Stuck Retaining Bolts (Rear Differential Pinion Seal Replacement) (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Threads
17
Messages
160
Location
california
I can not, for the life of me, get even one of the four retaining bolts at the rear of the driveshaft to come loose. For three days I have been hitting them with pb blaster and alternating between using two long handled wrenches, socket wrenches, and an impact driver with no luck. I'm trying to replace the rear pinion seal and put an end to the rear differential leak I've been experiencing, but I can't get in there to do it! Anyone have a trick that breaks stubborn bolts like these ones loose? I'm limited with how much leverage I can get because I'm doing this job on the ground in the driveway. I tried the double wrench trick but it did not work. Hoping there is a MUD trick out there that will help me out.

Edit: Also not really keen on the idea of using a blow torch down there to heat up the bolts. Just seems like a bad idea to me.
 
For sure they can be difficult, but they WILL come off.

My suggestion is to use a 6 point wrench (not a regular 12 point), if you don’t have the 6 point wrench, go buy one. And somehow you’ve got to get a cheater bar on that wrench in order to get more leverage.

6 point wrench and a cheater bar and you will get it, good luck. …..For a cheater bar you might try 8 or 10 inch piece of pipe to go over the end of the wrench.
 
Last edited:
I don’t know your definition of blow torch, but an oxygen-acetylene torch with a small tip would work nicely to heat the nuts and would make this job easy. New nuts and bolts are recommended anyway.
 
Use a 1/2” drive breaker bar with an adapter if needed.
There’s nothing on the cruiser that that bar can’t loosen.

22235668-77A0-4311-B2D7-37026BAB3C0C.jpeg
 
Long breaker bar, deep 6 point socket or regular 6 point socket with a short extension and push or pull. If you just cannot seem to get enough force on the breaker bar (in can be awkward under the truck) place a jack under the end of the breaker bar and use that to apply force.
 
Thanks gents. I do have 6 point wrenches and sockets, I will stick to using those. Going to see if I can borrow some kind of extension or breaker bar to get it done. I’m pretty light so I’m not getting much weight behind my pushing and pulling.

I’m assuming it’s alright to put that kind of pressure on the driveshaft? There’s a little bit of play but once it turns maybe 15 degrees it stops spinning.
 
You will not hurt the drive shaft trying to get the nuts loose.
 
or just grind em off, they're just bolts
 
Great, so far the only damage has been to my ego.



define a " Retaining Bolt "

in relationship to your drive shaft please .....?


thanks
 
6 point socket, long breaker bar and a blow torch of some description and it'll go.

Don't be concerned about the blow torch. You should be able to buy new bolts genuine, if not aftermarket will have some. If they are that stuck they are probably rusted or too damaged to re use anyway. Get those bolts glowing!
 
define a " Retaining Bolt "

in relationship to your drive shaft please .....?


thanks

Guessing this is a comment about how I’ve incorrectly used the word retaining… if I’m honest I think I am just repeating something I heard on YouTube. Hey I’m here asking how to get a bolt unstuck, clearly I am not a seasoned wrencher!
 
Got them. The winning combo ended up being the socket wrench plus my longest regular wrench as a lever. I think it also helped that I hit each of the bolts with a hammer to break things up a bit. Funny how you get one and then the other three seem to come off so easy.

“**** yea’s” we’re had all around when that first one broke loose.

Thanks all for entertaining my question.
 
Guessing this is a comment about how I’ve incorrectly used the word retaining… if I’m honest I think I am just repeating something I heard on YouTube. Hey I’m here asking how to get a bolt unstuck, clearly I am not a seasoned wrencher!


no , not at all ...

your fine :)

none of us are a 100% seasond wrencher ....

- and i prove that in this Link below , as i enter the unknown on my rear full floating axle , 1st ever Rodeo 🤣

- there are a PILE of good current rear drive shaft hardware anything toyota oem part numbers below , in my FSM step by step attempt to reach my version of Manifest Bliss , Rear Drive Shaft Everything included .......



i just read over your thread post last night and was puzzled a bit thats all ?


posting photos here in TECH, section of any questions you have in any way , shape or form . is a 99.9% positive topic in itself all the time ...


TOYOTA does use the Term retainer , and also retaining on the microfiche to br clear ,

perhaps this below parts diagram will assist you and help also ....

going by your AVATAR i chose a FJ60 , NOT a FJ62 to be klear here , also this is the later rivised style rear drive shaft parts diagram 4/85 - Later ....

i did not see a modle year mentioned above ?


hope this helps

matt




1685569457161.png
 
Thanks @ToyotaMatt, yup that is what I'm working with. The manufacture date on my 60 is 8/85.

I was able to pull everything apart and replace the pinion seal with an oem one from toyota but I'm still getting a leak. The seal is in there flush, I tightened the large 30mm to just beyond where it originally was. I'm thinking maybe there is some sort of groove on the flange that I did not see when I had it off the truck. Should I just buy a new flange, or is there a good repair sleeve someone could recommend?
 
Thanks @ToyotaMatt, yup that is what I'm working with. The manufacture date on my 60 is 8/85.

I was able to pull everything apart and replace the pinion seal with an oem one from toyota but I'm still getting a leak. The seal is in there flush, I tightened the large 30mm to just beyond where it originally was. I'm thinking maybe there is some sort of groove on the flange that I did not see when I had it off the truck. Should I just buy a new flange, or is there a good repair sleeve someone could recommend?


- did you take any photos of all this by chance ?

- did you apply grease or ANY type of lubricant to BOTH the new seal lip and also , more importantly , the sealing surface to the rear pinion flange itself too ?

- doing BOTH in tandem prevents the new seal lip / edge from gettin all scuffed up duruing re-assembly , this is one of the STEP by STEPS , in the OEM< Chassis & Body FSM , Field Service Manual ....never to be overlooked ever ,,,

-
- u must do this above , or it
WILL leak eithe right away , or soon there after ,....

- i also apply a thin smear skim koat of
TOYOTA oarnge FIPG part # 00295-01281 to the new seals outer OD surface , some seals are a bare metal type , some are a metal then vulcanized rubber over it , no matter the FIPG applied there is cheap insurance for a long term future , seap free ......

- u must use a klean shop rag and brake klean to wipe the ID surface of the 3rd member itelf where the pinion gear is sticking out of any left over gear oil so as this to do its intended job , as intended







- the flange topic ......?

- i always clean the flange well and inspect the now BRIGHT and shinny sealing surface for any abnormal wear or grooves that would infact require a speedy sleeve type repair ?

- more often , there ok , or well sorta ...

- i take a wet sanding type emery cloth in a GRIT range of 1100-1400 , and polish down that surface where any groove has occured , no matter how minor the groove i was taught to polish it to a Brighter then Bright surface , even if a 2-step polish doen is required , say starting at 1000 grit , then repeating with the fine final of say 1400-1500 range is what i like in my results there on that .....

- first here is the HEX NUT topic rule i always follow to the letter , becasuse this is how i was taught by my team leader when i actually replaced my first real world propeller shafts seal on a 88 SR5 22RTE , i recall this clearly like it was yesterday , becasue i always have followed this teqnique to the letter and never have had a post-install issue ever , not once , no leaks , so this matters to me alot , and now you will also know , and that matters to me too ...

- you MUST apply toyota
OARNGE FIPG part # 00295-01281 to both the males pinion gear splines exposed and female pinion flage splines inside it too , ONLY after u take a few common bathroom cotton CUE-TIPS applied with some aerisol brake kleaner , and clean each and every groove and on both as well as the tops of the splines , or the flat surface of each tooth is can be described too ,

- you do this as many times as required to remove 100% of all the surface area gear oil , this makes a doctors office clean like pure metal surface for the oarnge FIPG sealer / paste to tack-on to , and stick , do its intended job to prevent oil seaping out when u mesh them back together again ...

- once seal and flange are installed ,


- i re-install the flat washer , w/ the male groove on it , and the SAME EXACT hex nut i removed from it earlier , i NEVER install a new OEM hex nut unless there is a reason to for some reason , and herre is exactly why ....


- you
NEVER tighten the old nut past its original post install manual-staking point with the punch that was done at the factory originally , or previously by who ever becasue simply replacing it to the exact location as before , and re-staking it then and there , then you have changed nothing from before but the leaky seal .....


- if you use the original HEX nut over again , and take it past that exact staked point , you are infact starting to further crush , the crush sleeve inside , and that changes the whole inside ring and pinion gears set up lash to each other , and that is NOT a good thing , and i will not chatty matty about all the results there , because they can vary and that is speculation , so i will not go there now ...


- using a NEW OEM hex nut , then requires a list of step by steps , to ensure the bearing pre-load is correct , and ring and pinion gear lash is also now correct too ...


- so back to the original use of the HEX NUT rule , and the use of
oarnge FIPG part # 00295-01281 involved here rule , and the use of lubricant to BOTH seal lip and, sealing surface too rules i was taught and always follow , they work and work well when ass used together in tandom .



NOTES :

- it should be mentioned here klearly that ONLY applying MP grease the new seal itself is outlined in the original TAN chassis body 60 sereis FSM ....

- and that the FSM for TOYOTA anything propeller shaft flanges main HEX nuts , are shown as
NON-Reusable parts same as the seal itself via a BLACK DIAMOND icon for that purpose ....



- summery : by adding oarnge fipg 00295-01281 outlined above , by applying a GOOD MP ( Multi-Purpose Grease ) Fully Synthetic lubrication product use 24/7 should be common sense by now in 2023 , and always replacing the original hex nut to the exact place you found it origanally . makes for a snappy issue free post repair and remody approach end product ....

- this is exactly how i approach replacing any seal on any toyota generally speaking , ...


matt
 
I remember having some trouble with those. I used a 1/2 inch breaker and patiently tapped on it while applying torque. I didn't use the hammer to force it but to send shockwaves through the fastener.

The mistake I made was putting that "Purple Power" synthetic lube in the diff afterwards. I had more metal shavings after a few hundred miles with that than ever before or since.
Hey, inspect your diff breather while you are down there.
 
- did you take any photos of all this by chance ?

- did you apply grease or ANY type of lubricant to BOTH the new seal lip and also , more importantly , the sealing surface to the rear pinion flange itself too ?

- doing BOTH in tandem prevents the new seal lip / edge from gettin all scuffed up duruing re-assembly , this is one of the STEP by STEPS , in the OEM< Chassis & Body FSM , Field Service Manual ....never to be overlooked ever ,,,

-
- u must do this above , or it
WILL leak eithe right away , or soon there after ,....

- i also apply a thin smear skim koat of
TOYOTA oarnge FIPG part # 00295-01281 to the new seals outer OD surface , some seals are a bare metal type , some are a metal then vulcanized rubber over it , no matter the FIPG applied there is cheap insurance for a long term future , seap free ......

- u must use a klean shop rag and brake klean to wipe the ID surface of the 3rd member itelf where the pinion gear is sticking out of any left over gear oil so as this to do its intended job , as intended







- the flange topic ......?

- i always clean the flange well and inspect the now BRIGHT and shinny sealing surface for any abnormal wear or grooves that would infact require a speedy sleeve type repair ?

- more often , there ok , or well sorta ...

- i take a wet sanding type emery cloth in a GRIT range of 1100-1400 , and polish down that surface where any groove has occured , no matter how minor the groove i was taught to polish it to a Brighter then Bright surface , even if a 2-step polish doen is required , say starting at 1000 grit , then repeating with the fine final of say 1400-1500 range is what i like in my results there on that .....

- first here is the HEX NUT topic rule i always follow to the letter , becasuse this is how i was taught by my team leader when i actually replaced my first real world propeller shafts seal on a 88 SR5 22RTE , i recall this clearly like it was yesterday , becasue i always have followed this teqnique to the letter and never have had a post-install issue ever , not once , no leaks , so this matters to me alot , and now you will also know , and that matters to me too ...

- you MUST apply toyota
OARNGE FIPG part # 00295-01281 to both the males pinion gear splines exposed and female pinion flage splines inside it too , ONLY after u take a few common bathroom cotton CUE-TIPS applied with some aerisol brake kleaner , and clean each and every groove and on both as well as the tops of the splines , or the flat surface of each tooth is can be described too ,

- you do this as many times as required to remove 100% of all the surface area gear oil , this makes a doctors office clean like pure metal surface for the oarnge FIPG sealer / paste to tack-on to , and stick , do its intended job to prevent oil seaping out when u mesh them back together again ...

- once seal and flange are installed ,


- i re-install the flat washer , w/ the male groove on it , and the SAME EXACT hex nut i removed from it earlier , i NEVER install a new OEM hex nut unless there is a reason to for some reason , and herre is exactly why ....


- you
NEVER tighten the old nut past its original post install manual-staking point with the punch that was done at the factory originally , or previously by who ever becasue simply replacing it to the exact location as before , and re-staking it then and there , then you have changed nothing from before but the leaky seal .....


- if you use the original HEX nut over again , and take it past that exact staked point , you are infact starting to further crush , the crush sleeve inside , and that changes the whole inside ring and pinion gears set up lash to each other , and that is NOT a good thing , and i will not chatty matty about all the results there , because they can vary and that is speculation , so i will not go there now ...


- using a NEW OEM hex nut , then requires a list of step by steps , to ensure the bearing pre-load is correct , and ring and pinion gear lash is also now correct too ...


- so back to the original use of the HEX NUT rule , and the use of
oarnge FIPG part # 00295-01281 involved here rule , and the use of lubricant to BOTH seal lip and, sealing surface too rules i was taught and always follow , they work and work well when ass used together in tandom .



NOTES :

- it should be mentioned here klearly that ONLY applying MP grease the new seal itself is outlined in the original TAN chassis body 60 sereis FSM ....

- and that the FSM for TOYOTA anything propeller shaft flanges main HEX nuts , are shown as
NON-Reusable parts same as the seal itself via a BLACK DIAMOND icon for that purpose ....



- summery : by adding oarnge fipg 00295-01281 outlined above , by applying a GOOD MP ( Multi-Purpose Grease ) Fully Synthetic lubrication product use 24/7 should be common sense by now in 2023 , and always replacing the original hex nut to the exact place you found it origanally . makes for a snappy issue free post repair and remody approach end product ....

- this is exactly how i approach replacing any seal on any toyota generally speaking , ...


matt

Thanks @ToyotaMatt , I did clean and grease the perimeter of the new seal and the sealing surface, but I did not use the orange F.I.P.G. as you mentioned. Think I need to re-pull everything this weekend, clean it up, take photos of what I am working with, and reassess. I'm not losing a ton of gear oil but there are a few drops each time I come out to the car, and I can smell it burning on the exhaust after being thrown around the undercarriage while driving.
 
I remember having some trouble with those. I used a 1/2 inch breaker and patiently tapped on it while applying torque. I didn't use the hammer to force it but to send shockwaves through the fastener.

The mistake I made was putting that "Purple Power" synthetic lube in the diff afterwards. I had more metal shavings after a few hundred miles with that than ever before or since.
Hey, inspect your diff breather while you are down there.

Thanks for the tip! I am just using 80w 90 gear oil as was recommended on a few threads here, no synthetic lube or anything.

I did pull the breather assembly apart yesterday just to make sure that was not the culprit. My setup has an extended rubber hose with the breather at the top. I pulled the hose and was able to blow air through it, and the connecting bit that bolts on (next to the pumpkin) was not clogged either.
 
if you see oil being flung around I suspect it’s the pinion seal. I added a tiny bit of oil based UV dye to my diff and I can see that the crush sleeve is leaking. I’ve had it checked by a rear end shop a few times and it starts leaking again after a trip into the rocks. Next time I pull it, I’m going to bite the bullet and replace the crush sleeve with a solid spacer.
 

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