Help

[James Richard]

I am new to this. So here we go.
I have a 2003 mercury mountaineer AWD I am replacing transfer case. In removing front drive shaft 1 bolt on front diff snapped. Can i replace yoke and if so do ineed to replace pinion seal.
Second question. I pulled the front drive shaft from 04 explorer. Are they the same shaft. There is no ID tag on front diff so I don't know what Dana type I have. Front diff cover I cannot match with any style
Any help appreciated

 

[imp]

I am new to this. So here we go.
I have a 2003 mercury mountaineer AWD I am replacing transfer case. In removing front drive shaft 1 bolt on front diff snapped. Can i replace yoke and if so do ineed to replace pinion seal.
Second question. I pulled the front drive shaft from 04 explorer. Are they the same shaft. There is no ID tag on front diff so I don't know what Dana type I have. Front diff cover I cannot match with any style
Any help appreciated

I just happened to see your post, sorry, by now maybe too late. What is most critical about removing the front diff. yoke is getting the pinion bearing preload set to proper limits when replacing the yoke. Diff failure is very often due to improper pinion bearing preload. imp

 

[James Richard]

Thanks for the tip. Currently having issues getting the pinion nut off. I have tried multiple impact wrenches, air powered, I tried a half inch breaker bar and broke the bar. My last attempt will be trying to apply heat.

 

[imp]

Thanks for the tip. Currently having issues getting the pinion nut off. I have tried multiple impact wrenches, air powered, I tried a half inch breaker bar and broke the bar. My last attempt will be trying to apply heat.

Problem with an impact is that the pinion "bounces" with each blow, reducing the torque on the nut. Before heat, I would try using a large wrench capable of grasping the yoke, even a big pipe wrench would work, with an extender over the wrench, piece of stout pipe, reaching to an immovable surface, like the ground or a control arm. Anything to "lock" the pinion against rotation; then apply the impact. imp

 

[James Richard]

I do have a pipe wrench capable of holding the yoke. My whole reason for replacing/removing yoke is that one bolt snapped off while removing front drive shaft. I tried drilling it out but the drill bit broke inside center of remaining bolt. A simple transfer case replacement has turned into a major project...