10 Bolt Pinion Seal Replacement...

[350k5]

Saturday night after doing some pretty soft core four wheeling I stoped for gas. While it was filling up I took a look around and under the truck just to make sure everything was ok before the drive home... Well to my horror the rear 10 bolt seemed to be leaking where the Pinion seals to the axle. Looking closer I saw where the two meet there was a bunch of long grass wrapped up inside between the meeting point.

So I pulled out most of the grass with some dificulty and drove a few miles, stopped, and repeated the process. I did this about 4 times and on the last stop there wasn't any more grass visible but there was a small leak at the meeting point.

Now I've read on here and on the internet and it sounds me me like the pinion nut may of come loose and/or the seal got muffed up becasue of all that grass getting in there.

I guess I'll pull the shaft and take off the pinion nut and replace the seal this weekend and replace the gear oil as well... but is there anything else I need to do? Some places I've read talk about replacing the crush sleeve(I think, may of been something else)... do I need to do that also? And the only thing I can't seem to find is what to torque the pinion nut back down to after I'm done. Thanks for the help.

 

[big83chevy4x4]

the correct way is to replace the crush sleeve and the pinion nut, personally i never have.

you won't find a torque spec on the pinon nut. that nut is like a wheel bearing nut, the tighter it is the harder it is to spin, too tight and you will destroy the bearings. it needs to be a certain In Lbs torque rating to turn the pinon and carrier.

search for pinon preload for the axle you have. seems to me that the 10 bolt is like 15 in lbs with new bearings. it has been a while since i did it so i could be wrong.

 

[loafer]

the correct way is to replace the crush sleeve and the pinion nut, personally i never have.

you won't find a torque spec on the pinon nut. that nut is like a wheel bearing nut, the tighter it is the harder it is to spin, too tight and you will destroy the bearings. it needs to be a certain In Lbs torque rating to turn the pinon and carrier.

search for pinon preload for the axle you have. seems to me that the 10 bolt is like 15 in lbs with new bearings. it has been a while since i did it so i could be wrong.

You can't check pinion preload w/o removing the carier though.

To replace the seal w/o resetting preload you have to make sure there is NO end play in the pinion when you start, otherwise you should pull the pinion and check the bearings.

If end play is zero, then all you need to do scribe a line on the pinion nut, pinion shaft and yoke. Also note how many threades are exposed beyond the nut.

Remove the pinion nut and yoke, replace the seal, and tighten the nut until the corect # of threads are showing and the scibe mark lines on the pinion nut and pinion line up.

Drive it, then recheck for pinion end play. If there is end play you need to tighten the nut more.

 

[dyeager535]

Was the little dust shield in place? No idea if that would prevent the issue in the future, but with my stock 10 bolts in really high grass, I never had an issue like yours.

 

[350k5]

Was the little dust shield in place? No idea if that would prevent the issue in the future, but with my stock 10 bolts in really high grass, I never had an issue like yours.

I'm really not sure... I would think it was designed so that stuff woudln't get in there. I don't know what happened.

I think I will do what you said count the threads and mark everything. If there is play in the pinion then what should I do? I don't have the resources to correctly set the pinion depth or backlash for that matter. If it is the bearings what would be the most cost effective thing to do? (I'm on a very very tight budget)...

Should I take it to a shop (I hear a lot of places don't even set the pinion depth and backlash correctly)
Get a new 10 bolt?
Or if its a better price 14 bolt? (I can get some 8 lug wheels for free)

 

[dyeager535]

Whats your gear ratio?

If it's something common like 3.08's, I say make sure first that the pinion nut is tight, if it is, replace the seal, bolt the yoke back on, and see if it lasts.

Used rear 10 bolts depending on gearing are pretty cheap/common, I can't see taking it to the shop being any cheaper than just buying another rear axle, especially if you can't trust a shop to get preload right, or do any better job than you can do.

I've had loosened pinion nuts, plus replaced the pinion seal and yokes on a couple of 10 bolts, and I never had an issue with improper preload causing longevity problems. I know it's not right or correct, but I just tightened them down as much as I could (no marking threads, etc., pointless with a loose yoke anyways) with a large breaker bar and hoped for the best, which seems to have worked.

 

[350k5]

Yes, unfortunatley it is just the standard 3.08 gears. If I only had the money I would upgrade both front and rear 10 bolts to something with some better grears. I figure 10 bolts with 3.08s are a dime a dozen so it woudln't be worth the trouble to have some one do it for me.

I also agree that if the yoke is loose marking everything and counting threads is a complete waste of time becasue it's wrong in the first place.

Also you mentioned a dust sheild... if mine is missing I supposed there's no way for me to know. Does anyone have any pictures of their 10 bolt at the yoke where that sheild would be? Maybe thats what I need to prevent any more crap from getting in there down the road.

 

[89GMCSuburban]

You can just tell...it's a thin piece of metal attached to the yoke that sort of curls over the edge of the seal housing.

Take the d-shaft off and shake the yoke. Try to pull it towards you as well. If it moves around, try to tighten the yoke nut. If it tightens up and there's no play, get a new nut, seal, and crush sleeve and fix it. If it STILL moves...I'm sorry....you gotta do pinion bearings (maybe races too). I see pinion nuts and output yoke nuts come loose pretty often, and these suckers are 2 3/4" nuts If you can't get a new nut on it, if it's an all steel nut, get a chisel and put it perpendicular to the part of the nut that contacs the pinion. Peg it with a hammer in three places around the nut. That'll help it hold onto the threads.

 

[dyeager535]

New crush sleeve? I wouldn't be attempting that without a lift or something...without an air ratchet (even with?) I don't see how you'll achieve the force necessary to even start that thing down. They require something insane like 300ftlbs IIRC.

If not rebuilding the whole axle, I just don't see the point of suggesting to replace anything other than the seal. Heck, loc-tite on the pinion nut I re-used worked perfectly fine. Introducing a new crush sleeve into the mix sounds 10 times worse than just tightening the nut and hoping for the best. I believe I'm not the only one that has had good luck doing just that.

If the yoke is grooved from the seal, don't seat the new seal all the way so it rides on the unused flat surface.

 

[rick88blaze]

I had to replace it on mine when I had 10 bolts. I just counted the threads before taking the nut off. Then I replaced the old seal and put a new nut on making sure I had the same number of threads showing on the pinion. I never had a problem with it after that. I was pretty hard on my stock 10 bolts back then too.

Rick