Loose Pinion Nut

[Tuck73]

Started hearing a noise in transfer case. Dirt Donk told me to check how tight the rear yoke was. It is loose. Pinion nut is definitely loose. I have purchased a new one along with a crush sleeve. Can I just put the new nut on without pulling the housing. If so, I do I set preload and what should it be set at? All of this is my fault because I replaced the seal 6 months ago thinking I could just tighten the pinion nut down and I would be good.

 

[Yeller]

I’ll probably catch flack for this…… I’d be content pulling the pinion Suport and doing the repair. I don’t feel the need to remove the entire chunk.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I would pull the pinion support as well. You can inspect enough that way. Are the gears still good, is the 3rd bearing still good (no broken case).
Then bench build the pinion support and put it back in.

 

[Tuck73]

I would pull the pinion support as well. You can inspect enough that way. Are the gears still good, is the 3rd bearing still good (no broken case).
Then bench build the pinion support and put it back in.

 

[Tuck73]

Looks like the gear is chipped. Is it bad enough that I need to replace it?

 

[Tuck73]

Also, what are the steps for Ben h rebuilding? I’ve never done this before. I’ve tried to read through some of the threads and watched a couple of videos but no one is very thorough.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I will likely get flak for this, but not too worried about those chips. The wear surface is what matters. The extreme corners don't really touch. See that black bit where there is no wear, and that looks like where the chips are at. Smooth them over with a flap disk, call it good.

But those chips are now in the bottom of the diff. I would be thinking of pulling the chunk to clean the chips. Probably plant a strong magnet in there as well. I like magnets on the fill plugs as it lets me see what is going on inside without pulling the drain plug. Any magnet to keep the chips locked out of the way.

 

[Tuck73]

I will likely get flak for this, but not too worried about those chips. The wear surface is what matters. The extreme corners don't really touch. See that black bit where there is no wear, and that looks like where the chips are at. Smooth them over with a flap disk, call it good.

But those chips are now in the bottom of the diff. I would be thinking of pulling the chunk to clean the chips. Probably plant a strong magnet in there as well. I like magnets on the fill plugs as it lets me see what is going on inside without pulling the drain plug. Any magnet to keep the chips locked out of the way.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Tuck73]

Installing a new crush nut and pinion nut fixed it.

 

[garberz]

Installing a new crush nut and pinion nut fixed it.

If you ever need to tear it down again, using a crush sleeve eliminator (solid spacer) makes replacing the pinion seal very simple. Crush sleeves can loose their shape when enough torque is applied. That’s the main benefit of the solid spacer.

Mark

 

[bmc69]

All of this is my fault because I replaced the seal 6 months ago thinking I could just tighten the pinion nut down and I would be good.

I've done only that many, many times without issue....so it wasn't a bad thing that you tried.