I followed the guide located on the forum here to replace my pinion seal.

I marked everything and counted 19 turns to remove the pinion nut. It took very little force to get the nut off.

It was tough getting the flange back on and I would bang it and then turn my pinion nut some more.

The problem is I could only get just past 16 turns and then used a breaker bar but still couldn't get to 17 and I know I'd have it way too tight at 19 based on the way it feels.

The flange appears to be flush and feels when I try to set it further that it is metal on metal and can't go any further.

So now I'm wondering what to do - this seems odd. It has me questioning my count of 19 however I did write it down right afterwards. Any thoughts on what I should do? Should I put it at 16?

 

I guess I could just put it at 16 turns and see how it goes and take it to the dealer or a shop if it doesn't feel right. It sounds like all the other stuff requires replacing the crush sleeve and I don't have what I need or a proper setup to do that.

 

Also my truck has been on the ground in park with the emergency brake on during this process.

 

I'm jumping back under now. I'm just going to go with 16 turns. At 16 it stops right at the mark so maybe I counted wrong since I was on the phone at the time. I suppose worst case it'll have slop and I'll feel it.

 

All done. Drove about 2 miles to the dump and back and everything felt and sounded good. We'll see after a longer trip.

 

Did you leave it at 17 ?Just want to know for my self.Thanks,mike

 

Hi Mike-

I never got to 17, just slightly past my mark at 16. Since my marks lined up exactly when it got tight (same tightness and force it took to remove initially) I just stopped there. So I stopped at 16 + the width of my line.

Hope that helps. Take care.

 

I'd highly suggest that anyone tackling this project also do the following:

(1) take before photos, especially of the pinion nut area and placement of things

(2) measure or count the threads before removing the pinion nut in addition to marking things

And some notes:

(1) if you don't line your flange up so the driveshaft hits the marks you made don't worry. Put the truck in neutral and you can spin the driveshaft to line up with the marks made so you put it back correctly

(2) a 2" iron pipe cap from Ace Hardware is what I hit on to reseat the flange

(3) a 2" Pvc coupler plus a 2x4 with a hole in it were used to get the seal started then just the 2x4 to finish

(4) a pump is needed to add the oil. Advance sells one that goes on top of the quart and gallon bottles that's great

 

You don't need a pump. Cut the tip off one of the lube bottles. Push on a piece of tygon tubing so you can insert the tube in the fill hole and hold the bottle higher than the hole and squeeze the bottle.

 

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that since I didn't have any tubing at the house. Even with a pump this sounds like a good way to get the last bit of good out of the bottle.

 

The local Home Depot carries several sizes of tygon tubing. They even sell it by the foot. Or was it Lowes?

 

I pull the fill plug, and then remove the ABS sensor on the top of the different to pour fluid into diff. Fill until it runs out the normal fill plug

 

How often are you all changing the fluid? Mine was the first time at 197k and it looked a bit lighter than sweet tea. I don't tow much at all ever though.

 

If you have a limited slip, you need to change it at least every 100k.

 

Thanks!