pinion seal and bearing

[bean]

the diff on my 72 is leaking from the pinion seal so i know i'm going to need to atleast replace that. question is how do i tell if the actual pinion bearing is bad? I'm wondering if i shouldn't just rebuild the differential. any thoughts?

[mr48chev]

You usually get noise if the bearing is bad but a guy may not always hear that running down the road.

It isn't hard to replace the pinion seal though, but for most of us rebuilding the rear end is a job that you call in the professionals for. I'll do almost everything on my trucks myself including engine, trans, body and paint but won't touch a rear end that doesn't have a drop out center section.

[bean]

thanks that's probably good advice. my idea of rebuilding would simply be replacing pinoin bearing and wheel bearing. no i don't hear any noise going down the road. a guy i work with said when you take that flange off you'll be able to tell if the bearing has worn into it some and if so then it needs to be replace. is this true?

i'd much rather just replace the seal at 7$ lol

[Hottrucks]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

You usually get noise if the bearing is bad but a guy may not always hear that running down the road.

It isn't hard to replace the pinion seal though, but for most of us rebuilding the rear end is a job that you call in the professionals for. I'll do almost everything on my trucks myself including engine, trans, body and paint but won't touch a rear end that doesn't have a drop out center section.

LMAO ^^^^ thats so me too!!


I would also check the vent the mud wasps like them and if it gets hot inside then it will want to push oil out in odd places

[1970 Bowtie]

Originally Posted by Hottrucks

LMAO ^^^^ thats so me too!!


I would also check the vent the mud wasps like them and if it gets hot inside then it will want to push oil out in odd places

X3,yall have dirt dobbers that far north.

[Hottrucks]

Originally Posted by 1970 Bowtie

X3,yall have dirt dobbers that far north.

yep....they find the funny places to get in to?

[Wrenchbender Ret]

If its not making noises your brgs are probably OK. When you pull the old seal you can remove the frontr brg & examine it. You can pull the rear cover & make sure there is no side to side movement in the carrier brgs. or unusual pieces in the bottom of the houseing. Mark the pinion nut & the shaft before you take it off so you can put it back in the same place. Clean it off & put some locktight on it as the self locking is probably worn out. Put in a new seal & fresh grease & you are good to go. If the pinion flange has a groove in it were the seal rides you can get a speedy sleeve to go over it.

[JimKshortstep4x4]

When pinion bearings go bad they will make a lot of noise when you let off of the gas. I really doubt if you have bad bearings if you have not heard anything. As mentioned make sure the vent is good and just replace the seal. If the lube looks bad then changing out the gear oil would be recommended.

Jim

[jerry moss]

trust me, rebuilding rear diff's isn't all that difficult. i used to be scared to death of them but when we got a diff guru at our shop and he taught me the proper way to diagnose, clean and build, it's really not difficult- time consuming sometimes but not difficult- with the proper tools. i have only done semi floaters, chevys, dodges, jeeps and fords so far but one of these days i plan to tackle one of my 14 bolt full floaters.

[bean]

thanks for the responses. it turned out there was alot of caked up mud around the vent i cleared away. hopefully that will take care of it if not i feel good about just replacing the seal. thanks again

[fastwillie 696969]

proper way to get measure the backlash on the ring and inspect the gears itself,there is a crush sleeve, i would replace that since your replacing the seal too ,but if you rebuild it complete its not that hard some people get intimanded by the shims ,or clutch pac if posi ,if its a one legger (open diff. )my sister can rebuild one of those.