Pinion seal question

[78C10BigTen]

It just looks like the protector ring is tweaked.

If the gap was actually to big, the yoke would be flopping all over the place.

Only 1 way to tell i guess...

 

[78C10BigTen]

It just looks like the protector ring is tweaked.

If the gap was actually to big, the yoke would be flopping all over the place.

If i pull the yoke to change the seal do i need to chang the crush sleeve?

 

[bucket]

If i pull the yoke to change the seal do i need to chang the crush sleeve?

Shouldn't need to. Count the exposed threads and mark the nut before you remove it. After changing the seal, put the nut back where it was, and then just a smidge tighter.

 

[TheBob]

Shouldn't need to. Count the exposed threads and mark the nut before you remove it. After changing the seal, put the nut back where it was, and then just a smidge tighter.

I have a 9.5" gear with a crush sleeve. I was going to have my mechanic replace the pinion seal, but he says that because of the crush sleeve, he would have to reset the gears to do it properly (7 hours labor). Everything I'm reading online and the shop manual says that marking the nut should be fine. Should I DIY it or is he right on this? (He's not trying to get extra $$ out of me on this. He told me it'd cost more than it's worth, so better to just deal with the leak and refill as needed).

 

[idahovette]

I think you need to find a different mechanic or maybe he just doesn't want to work on it.

 

[Brban88]

Good evening, I too have been struggling with pinion brgs/seal issues on a 9.5" 14 bolt rear differential on an '88 V-20 suburban. My question is this: Does anyone know whether or not, the pinion/yoke assembly is a balanced unit from the factory? I replaced the bearings, seal, crush collar, and was very deliberate in the orientation of the pinion shaft nut/shaft relationship during removal and reinstallation, but have experienced a rather subtle vibration and subsequent failure of seal/bearings after approx. 3500 miles. Preload on pinion bearings was closely monitored during reassembly, but obviously I'm doing something wrong or have another issue that is causing my problems.

I have owned the vehicle for approx. 9,000 miles and it currently has 116,000 on the odometer. The seal/bearings were shot when I took possession of the vehicle.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a grand day.

 

[Blue Ox]

Not balanced from the factory.

What do you mean when you say replaced crush collar, preload was monitored, paid attention to pinion shaft/nut relationship?

Exactly what procedure did you use to install these parts?

 

[Brban88]

Blue Ox,

When I disassembled the unit, I carefully measured and marked the relationship between the nut and the pinion shaft so as to reposition the pinion relative to the ring gear as closely as possible upon reassembly. I did not, however, pay any attention to the relationship between the pinion shaft and the yoke itself, resulting in having no idea if the yoke was times with the pinion shaft in its original position. In light of the fact that I was replacing the bearings, I opted to replace the crush collar with a replacement obtained from RingandPinion.com (a great resource I might add).

Upon reassembly, I carefully seated the new bearing cups (races), oiled the bearings, installed the pinion seal, then the pinion shaft with the replacement bearings installed, followed by the yoke and the nut. The nut was tightened to nearly the same position relative to the pinion shaft as it was originally at which point the preload torque was checked and the nut gradually tightened with preload checked at each interval until the desired preload on the pinion shaft was achieved. At this point the ring gear carrier/differential was reinstalled followed by the axles, cover, oil, etc.

Hope this answers your questions. Thanks for your interest and feedback.

 

[Blue Ox]

That sounds about right. There is no specific relationship between the yoke and pinion. There is also no relationship between the pinion nut and the pinion depth.

I assume you retained the pinion shim when you changed the bearings. Did you use the preload spec for new bearings? It should have been 20-25 lb/in.