I just took my truck by a rear end shop that came recommended to get the pinion seal changed out. They said it would be $55 if I bought the seal and the nut. They did the job in about an hour, but a little while later while i was driving to work I noticed that the nut was still in the center console. I have the factory service CD and I didn't have the proper tools to do the job so that is why I took it to these guys. The CD says that the nut is a throw away and cannot be reused. I called them up and they said they reuse the pinion nuts all the time. They said they will put the new one on if I bring it back in.

Is this something critical that could cause the rear end to fail or is it going to be ok?

 

I would be more concerned that Guys did not over torque the pinion nut (thus premature pinion brg. failure will occur).

I have re-used old pinion nut before (but only in a pinch). You may want to call these people and see if they used a good threadlocking adhesive (such as loctite-271) on the old nut.

If they replace the old pinion nut with the new one, there is a very good chance they will over tighten the old bearings.

Good luck, Gearmanx17.