Well, I replaced the front seal of the differential. The shop manual says to measure the rotational torque before removing the pinion nut then reinstall and tighten to the same torque. The manual also says that the rotational torque is in the range of 8 to 14 INCH-Pounds. That is almost NOTHING. To measure it you have to remove both rear brake drums to make sure there is no drag on the differential.


Most places say just count the number turns and put it back the same number. So that is what I thought I would do since it was less work. Well, I counted 17 turns but when I put the nut back on I couldn't to 17 full turns so I left it at "as tight as I could get it".

Now I'm concerned that it may be too tight. It could be my imagination but it feels like the van doesn't roll at idle like it used to.

Also, I was doing some rear brake work and it seemed hard to turn the tires when the shoes were backed off.

(1) Is a too tight pinion nut bad?

(2) What is the best way to tell if I have a problem and fix it?

(3) If it is too tight, the shop manual says "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE NUT BE BACKED OFF. INSTALL A NEW COLLAPSIBLE SPACER". I gather this spacer is the crush sleeve behind the nut and flange somewhere but the manual doesn't say a thing about it.

What should I do?
And, what would I run into if I have to replace the crush sleeve?

Thanks In Advance,

Pete

 

Hi Pete!
First of all get that inch pound torque wrench and remove all the guesswork.
I'm puzzled as to why you didn't want to remove the drums to set the preload when you wound up doing rear brake work anyway. 18 in. lbs isn't a lot of torque, but if they didn't specify it everybody would do like you did and it would be too tight.
If you can, get another spacer and rent an inch lb. torque wrench, take off the drums and do it right, you will be glad you did. The main thing is not to use the old pinion nut.

 

Hanky,

I actually have an inch-pound wrench. That is how I know how little 8 inch-pounds really is. A flea could torque it.

I didn't get to the brakes until weeks after the seal job. It was time for inspection and the brake pedal was pretty low. So I pulled a wheel and found the self adjuster had rusted up. I replaced both then when manually adjusting the shoes I felt the wheels were too hard to turn. That made me suspect how tight the pinion nut might be.

So, I plan on taking the wheels off and measuring the torque and hope it is 8-14 in-lb. But if it is more I have to replace the sleeve. Thus the title of this post, "What Does It Take To Replace the Pinion Nut Crush Sleeve?".

As for driving all those weeks with it (maybe) too tight. That might total 50 miles. The most miles this van gets on it in a single trip each year is driving to the inspection station. About 12 miles. It went 1140 miles since the previous inspection. I should sell it but when you need a conversion van, there "ain't" nothing like it. And I won't get anything for it anyway.
Thanks
Pete

 

Don't feel bad , we've all been there at one time or another.
To replace that spacer you remember that you will need to remove that seal again , remove the bearing cone , remove the old spacer and install the replacement spacer, the bearing cone, the oil slinger, the seal and then the yoke with a new nut set to around the 18 in lb setting. Check that bearing cone good before reinstalling it, and if it has no problems , go for it! What may seem loose to us , keep in mind, gets tighter as the temp rises and parts expand. By now you can be considered an expert in pinion seal replacement.

 

Usually on a seal replacement, when you check the remaining bearing preload or rotational drag prior to the nut/flange removal, if you just put your torque wrench on the nut and check the indicated rotation value 'within' the backlash range of the pinion and ring gear is enough.

The crush sleeve takes a pretty large amount of torque applied to add bearing drag. Unless you used a cheater with the flange locked or a good/high end impact wrench, it's reasonably hard to squeeze the sleeve 'if' you stay with the spec torque for the pinion nut during the seal swap. The lb-in ranges will differ with miles, (and the reason for the pre check) and the carrier bearings, axles will add to the total value/s. For instance, on a fresh bearing install the pinion preload would be 20-45 lb-in and about 8 lb-in more added for the carrier bearings drag.

If your worried about the pinion being too tight, pull the shaft flange and recheck the rotation, again, within the backlash movement is normally sufficient. Checking or clocking your measurement results within a rotation of the pinion should there be any variances too. Backlash is going to be 13-20mm or so, so you'll get a feel if the pinion itself is overtight..

 

I guess it makes sense to measure just "during" backlash. The manual says watch during full rotation but I think you are saying:
(1) Measure during backlash,
(2) Rotate the whole diff a few degrees
(3) Measure again
(4) Repeat through a few rotates until back where started.

I didn't use anything more than a 1/2 in. drive socket with a 15 in. bar. I just couldn't get to the 17 turns so I thought it might have "bottomed out". I guess you don't think I added any crush to the sleeve.

I'll do the measurements you recommend. But in case, while I'm under there and have things off, if I find it is too high and I have to replace the crush sleeve, does the sleeve come out easily or are some tricks involved.

Thanks to both hanky hayapower

 

It just slips over the pinion shaft.

 

Great Thanks.

If I find anything interesting I'll add it here.