How to- Replace rear pinion seal
#11
I did this pinion seal replacement this weekend. It went pretty well other than putting the flange/yoke back on went pretty hard. I made sure it was lined up and started on ok, but I had to really beat it with hammer and then tighten up the nut little by little until it went on all the way. Is that normal? I mean I really had to hammer on it for quite a while. It did come off hard as well with the gear puller.
And I did mark the pinion nut so that I got it on exactly to the same place where it was before I took it off. It lined up perfect when I got it as tight as I could go, which would reinforce that the crush sleeve sets this distance automatically.
And I did mark the pinion nut so that I got it on exactly to the same place where it was before I took it off. It lined up perfect when I got it as tight as I could go, which would reinforce that the crush sleeve sets this distance automatically.
Last edited by jrp76; 11-18-2013 at 11:38 AM.
#12
I did this pinion seal replacement this weekend. It went pretty well other than putting the flange/yoke back on went pretty hard. I made sure it was lined up and started on ok, but I had to really beat it with hammer and then tighten up the nut little by little until it went on all the way. Is that normal? I mean I really had to hammer on it for quite a while. It did come off hard as well with the gear puller. And I did mark the pinion nut so that I got it on exactly to the same place where it was before I took it off. It lined up perfect when I got it as tight as I could go, which would reinforce that the crush sleeve sets this distance automatically.
#13
Senior Member
Great writeup, ibd. In fact, all of your how-to's are top-notch. You have that teaching gene that is so rare these days.
I did the pinion seal replacement last fall, but only just now found your how-to. Turned out I did most everything correctly, and I got myself a new impact wrench in the process (old one was too tired and worn-out).
I did the pinion seal replacement last fall, but only just now found your how-to. Turned out I did most everything correctly, and I got myself a new impact wrench in the process (old one was too tired and worn-out).
#14
Ford Garage Cost to replace leaking pinion seal?
Thanks IBD for the step by step pictures for the pinion seal replacement. Extremely helpful...I don't have the tools to replace my leaking seal, so I am taking to the garage this week. Does anyone know the estimated time or cost that a Ford dealer would charge for this service?
Thanks again..
Thanks again..
#15
Senior Member
I would suggest the following.........
When removing the pinion nut , DO NOT use an impact wrench. you stand a chance of damaging the pinion bearings. Use a 3/4" drive socket and braker bar or a 1/2" with a cheater bar. Same with replacing the pinion nut...in fact you should use a NEW pinion nut or at the very least use blue Loctite on the pinion threads on assembly.
As to preload on replacing the pinion nut. When removing the pinion nut, mark or center punch the face of the nut and the face of the pinion shaft. You have to count the nut revolutions when removing and use the same revos. on replacing, and tightening the nut by looking at the dots and aligning those dots. You can use a Sharpie pen instead of center punching, but it will very hard to see. You will be using the same crush sleeve that is still in the gear housing and you must put that nut back in the same place that was originally.
When installing the seal, before pressing in, clean the bore very clean, no grease or oil. Grease the seal lip of the seal. Use an anerobic sealer on the o.d. of the seal.
Before replacing the companion flange (the front flange) , inspect the sealing area of the flange. ANY rust, dings, scratches, use a ribbon of 500 or 600 wet/dry paper removing any crud and lightly grease the seal area.
Before you remove the jackstands under the axle assembly (you did use jackstands...yes??) and before screwing together the driveshaft, rotate the pinion flange to make sure things feel right.
When removing the pinion nut , DO NOT use an impact wrench. you stand a chance of damaging the pinion bearings. Use a 3/4" drive socket and braker bar or a 1/2" with a cheater bar. Same with replacing the pinion nut...in fact you should use a NEW pinion nut or at the very least use blue Loctite on the pinion threads on assembly.
As to preload on replacing the pinion nut. When removing the pinion nut, mark or center punch the face of the nut and the face of the pinion shaft. You have to count the nut revolutions when removing and use the same revos. on replacing, and tightening the nut by looking at the dots and aligning those dots. You can use a Sharpie pen instead of center punching, but it will very hard to see. You will be using the same crush sleeve that is still in the gear housing and you must put that nut back in the same place that was originally.
When installing the seal, before pressing in, clean the bore very clean, no grease or oil. Grease the seal lip of the seal. Use an anerobic sealer on the o.d. of the seal.
Before replacing the companion flange (the front flange) , inspect the sealing area of the flange. ANY rust, dings, scratches, use a ribbon of 500 or 600 wet/dry paper removing any crud and lightly grease the seal area.
Before you remove the jackstands under the axle assembly (you did use jackstands...yes??) and before screwing together the driveshaft, rotate the pinion flange to make sure things feel right.
#17
OK, so to bring this topic back to life. I did the seal change. Getting the nut off was a big problem, mainly because of the lack of space beneath the truck for the 4 foot cheater bar I had to use. Additionally complicating things is the play that comes from the truck trying to move when working the nut. But I did get it off. I had marked it at three places - the stud, the nut, the flange. Measured with a caliper at the marks the distance between the end of the stud and the nut - 7.4mm. Sorry, I deal metric.
Seal change went OK. When tightening the nut I lined up the marks, but the caliper was showing I had to tighten it a bit more. So I did about 1/3 of a turn more. Now the caliper was showing it was about 0.4mm deeper than originally. That's 0.016 of an inch. I could not get the nut to go in the opposite direction after that, so I left it where it was.
I have the 5.4 triton with the heavier duty rear end - don't recall the numbers - it's and LSD. It took about 3 quarts of Lucas Synthethic 75W 140. I read this is what I should be putting in this diff. Also put in about one and a half of the little Ford friction modifier bottles.
Now I'm worried because the rear end seems more stiff when driving. I did check the diff oil filler plug and only after about 200 miles it has accumulated some fine metal dust - this could be from the previous oil, although I did wipe down everything as best as possible on the inside, but there was at least a bit left on all the gears and the walls of the housing.
First time I changed the oil the truck had 60k miles on it. I used Valvoline synthetic at the time with just one bottle of the Ford friction modifier. I drove about 50k miles until this latest change with zero problems, and a little metal dust accumulating on the magnetic cap, with the LSD working perfectly and no binding.
Fisrt question: Is this 1/3 turn more I did a problem? I think the difference in the caliper measurements came from the nut setting slightly differently on the threads, due to rust, loctite, etc.
Second question: I added a bit more of the friction modifier because I noticed the LSD would engage the other wheel a bit more quickly than before. Before I did this I think I got a very slight binding once when reversing out of parking spot. Is 75W 140 the correct oil?
Waiting for your input. Thanks.
Seal change went OK. When tightening the nut I lined up the marks, but the caliper was showing I had to tighten it a bit more. So I did about 1/3 of a turn more. Now the caliper was showing it was about 0.4mm deeper than originally. That's 0.016 of an inch. I could not get the nut to go in the opposite direction after that, so I left it where it was.
I have the 5.4 triton with the heavier duty rear end - don't recall the numbers - it's and LSD. It took about 3 quarts of Lucas Synthethic 75W 140. I read this is what I should be putting in this diff. Also put in about one and a half of the little Ford friction modifier bottles.
Now I'm worried because the rear end seems more stiff when driving. I did check the diff oil filler plug and only after about 200 miles it has accumulated some fine metal dust - this could be from the previous oil, although I did wipe down everything as best as possible on the inside, but there was at least a bit left on all the gears and the walls of the housing.
First time I changed the oil the truck had 60k miles on it. I used Valvoline synthetic at the time with just one bottle of the Ford friction modifier. I drove about 50k miles until this latest change with zero problems, and a little metal dust accumulating on the magnetic cap, with the LSD working perfectly and no binding.
Fisrt question: Is this 1/3 turn more I did a problem? I think the difference in the caliper measurements came from the nut setting slightly differently on the threads, due to rust, loctite, etc.
Second question: I added a bit more of the friction modifier because I noticed the LSD would engage the other wheel a bit more quickly than before. Before I did this I think I got a very slight binding once when reversing out of parking spot. Is 75W 140 the correct oil?
Waiting for your input. Thanks.
Last edited by haber; 10-10-2016 at 04:13 PM.
#18
Hate to ask a probably answered question
I understand all these steps. But, does the rear need to be on jack stands? Should I set emergency brake? I'm not understanding what'll keep the wheels from spinning while I brake torque or am resetting torque. Any tips or answers appreciated
#19
Senior Member
Before to take the pinion nut off, remove either your drums or rear calipers so they don't interfer with the preload measurement. Measure your present preload to see what it is originally set at.
Then you can remove the pinion nut. I put my drums back on so I could set the emergency brake to hold everthing still to remove the pinion nut.It is very tight so you will need a breaker bar and maybe a pipe on it.
Now you can deal with the seal, lube the lip of the new seal with gear oil prior to installation.
When you get that all back together, torque your pinion nut in small increments, checking your preload each time.Make sure your drums or calipers are off as you check the pinion preload. It will take some patience till you get the desired preload. Don't go beyond the preload spec by over torqueing the pinion nut. If you do, you will have to do some disassembly to replace the crush washer and start all over again. Double check your specific vehicle for exact preload load and pinion nut torgue settings.Again, if you do not have access to the dial type 1/4 inch pound torque wrench, don't attempt and have a qualified person do the repair for you.Without it, you are just guessing and there's no margin here for mistakes.
Last edited by raski; 02-22-2021 at 06:42 AM.