1997 8.8 Pinion Seal Replace | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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1997 8.8 Pinion Seal Replace

allmyEXes

Elite Explorer
Joined
February 6, 2016
Messages
2,355
Reaction score
1,487
City, State
No. Alabama USA
Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 Blue Ex 4.0 SOHC
Callsign
KAGG 3611 (CB)
2 weeks ago when I came across an 8.8 out of a 1998 Explorer I purchased it as a spare for "MO" or "Flo". The Mountaineer mostly. The one that I bought has 166K on it (provided the odometer was still working in the junker) and it looked good, as in no leaks or damage. The 5.0 Mountaineer 8.8 has been leaking and has 250K minimum on it. We bought that vehicle a year ago and the odometer didn't clock and we have driven it a year until I fixed the odometer. 2+ weeks ago I added 20+ oz to the diffy to get it up to level. Anyway I am contemplating installing a pinion seal replacement and not sure of the procedure. I imagine that there is a crush sleeve but in the past on other differentials have had good luck carefully counting how many turns the pinion nut is threaded on and reinstalling that way. Am I overthinking it and the nut just bottoms out against a square surface on the pinion shaft ? Torque down to a number and "ping" the nut with a blunt chisel to lock the nut ?
I'm not finding a listing in a name brand that I recognize for just the seal.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...ivetrain,differential+bearing+/+seal+kit,2224
 






I have the same issue with the pinion seal on our 2000 Mountaineer 5.0L (at the same mileage). Yes there is a crush sleeve, but just replacing the crush sleeve is not the answer. When the pinion seal is replaced what you want to do (one way or other) is to return the yoke nut to the same tension it was at when you removed it.

What I plan to do is to put the rear of the truck up on ramps so the tires/gears can't turn. Then using a prick-punch I plan to mark the pinion nut and the case of the diff to be able to align them during re installation. Using my torque wrench (increasing the setting as I go) I hope to get an idea of how tight the pinion nut is so I can get close to its original position during re installation, then align the punch marks.

There are shims on the pinion shaft that set the depth of the pinion gear in the ring gear. On a diff with 250K on it, there's going to be wear on the pinion and ring gears so as long as the diff is still quiet there's no point in messing with the depth. The crush sleeve is there to set the tension on the tapered roller bearing on the pinion shaft. As long as you return the pinion yoke nut to the same position that it was in when you removed it everything should remain the same.

Anyway, that's my plan.
 






Thanks ! I'm trying to keep it simple.
 






Thanks ! I'm trying to keep it simple.


BTW - If you accidentally create a duplicate thread/post you can just delete it yourself.
 






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