[Chevelle-list] Differential Question

[Dave Corgill]

At 05:15 PM 5/6/2007, you wrote:
 >
 >Larry, There is a crush collar inside the front housing that sets the
 >pinion/ring gear endplay. By removing the pinion nut that setting has been
 >lost. I am not aware of anyway to get this corrected short of a new crush
 >collar and re torque the nut for proper meshing.  You can only use the crush
 >seal once. Maybe someone else can advise you differently.
 >Mike


It can be done, I've done it many times to change the seal, but
you must do it just like these instructions.

It's
actually pretty easy if you know how, but a big risk if you don't.  Here is
how to go about it. (read through all steps before you begin)

1 remove driveshaft from yoke

2 take a sharp chisel and hammer, and make a good mark on the pinion and the
pinion nut. So you         know how they line up.  Turn the pinion by hand
and check for slop.  You will need to know what it             feels like
for step 7 and up.

3 remove the nut (I use an impact wrench so it's easy to hold)

4 gently tap the yoke away from the axle.  Do not hammer the pinion in!  You
could damage it or the         bearings.

5(optional) I suggest you replace the pinion seal while you have it apart
because they tend to leak often. They are just cheap insurance.  Make sure
you put some oil on the lip for lubrication.

6 work the new yoke on to the pinion until you can get the nut started.
Some people (mostly who sell         the parts) say you should get a new nut
because it's a lock nut that works the best only once.  I
usually reuse the old one.  In either case, make sure you use RED
threadlocker, not blue, because it's     stronger.

7 Take note of how easy it is to spin the yoke by hand, and how much slop
(usually only a little bit) there     is in the bearings.  Slowly tighten up
the nut until you hit the mark you made in step 2.

8 If there is still slop and no change in the ease of turning, tighten one
width of the chisel mark past.

9 If there is still no change, make one full turn back to the mark and one
chisel mark width past.

repeat step 9 until the slop is gone and it gets harder to turn again like
it did in step 2.

IMPORTANT!  If you go too far, DO NOT LOOSEN.  If you have gone a lot too
far, (more than 1/8 turn) you will have to remove the axles, carrier, and
pinion to replace the crush sleeve.  This should only be done by experienced
axle people because several measurements must be made to determine the
rotating torque and nut position, etc.

10 put the driveshaft back on

It should be fairly easy to tell when you have gone enough turns to take up
the slop.  It will be cut and dry either slop or no slop.  All the play will
be taken up in the last 1/16th of a turn on the last revolution of the nut,
so it is hard to be off by a whole turn.  After you do this once, you will
get a better feel for it.


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