Pinion shaft seal leak - 14 bolt/10.5ff

[SmithvilleD]

The front/pinion shaft seal on my truck's 14 bolt/10.5 is leaking.

I haven't worked much with the 14 bolt and am wondering if I can R/R the pinion seal without requiring a new crush sleeve & then needing to check the gear mesh pattern?

Can I measure the rotational torque (I suppose with axles pulled) as it is. Then note the # of threads exposed. Then pull the nut & yoke. R/R seal.

Then replace the yoke & tighten the nut back to where it was. & finally check to ensure the rotational torque is similar to before?

If it was a small leak, I'd just tolerate it, but it leaks enough to require watching & replacing a bit of gear oil maybe once a month.

[Robyn]

Once the nut is removed things get interesting..

I would do this.

Place the pinion with a yoke flange up and mark it.
Keep the wheels from turning (Park brake applied)
Remove the pinion cartridge assembly and mark the gear so when you resinstall the yoke you can place the gear back into mesh in the same place.

(The teeth need to be in the same place for optimal mesh after being run)

Now remove the pinion yoke, seal and such and then replace the crush sleave( NEW ONE) and reassemble.

Set the rotational torque of the bearing set and replace the cartridge back in the pumpkin with the marks you made (felt pen or ???) and your set
Easy to do and will give a perfect fix with no issues.

NOTE

Usually there is a torque value for used bearings as well as new ones.

If I dont have the values I generally go by the WAG method and set the bearings with a light drag and its worked for me for many years.

These bearings must have a preload as they are under a great amount of pressure when running.

Any slack will allow the gears to eat themselves and quick. :eek:

Should be able to whip this out in less than an hour with time for coffee and a DONut :D Well maybe if the phone dont ring :rolleyes:

Best

Robyn

[SmithvilleD]

Thanks much for the advise Robyn.

I picked the HD 3/4T truck for my project specifically so I'd get the heavier drivetrain components. Don't mind fixing stuff once, but my intent is to do things right - once - & then not have to mess with it for a good long time.

[WhiteTruck]

I agree with the method suggested by Missy, following it will give you excellent results. However, there is no need to mark the gear so you put in back into mesh with the same tooth that you removed it from. The reason is because this axle uses what is know as a hunting gear set, this means any one tooth on the pinion will contact each tooth of the ring gear after a number of rotations. There are some rear axles that this wouldn't be the case, and they have timing marks on them, much like timing an engine. Installing one of these without observing this will result in a noisy axle. If you want to read more about this, just google hunting and/or non hunting gear set and you will get a better explanation.
The rotational torque for your pinion using new bearings is 15-30 in. lbs. and for used bearings it is 10 - 20 in. lbs.

[SmithvilleD]

Thanks for the additional info. Hadn't been aware of the hunting - vs - nonhunting distinction.

Are rebuild kits for these typically the center section bearings/races, the hub bearings, & all the associated seals?

My truck has 158k miles - which I suppose may or may not be relevant depending on how the gear mesh pattern is.

Just wondering if I should do just this pinion seal, or get a kit & replace all the bearings/seals?

How would you go about evaluating if it would benefit from rebuilding?

Darrin