This should be in another forum but Engines gets more hits than the others, so:

I noticed that theres some oil on my rear end chunk. Not the side with the cover on it though (facing the rear), its coming from the yoke where the driveshaft connects to the rear end. Its slung a little bit onto the gas tank and its run down the frontward part of the rear end, its definetely coming from the driveshaft to rear end connection.
Is there a seal here I need to replace? Driveshaft hard to unbolt/remove? (I wouldnt think it would be very hard)
Any tips/suggtions/pics, etc that anyone could offer?

Thanks!!

 

You still have to post in the correct forum. Only the lightning guys can post in the wrong forum.
Sounds like the seal is worn. prolly has a grove cut in the yoke also.

 

All bad seals need to be directed to SeaWorld for disciplinary action, and behaviour modification/retraining.

Your punishment for posting in the wrong forum... ;-))

According to my manuals - a straightforward job to replace if you're handy - take it to a pumpkin shop if you're not.

Cheers

 

wow, thanks fellas, i think

So im guessing that i remove the bolts on the driveshaft and it will drop down, and the seal will be right there??
Do i go to Ford to get the seal? Is there a special name/part # for the seal? Any special installation instructions??

 

If it's the pinion seal, here's my opinion:

You've gotta remove the pinion flange to replace the pinion seal. This may have it's own set of problems. Officially, you're supposed to replace the crush sleeve whenever you remove the pinion flange. The crush sleeve sets the pinion bearing preload and is an important adjustment, if it's wrong, best case scenario, you'll have a gear whine. Worst case, the bearings will burn up.

That said, I normally don't replace the crush sleeve myself just replacing the pinion seal. If you're dead set on doing it yourself, raise the rear wheels off the ground and use an inch pound beam type torque wrench on the pinion nut to check what the preload is before you take the nut off and pull the flange. After you've replaced the seal and reinstalled the flange, tighten the nut back down, and recheck it every so often with the torque wrench until you get to where the preload torque was before you took the flange off. This isn't an ideal, accurate way to check pinion bearing preload; it's supposed to be checked with the carrier assembly out of the housing, but it'll be enough to get you close.

Count the number of threads on the pinion gear too before taking the nut off, it'll give you a reference as to how tight the nut needs to be. One thing to remember is that when the crush sleeve is crushed down to where pinion bearing preload is set to spec, it is very easy to crush the sleeve down further and increase pinion bearing preload to where it'll be out of spec.

Honestly, unless you really want to do it yourself, I'd pawn it off on your friendly neighborhood stealership or general repair shop. You'll be hating life if you get the pinion bearing preload wrong after reinstalling the pinion flange.

 

Green 98-
No, you won't find it after you remove your driveshaft. It's called a pinion seal. Ford searches rear end parts by the "axle number" found on a tag under one of your rear end cover bolts. The half-assed repair is to remove the driveshaft, check the pinion preload, remove the pinion nut, pull the flange, remove the seal, install a new seal, install the flange, tighten the pinion nut down until the original pinion preload is achieved, bolt up the driveshaft, and pray that it works long term. At this point, a seasoned mechanic tells you "I don't warrant this method of repair.". The problems with this method are that pinion preload should be measured with the carrier removed, once a pinion nut is loosened the crush sleeve should be replaced, and pinion nuts are one time use items. The first method requires a few specialty tools: a few unique sockets, a pinion preload measuring device, a applicable lever to hold the flange, a puller for the flange, seal removal and installation tools, and a breaker bar to extend typical rachet leverage. The tool list and skill level increases vastly for the second version.

 

hmmm.....

how much are these repair(s), best and worst case scenario, going to cost me, dealership rates vs. Grease Monkeys Garage rates?

Doesnt sound like that big of a deal to me...

 

Green_98, it's not a big deal - unless whoever does the work gets bearing preload wrong! I had my 99 in the shop 2 years ago for seal replacement and they got the bearing preload to tight, the result was that both pinion bearings had to be replaced 450 miles later. The difference between a proper setup and a bad one is literally a couple of in. lbs. !!! Also the preload tolerance for used bearings is less than it is for new bearings. Whether you take it to someone or do it yourself - be careful. A new flange nut and crush collar is mandatory, as is removing the rear wheels and drums to determine the torque required to turn the pinion and axels before you begin replacing the seal. It's not a difficult job, just requires a reasonable amount of precision in setting up the bearing preload. Good luck.

 

thanks for the info guys!

I know a mechanic at the Ford dealer here in Tupelo and he's going to do it on his own time at his personal shop. He's going to do a rear end fluid change too, so for 138 bucks, im getting:

-rear end leak fixed including parts
-3 quarts of the special posi-trac oil (Ford loves that stuff ($$))
-Labor included in that 138 bucks.

He said that the dealer would charge an easy 250 to do it.

Sound like a deal??

 

Yes, that's a good deal. Good luck !

 

Yeah, they charged me $90 just for the rear end service on my truck (dont know why I didnt do it myself, its so easy).
So I would say thats a pretty good deal