Outer Limits 4x4 Board

my rear pinon seal has been leaking for a while now. just enough that the diff was wet.

After going for a play over the weekend at warburton its leaving puddles so needs to be changed.

i would just like to know if its possible to change the seal without dropping the 3rd member. can you just take the flange off and swap the seal??

You will probably need a new flange as well non geniune should be about $40

MudLux101 wrote:my rear pinon seal has been leaking for a while now. just enough that the diff was wet.

After going for a play over the weekend at warburton its leaving puddles so needs to be changed.

i would just like to know if its possible to change the seal without dropping the 3rd member. can you just take the flange off and swap the seal??

yes you can,and if it keeps leaking you may need to fit a speedy sleeve.

whats involved?? i have read somthing about preloads needing to be set and crush sleves.

do i just have to do the nut up as tight as it was before after the seal is changed (if that makes sence)

MudLux101 wrote:whats involved?? i have read somthing about preloads needing to be set and crush sleves.

do i just have to do the nut up as tight as it was before after the seal is changed (if that makes sence)

Your supposed to fit a new crush sleve to the shaft when doing it, but as long as you dont over tighten the flange nut when you do it back up it should be ok. The torque setting should be in the manual, but its about 200nm.

To do it (the backyard way),

1. Revove tailshaft
2. Get rattle gun, remove pinion flange nut.
3. Place drain tin under the front, and remove the flange (may be a tad stiff, get hammer if so)
4. Pull out the seal with an old screwdriver, curse a little bit because it may be hard to get out. Now is a good time to visit the beer fridge (c'mon, roothy would do it).
5. Knock new seal in with a socket just smaller than the outer diameter of the seal.
6. Re-fit the flange (put a little bit of grease over the splines) and tighten the nut to snug tight. This is where you WILL need a torque wrench! Tighten the nut up to about 200nm mark. There should be a little bit of resistance between the backlash (freeplay between the gears). If it spins easy it needs to be tightened a bit more. If its really hard to turn then you have tightened it too much and you need to go get a new crush sleve and fit it.
7. Refit tailshaft, re-check diff oil (very important, may even be a good time to renew it!), Degrease and test drive.

If thats all to hard just pay someone to do it.

thanks for the info gribble. backyard way is the onlt way

i'll get the stuff during the week and hopefully give it a go on wednesday.

any other handy tips are welcome.

thanx

He forgot to tell you to punch the locking nut with a pin punch or blade screwdriver, so it doesn't come loose!

thebrunks wrote:He forgot to tell you to punch the locking nut with a pin punch or blade screwdriver, so it doesn't come loose!

Dude, its a BACKYARD job!

But yeh, make sure you do that too.

also be aware that if you use Gribble's method (and hell, I sure do, all the time), you need to be warned that it is a TEMPORARY solution as it is impossible to correctly set the pinion bearing preload by this method, and that the job might last anything between 1000km and 100,000km - there is no way to tell whether or not you've got it right.

a slightly safer method is to re-use the same nut and do it up to the exact same position it was done up to before, after replacing the seal and speedi-sleeving the shaft (if there is any visible wear on the seal suraface then it will benefit from a speedi sleeve). if there is no play in the flange up-down, side-side then ignore the bearing preload and the torque on the nut. if there is play in the flange with the nut done up the same as when it came off, then the bearings are on the way out and if you tighten the nut to take up the slack then it will run ok for a while but it is only a matter of time before the bearings collapse and it's time for a diff rebuild.

cheers

Brian

thanks for the info guys. i bought the seal this morning and will give it a go tomorrow.

just one more question. what is a Speedi sleeve?? i havent herd of these before.

cheers

Ok, i had a search myself and found this tech:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavist ... index.html

handy little things. does anyone know what they cost??

MudLux101 wrote:Ok, i had a search myself and found this tech:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavist ... index.html

handy little things. does anyone know what they cost??

they aren't cheap unfortunately - around $25 - $35 each but when you compare that with the alternative (replacing the ring and pinion gears and rebuilding the diff!) it is pretty cheap. They last a long time too.