sheepdog_tx
Registered Member
Got an 83 4x4 with 700r4 and 10bolts front and back. Not sure which seal I need, autozone has a few choices. Also not sure what size socket i need of pinion bolt. Besides the seal and gear oil what else do i need?
CK5
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Parts needed for pinion seal replacement?
- Thread starter sheepdog_tx
- Start date
You should probably get a fresh pinion nut as well. Might as well pay for a good seal, I think I used Timken. To do the rear end "right" you're supposed to get a new crush sleeve and pull apart the pinion and carrier assembly, then crush the sleeve to set preload. Many, myself included, will tell you that we've just marked the pinion nut and yoke and put everything back together like it was and have had no problems.
You ought to ask autozone if they have an in-lb torque wrench for loan when you are talking with them. It's not a tough way to get the pinion just right either.
When at autozone, I'd just see which socket fits. I'm almost positive its in the 1-1/16 to 1-1/8" range.
When at autozone, I'd just see which socket fits. I'm almost positive its in the 1-1/16 to 1-1/8" range.
sheepdog_tx
Registered Member
Mu autozone is in what you might call a "sociology-econonically challenged area" and therefore has almost no tools to loan due to theft. They will loan them out if I know exactly what i need an leave my driver's license so I would be helpful to know the size if anyone can pin that down for me.
BTW on gear oil what weight is recommended?
I'd also use a in-lb torque wrench method too....especially if you are going to replace the pinion nut, too. I would think you need to removed wheels and drums to get a "decent" reading. Leaving wheels and/or drums on will skew that reading.
I've personally used the "mark the nut" method with success.
black dawg
1/2 ton status
checking pinion bearing preload (with an in/lb wrench) wont work with the carrier installed.
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
Technically, they didn't steal anything, you pay for the rental tool before you leave the store, then get the cash back when you bring it back. Unless it's an inside job.
rampage
3/4 ton status
I didn't know it was legal for them to keep your driver's license. What if you get pulled over on the way home?
Answer is here:
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317178
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You have to pull out the shafts and the carrier assembly to do the preload. You'll also need a yoke holding tool and a LARGE breaker, and it can take hundreds of pounds (600+ in some cases) to get the new sleeve to start to crush. Then you get to the "might as well" area, since if you are going to go to all the effort of tearing the whole thing apart, you'll want to replace axle bearings/seals, carrier bearings, and pinion bearings since you have the whole thing apart and probably won't feel like doing it again. You're talking a couple hundred just in parts.
Honestly, if your bearings are good (tight, yoke has no lateral/vertical play, no howling or noises) I'd just do the quickie method of changing the seal. That way, you've only got about 1/2 an hour invested, and if it starts leaking again soon after you know that you probably have a bad bearing and then the extra time, effort and expense makes sense. Just my opinion though.
Honestly, if your bearings are good (tight, yoke has no lateral/vertical play, no howling or noises) I'd just do the quickie method of changing the seal. That way, you've only got about 1/2 an hour invested, and if it starts leaking again soon after you know that you probably have a bad bearing and then the extra time, effort and expense makes sense. Just my opinion though.
I somewhat wonder what was left out of the method GM prescribes for in-lb in the manual, as they don't talk about removing ANYTHING before measuring preload.
Why won't that work with the carrier installed? I assume their rationale to be that the amount of torque required to turn the pinion (regardless of what's attached to it) won't change as long as everything is the same at assembly and disassembly, outside of the seal of course. And they do specify to increase that measurement slightly upon reassembly, I'd have to look again for that spec. Edit: so I can only guess they aren't concerned with measuring pinion bearing preload...you are measuring the entire assemblies resistance to turning which pinion bearing preload is only part of.
With brakes, when talking in-lbs, I don't think I'd risk having them drag. Already opening the diff up somewhat, not a whole lot of extra work to take the cover off and pop the axles out. Which is never a bad idea for inspection purposes anyway.
Unfortunately my pictures of the actual GM manual are gone (took them a page to describe this) but I typed this out before to sum it up:
"Mark the threads/pinion nut/yoke before removal, check force needed to rotate the pinion, (in in-lbs) record that info, disassemble, reassemble, measure force again, making it 3 in-lbs harder to rotate than before." Was pointed out that there was no follow through on the marking of parts, you'd want to assemble them to the same orientation before dealing with the 3 in-lbs tighter part.
I can only figure that they set specific requirements on how pinion preload is determined to prevent variance. Perhaps trying to do "like vs. like" measurements with everthing hooked up has too much variability to ensure reliable installation?
Now even though the measurements are in inch-pounds, it's debatable how critical the tolerances are. Nevertheless, while it always is a good idea to do things "the right way" and follow the instructions, you're talking about a huge disparity in labor and time, and potentially having to address a problem that doesn't exist. Many a person has just replaced the seal and been fine. I replaced my pinion seal using the quickie method. It still leaked, so I tore down the rear end and put in new bearings and did it the right way. That way, I'm less pissed about the 30 minutes I wasted the first time than I would be if I had done the 4 hour job first
Whats the huge disparity in time and labor? Measuring how much torque it takes to rotate the pinion before/after the nut is removed and installed doesn't seem that time consuming to me. I don't see that adding 3 in-lb to rotational torque is a massive undertaking. Measure, disassemble, reassemble, measure, tighten if necessary, measure/tighten until 3 in-lb additional has been reached.
