Pinion nut, oil leak and more

[Capri302]

Hello guys.

I'm havin' a hard time trying to do some repairs on my 1996 4.0 OHV 4x4 Ex. It's been running 250 000 km now and starting getting rusty & a little leaky...

I got some seals last year and I tried to do the front pinion first. No luck loosing the pinion nut. Today I tried once more....

With car on stands, front wheels locked in place I didn't only use all my bodyweight but also heated the nut and tried to undo it by using the jack on the shaft of the wrench.

Shaft is about 1 foot long. The end of the shaft were moved up by the jack about 1- 1,5 feet while you could hear some squealing nices coming from differential and front axles..... But the nut did not move at all. Any suggestions?

Then I had a look at a front engine oil leak. I thought it was the timing cover seal. apparently not; the area around the seal was all dry. Previously I thought it was the oil pressure sender take- off so I tightened it up. It's all dry as well.

Any suggestions on what's leaking? Could it be the steering pump???


Last problem is related to the transaxle. Last winter the Auto/ 4x4 selector seemed to be malfunctioning. It wouldn't go from auto to 4x4. I sthis related to a solenoid?
I looked it up in the Chilton manual, but coudn't find anything.

Thanks for all kinds of help & suggestions...

RS

 

[RomeovilleIL]

I don't know anyone who has removed a pinion nut with hand tools, but in theory it can be done. That much said, I have removed a few fairly easily with an impact. The force of the impact wrench can damage the gears unless the flange is held secure. Don't use the brakes or vehicle weight to hold the pinion while you remove the nut. There are commercially produced tools to hold the pinion in place while you remove the nut or you can use a section of flat stock with 2 holes in it. Personally I've put 1 nut back on the studs and used a breaker bar with socket across another stud jammed on the frame or against the concrete floor. Trying to hold by hand just didn't work.

See here for an example: http://repairguide.autozone.com/zne...96b43f/80/20/0e/a9/small/0996b43f80200ea9.jpg

Make sure you mark the nut/flange/pinion before taking it off (a line drawn with a paint pen works fine) and write down the number of exposed threads so it is locked down to the exact same location when you put it back together.

 

[Capri302]

Hi, Romeo.

I get what you say.... The front pinion do not have a flange to hold, it's the type with small bolts holding clamps around the u- joint flanges. So it's hard to get a hold- down tool for this, I guess.

I don't see the difference between having the front wheels on stands, secured, and having a tool boltet to the wheel flange holding the wheel axles solid? Or may I misunderstood something?

I've already tried an impact wrench. Did no good.

As I tried to explain earlier the weight of the veichle keeping it on the ground while jack moved the long arm of the wrench upward and nut did not come loose.

A good tip to follow on the thread counting... MAYBE it'll hold on after fix!

I might try goin' out & borrow a more powerful impact. I cannot think of much more other than takin' out the acetylene (which I unfortunately don't have access to...) to heat it .

Thanks for looking & tip'ing.

RuneS.

 

[white_shadow]

soak it with penetrating oil. im about to do the rear pinion seal this weekend. i have already started soaking the ujoint bolts and the pinion nut.

 

[Capri302]

Yeah, been spraying on some WD40.. Although, as you say, the best would be soaking it up some days in advance.


Anyone on the oil leak?

 

[colintrax]

Did my rear pinion with hand tools, but it ended up leaking again. Honestly, ford doesn't charge much, I think I paid $20 more for the Ford dealership to do it than I paid in parts. They got it done right, hasn't leaked since they fixed it 10,000 miles ago.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Hi, Romeo.

I get what you say.... The front pinion do not have a flange to hold, it's the type with small bolts holding clamps around the u- joint flanges. So it's hard to get a hold- down tool for this, I guess.

I don't see the difference between having the front wheels on stands, secured, and having a tool boltet to the wheel flange holding the wheel axles solid? Or may I misunderstood something?

I've already tried an impact wrench. Did no good.

As I tried to explain earlier the weight of the veichle keeping it on the ground while jack moved the long arm of the wrench upward and nut did not come loose.

A good tip to follow on the thread counting... MAYBE it'll hold on after fix!

I might try goin' out & borrow a more powerful impact. I cannot think of much more other than takin' out the acetylene (which I unfortunately don't have access to...) to heat it .

Thanks for looking & tip'ing.

RuneS.

The way an impact works is by giving it multiple fast hits to move the nut. The gears allow a small amount of movement before the tires turn, or in this case the pinion can move a little while the wheels are stationary so the blows of the impact wrench get absorbed by the gear movement rather than forcing the nut to turn.

As for the wrench itself, if you have an electric rated under 300 pounds it probably won't do the job. The pinion nut has loctite on it from the factory which I believe is rated for 400 ft-lbs. You can torch it with mapp, just try concentrate the heat on the nut itself.

 

[white_shadow]

The way an impact works is by giving it multiple fast hits to move the nut. The gears allow a small amount of movement before the tires turn, or in this case the pinion can move a little while the wheels are stationary so the blows of the impact wrench get absorbed by the gear movement rather than forcing the nut to turn.

As for the wrench itself, if you have an electric rated under 300 pounds it probably won't do the job. The pinion nut has loctite on it from the factory which I believe is rated for 400 ft-lbs. You can torch it with mapp, just try concentrate the heat on the nut itself.

sounds like i am going to have fun breaking this nut loose this weekend.

 

[Sirdrofmaster]

sounds like i am going to have fun breaking this nut loose this weekend.

How did this turn out for you? I am going to be tackling this job next weekend..


Dj

 

[white_shadow]

How did this turn out for you? I am going to be tackling this job next weekend..


Dj

once i got the right seal, easy job. the first seal i got ( bought the kit, flange, new nut and seal ) but the included seal would not fit..at all. so i bought another seal. tapped it right in, put the same number of turns on the nut as it took to take it off. no problems. been about 1k miles since i did it.