pinion seal replacement trouble

[Isaacmacleod]

I am currently replacing the pinion seal on my 1996 c1500 5.7 with the 10 bolt differential.

I marked the relation of everything pretty good, but i failed to take a torque measurement prior to removing the pinion nut.

I don’t believe my truck has a crush washer, So i can just reuse both the pinion nut and the flat washer, correct?

If i just line up with my marks, and count the threads as best as possible, is that gonna be alright or am i cooked since i can’t torque it down with the wheels off like i’m supposed to to set the pinion bearing..?

Also, should i apply thin layer of Gasket maker around the outside edge of new seal? /around where the flange splines slide over the splines of the pinion?

what is the best grease to pack the inside of the new seal with?
the manual i have says to use extreme pressure lithium based lubricant…

Ps. this is my second attempt at this job because i put in the wrong design 2 pinion seal which has a bigger ID, apparently. I am picking up whatever brand i can find tomorrow morning of the right pinion seal so i can get this job done

 

[Isaacmacleod]

Update I got the new duralast seal in there for the 8.5” gear and it doesn’t leak anymore.

However, I am still very concerned about my pinion nut/ bearing preload.

I lined up the threads as close as possible to before but i didn’t check the unloaded turn torque at all.

My question is how bad of a decision was this?

What problems could arise from having messed up on this part of the install?

Is it just the bearing i might worry about failing sooner?

 

[Das Hatt]

When I did my pinion seal, I did not go by torque specs. I made a mark on the nut and on the housing and just counted the number of rotations. I ended up with 9 2/3 to put it right back to where it was originally. That was a year ago. I've put maybe 1500 miles on the truck since then and have had no trouble.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

When I did my pinion seal, I did not go by torque specs. I made a mark on the nut and on the housing and just counted the number of rotations. I ended up with 9 2/3 to put it right back to where it was originally. That was a year ago. I've put maybe 1500 miles on the truck since then and have had no trouble.

thanks for the response,

I don’t think my truck has the crush washer in it,
So at least i don’t have to worry about that?
It matters more that I just get this nut to the exact spot it was before, correct?
I definitely tightened the nut a slight bit more to account for being stupid and thinking I had a crush washer, which wanted to be snugged up with a 1/4 turn added beyond my mark.

I drove the truck today and it felt hotter around the pinion bearing near the yoke than the front cover was.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

I drove the truck today and it felt hotter around the pinion bearing near the yoke than the front cover was.

Also, the pinion seal still seems to be leaking subtly And the pinion nut seems to have potentially backed off a bit after a 15 miles ride.

No noticeable noises or whining from the rear end however.

 

[Isaacmacleod]

Nobody seems too eager to offer advice on this topic.

Probably because this was an easily avoidable mistake that I made out of ignorance.

I know I probably screwed with something, But i’m still trying to wrap my head around the full ramifications of what I have done.

By over/ under tightening this pinion nut, Have I

A)crushed my crush washer beyond repair? and Does my diff even HAVE a crush washer??

B) What damage might be incurred by not having correct tightness of this nut?

Like I mentioned, the tail end of my differential near the rear bearing seemed much hotter than any other part of the diff even the cover was not as hot.

Is it possible I am completely fine?
No noises yet from driving on it.

Is it normal for the tail end of the diff to get hot like that?

 

[Isaacmacleod]

Update: MAYDAY SOS

Okay so i drove the truck to work today,
transmission seems happy, power steering seems happyish,
(I also serviced those systems while changing pinion seal)

HOWEVER when i put my hand on the differential cover it was TOO HOT to keep my hand for very long right over where the outer pinion bearing lives.

it was hotter over that bearing than it was anywhere else on the differential.

Still no noise or noticeable effects on driving, but gotdam that thing is getting hot.

that can’t be right, someone please chime in

 

[Isaacmacleod]

I’m all for upgrading to a six lug axle from a c2500
with a better differential and rear brakes.
but i really don’t want the rest end to seize up on me and kill my driveshaft/ transmission /:

 

[Isaacmacleod]

at one point during the installation i may have hammered on the nut and let more than previous amount of threads show.
as in, there were two and a half threads showing at first, but i might have hammered it with the air impact to about five threads showing at one point.
I am having a hard time figuring out whether i have the crush sleeve type or the solid spacer type.

Won’t this determine whether or not i have to tear into my gears to fix this?

 

[scott2093]

Nobody seems too eager to offer advice on this topic.

I wish I could but I made the decision long ago to leave any rear end work to my driveline shop. Maybe one day that will change.
Of course my pinion seal is leaking 3 years after they installed my new gears but, for $200 they'll change my rear diff fluid and inspect, and replace the pinion seal....
Might be worth seeing if you have any reputable driveline shops and how much it would cost to make your anxiety go away.