with before i dive in. if anyone has a picture or two, might help. From what i gather, seems like i have to remove the dust shield to expose the seal, then pull/replace seal. Is there more to this? thanx

The dust shield should be attached to the flange. You should just have to remove the driveline, then the large pinion nut. Now the flange and dust shield should come off together.

 

[AF Sergeant]

thanx mike,

I plan on tackling it this weekend. I have access to mitchel on demand at work so i will down load any torque specs needed.

 

[miker]

If your pinion preload solution uses a crush sleeve then these are a one time use and you will need a new one. Otherwise, there are shims which can be reused. Just make sure all shims (between the outer pinion bearing and step on pinion) are reinstalled. These should remain in place unless you remove the bearing. If you remove the bearing then the shims can stick to the bearing and or fall off into the housing's snout. Shims should only be used on a non-crush sleeve style.

Definitely use proper torque on the pinion nut and be sure to stake it or install cotter key, depending on style.