pinion seal

Any tips on getting the castle nut off the pinion? I swear they welded that thing on.

Shouting obscenities at it doesn't appear to work either.

You pulled the cotter pin that locks it? Not meant to be a ridiculous question. Sometimes the cotter pin is broken off, but the remains are still in the hole, sticking out enough to lock the nut.

From then on, the usual. Soak in creeping oil of your choice. Some swear by ATF, others by AeroKroil or WD40. Soak, soak again and be patient. As in a day patient. Then tighten the nut before trying to loosen it. Then use an air gun.

It will spin off eventually. Swearing and shouting obscenities is optional but there is empiric evidence to show that it does help with stubborn tasks.

The cotter pin came out fine... and I have it setting bathed in deep creep for the moment. I have the truck super-chocked and it was moving with me trying to get it off. It laughed at my impact too.

BTW, clean your vents... I did it not too long ago and they were stuck solid again. The center axle had pressure in it when I popped it off. PNW winters are hard on these things. I am guessing it had a hand in my current seal issues.

i just removed one the other day. i had my brother hold the flange with a 18 inch pipe wrench with a cheater and i used a 3/4 inch breaker bar with a cheater and still just got it.

Yeah, I am trying to figure out how to steady the flange solo. I think I am going to take the advise to just let it soak a couple days and do other stuff I need to finish on it.

Time to inspect the front end.

I replaced a couple of pinion seals on my M818 and used an impact wrench to remove and reinstall the pinion nut. The parts will be different for a M35 but the process is the same.

Link to the proceedure.

https://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?77513-rear-end-seal-m818.html#post979551

I've had luck with a 3/4 impact.

I got my stuck bolt off by putting a socket on the bolt and out an ext on my breaker bar. I then drove the truck s couple inches to break the thread Dont remember if I went forward or backwards..lol

My IR 2131 and my 3/4" both got the job done.

Get a bigger badder impact.

get a torque multiplier

wsucougarx said:

I got my stuck bolt off by putting a socket on the bolt and out an ext on my breaker bar. I then drove the truck s couple inches to break the thread l

Click to expand...

Have done it this way several times myself when a good impact isn't handy. This is not OSHA approved.

I used a snapon cordless impact with a shallow soccket cam right of no problems I also sell those impacts and a seal removal tool that makes it easy to remove seal

Unfortunatly the nut is the one between the center axle and the TC. So no moving under its own power. I am not sure I would want to drag it with the 1009 ether. I am patient and will let the deep creep do its job. I need a bigger impact too but I am worried about what a stronger tool will do to the gears that pinion is attached to if I really dug into it.

you could always throw a little bit of heat at it to, i soaked mine with free then heated it right before i took it off. I think at some point mine was way overtourqed on there

Varyag said:

Unfortunatly the nut is the one between the center axle and the TC. So no moving under its own power. I am not sure I would want to drag it with the 1009 ether. I am patient and will let the deep creep do its job. I need a bigger impact too but I am worried about what a stronger tool will do to the gears that pinion is attached to if I really dug into it.

Click to expand...

Cant ya just lock in the front wheels?.

Varyag said:

...... I need a bigger impact too but I am worried about what a stronger tool will do to the gears that pinion is attached to if I really dug into it.

Click to expand...

No need for IMPACT here...
All you have to do is find/build something like a 3' long bar, possibly 1-1/2"x 5/8" or 2"x1/2" flat stock, at least on one end, then drill two 13.5mm holes in it at 78mm C-C distance and offset to one side to leave space for your 1-1/2" socket. Firmly bolt this end against the companion flange and get the other end to resting against the (drivers side)frame while applying torque with a good 3/4" breaker bar. Have the breaker bar working horizontally & lifting up assisted with a floor jack.

Always works!

G.

I like the bar idea.

I had one that was difficult and I used a 3/8 chain bolted to one hole on the flange, then wrapped the other end around the frame. I pulled it tight enough to use the chain to keep it from rotating. I was alone or I would have just asked someone to step on the brakes.

The bar would reduce the stress on the flange.

Yet another elegant solution from our correspondent in Montevideo.

I second the heat method, and the oil. Impact wrench, cheater pipe or whatever else doesn't really matter. I use an impact most of the time unless I have to use a really thin walled socket. If you can get the nut glowing it will probly come off. If the nut is severly rusted or the threads were buggered up when it was installed it may not come off at all without ruining whatever threads are left, in these cases cut the nut off with a torch if your good enough or find someone who is to do it for you.

Gringeltaube has it right, you need to hold the flange. I just went through this job a week ago, and fortunately I have the right tool. Kent-Moore has a flange holding tool that bolts onto the flange with a hole in the center for the socket to go through. The tool is about 3 feet long. I like to set it against either the ground or the frame.

Nice thing about the tool is it also has a second part that allows you to use it as a puller to remove the flange. The tool number is Kent Moore J-08614-a. If you search the internet for that part number or simply J8614 you should be able to find a used one for a reasonable price.

Once the flange is held solid, I used a long 3/4 powerbar to remove the nut.

The holding tool is also ideal to get the appropriate torque back onto the flange nut. While not so critical on these Rockwell differentials, it is crucial on many of the DANA differentials where the bearing preload is set by the appropriate torque.