Gemdiam wrote:

So thanks to all for the prior replies for the pinion seal answers. I followed the advice of ultra ...marked everything very well and went to remove the nut expecting great force needed...to my surprise the nut took very little effort....I used a breaker bar but could have removed with a socket with little effort. Here is the dilemma...if I put the nut back on and align to old marks it will be way too loose? The rear was quiet and the gears perfect when I bought and installed it(have only 50 miles on it since I bought it). I have read numerous online recommendations to torque nut to 125 to 150 foot lbs. Won't that crush the sleeve further from where it is now?? I prefer not to mess this up tomorrow when I put it back together!

 
Nearly 3 years ago, I replace a leaky driving pinion seal in my '69 F-100 using the same method I had explained. I took the truck for a test drive after I got everything put back together. I got up to about 35 mph and everything seemed ok until I let off the gas (coast side of the ring gear teeth). That's when I heard a grumble coming from the rear. I made the block and came right back home. After I dropped the tail end of the driveshaft, I put my hands on the yoke sticking out of the 3rd member and noticed I could wiggle it just a little up and down.

I put a socket on the driving pinion nut and slowly tightened it then checked the yoke for free-play. After several tries (tighten a little, check, tighten a little, check) the yoke no longer had any free-play and I put the driveshaft back on, took the truck for a test drive and no more grumbling came from the rear end. That was nearly 3 years and about 3,500 miles ago and still no problems.

I didn't use a torque wrench to know what the final torque value ended up being but then again, to know something like that would require a beam-type torque wrench and mine is a click-type.

Last edited by ultrastang (1/16/2014 4:34 PM)

I'm with ultra on this one.  You must know where everything started out, so reassemble it to the exact same marks that it was on before you started.  Then, tighten it some more.  Now, ultra rebuilds rear ends for fun and profit, so setting the end play to him is more of an easy task than for those who do not routinely mess with it.  I know you guys love my torque setting procedures... "Tighten it until right before it breaks" and the like.  My method to get it tight is to get it back the to the marks and then a "little more".  The old bearings and races are going to have some slight wear on them, so just a little more than it had originally should do the trick.  I don't know about that 1/4" turn thing.  Maybe that is what it takes if it is really loose, but usually moving the mark on the nut 1/4" past the mark on the shaft will do the trick.

Not technical, but most of my stuff isn't...