Hey guys.

New member here.
I have a 2005 F-150 XLT 4x4 and I noticed the front pinion seal was leaking.
I did a Google search and found THIS THREAD, which was very helpful.

Here's the thing though.....

I did all the work as suggested by the thread and only AFTERWARD noticed some commments that said I should have counted the threads, marked the nut, etc. Before I took it apart yesterday I noticed that the dust cover was loose enough to be able to spin it, which alarmed me at first, until I figured out that it was a dust cover. When I put the nut back on I did so with an impact wrench until the plate just touched the dust cover.

After reading the comments last night I was concerned that I'd over tightened the nut and pulled the pinion out or something so today I dropped the driveshaft again, loosened the nut and double checked things, which SEEMED OK, so I put the driveshaft back on and just took it for a drive (which I didn't do yesterday).

I got about a block when I applied the brakes and the rear end started knocking and making a God awful racket.



I limped it back to the driveway trying not to load it and parked it.


I'm so pissed at myself for not researching more.
Did I just shred the whole rear end here?

 

you'll have to pull the cover to know for sure if you created a large bill or not.

 

Using the impact was not good. You may have "Re-adjusted" the pinion by crushing the crush sleeve more than the original setting. Do a search on how to set up a differential and it should tell you what torque it should take to rotate the nut on the yoke (wheels off and off the ground).

If you are lucky it may be too loose. If not then it is a new crush sleeve and maybe a whole lot more.

I agree with 1972-2003f150, you need to pull the cover and see what you have to work with.

My fingers are crossed for you, good luck.

 

I suspect you have grenaded the diff.
The recommended torque on the pinion nut has to do with the effort required to turn the pinion gear after torquing the nut with the ring gear and assembly removed. I suggest you have it towed to a shop and let a pro set it up correctly. I recommend you locate a shop specializing in 4x4s.

 

Probably the safest bet ^
Worth the money and what I'd do in this case because I don't have the tools required and experience setting up a rear axle.

 

Towed last night not long after I posted this.

I'm sure it doesn't take much to wreck the gears.
We shall see.

Just pretty disappointed in myself for spending time and money trying to save money and may have ended up costing lots MORE money! I'm no mechanic but I work on just about anything I can myself and can usually figure it out. Used to buy Chiltons Manuals for my trucks, but the Internet has sort of replaced that need now. Unfortunately, as in this case, the net doesn't always provide the exact info.

 

Let us know what the verdict is.
I have taken a couple of differentials apart. One was a 1974 Ford Stationwagon. It had a bad front pinion bearing. I disassembled it, checked all the parts and put it back together with a new crush sleeve. Crushing that sleeve was a bear. It took an estimated 400 ft lbs to start the crushing process. I put it back together without using a torque wrench or dial indicator to check back lash. It worked fine afterwards with just a tiny amount of sing in the ring/pinion gears under certain throttle conditions. I was lucky because I wasn't that familiar with what I was doing.
I also changed the gear ratio in my 1969 SS 396 Chevelle with used gears. That one worked fine too but also had just a tiny bit of singing in the gears under certain conditions. If I ever do another one, I'm going to make sure I have the proper tools to set it up perfectly. I did use prussian blue to try to get the gear pattern correct.

 

I expect that everyone of us that has ever worked on very much equipment or vehicles has made a similar mistake somewhere along the line!

Just keep in mind that: Good judgement comes with experience. Experience comes with bad judgement!

 

Trying to save money and do it myself...It's a $14 dollar seal that with my luck will cost me hundreds if I try to do it myself...that is just how my luck goes...mine has been leaking for about 3 years...I have watched video's and read instructions and am still afraid to try it. I just keep topping off the fluid...its messy under there.

 

That's the truth. I'm been working on cars since a pup, over 50 years. I have made some expensive mistakes in my day. Overall though, I've saved a fortune doing repairs and maintenance myself.

 

Yup. And the sad fact is that even if you pay someone else to do the repair, a lot of the time they don't know what they're doing and they will screw it up too and then the owner not only gets to pay for the added damage but now they also get to pay $110/hour for some clown to learn what not to do.

 

Well....it's trashed.

The shop called the other day and said the pinion gear shaft has a nice groove worn into it from the bearing. They first called and said there was too much play (in and out) on the yoke at the pinion seal, so I'd obviously over tightened the nut. When I asked about gear tooth damage or anything else they said they didn't know without taking off the cover, so I asked them to do that. Either way, replacing the pinion bearing(s) means pulling axles and all.

The second call back was to tell me about the bad bearing and the worn groove in the shaft. He also said that could have been happening for a while though, which I have noticed a shutter in the rear end when starting into a turn from a stop while on the gas for a while, I've just been babying it.

At this point the new pinion gear is like $1500 just for the part (according to a guesstimate by the shop). They found a couple of used complete rear end assemblies for me rather than burn the money in new parts and labor to rebuild mine.

Option 1: 96K miles, 1 yr parts and labor warranty, ~$1500 (just over $2K with labor)
Option 2: 125K miles, 30 day parts only warranty, ~$1000 (with labor ~$1600)

I also put out a search for another truck, but the only thing I've found either has WAY more miles than mine (180K) or is just way more money.



Dammit man!!!!

 

Wow! $1500 just as a part cost for the pinion seems very high to me. I think you can get a whole new master rebuilt kit plus a new R&P for less than that at Summit Racing or Yukon Gear for much less than that.

You might want to do some shopping around before you pull the trigger with the shop where it is at.

Good luck and keep up posted.

 

Wow! That's an expensive shop. I would think you need to replace the ring gear and pinion together. I would think you could get it rebuilt completely for $2k anywhere.

 

What ratio do you have? Here's a ring and pinion set for just under $250 if you have 3.55:

https://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/Produ...x?ProdID=13445