woodie49 Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 I need to replace the differential pinion seal, which has started to leak pretty badly. I have seen several posts on the forum that say an impact gun will do the trick. So far I have tried several to no avail. My compressor is 130 Lbs and i have tried my own and several other impacts on this this thing and it will not budge. It seems like too much time with the impact gun might do some harm to the gears. The car is on blocks and I tried using a floor jack on my breaker bar to break this loose, but no luck with that either. I am feeling like I am going to need a tool with a long handle that I can attach to my flange and then rig a turnbuckle or something to pull it and my breaker bar together to break the nut loose. Does such a tool exist?? This thing is crazy tight. I have not used a torch because I am not sure that won't damage the bearing. I also wonder if i could start the remaining gear lube smoldering? After the rear main seal, I thought this would be easy, but this is driving me nuts. Any suggestions to bust this loose?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopt50wgn Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 It may be as easy as spraying the nut with some PB Blaster, the new WD-40 rust buster stuff, or any of the products out ther. Spray the hell out of it for even a few days and then give it another try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 If you have a good torch, use it to quickly heat the nut only. Yes some heat will migrate through the flange to the seal and shaft. But if you can focus the heat on the nut only, then hit it with the impact gun while still red hot, it should come right off. Then try to pull the flange off while it's still hot too to keep as much heat out of the seal and bearings as possible. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruffy49 Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 3/4" drive breaker bar and a 6' pipe as a cheater. If you can drop the rear end out you can pickup tote it to any shop that does big rig tires. The impact gun they use will break it loose. 3/4" or 1" drive. Standard 1/2" drive impact guns have trouble with really old fasteners. I can't even get the head bolts loose on one of my L6 cores with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Using a real 2 stage compressor 160-175lbs and commercial 1/2" impact will buzz that nut right off.Keep the air up to the 160 plus range. Otherwise you need to hold the pinion flange with a holding tool and use a 2 foot breaker bar.I have a 1" impact if you need it with a 1/2" air hose! It will come off and quickly. But really, enough air pressure /3/8" air hose and a good 1/2" high output impact will take it off. I have done many of them. No heat needed ever. Edited March 6, 2013 by Dodgeb4ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Davey Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Try a pipe wrench on the yoke - block up the end of the wrench on wood or a jack stand so it can't move. Then put a long breaker bar on the pinion nut and use the floor jack under the end of the breaker bar. You'll need to position the pipe wrench on the passenger side and the breaker bar on the driver's side, and you may need to hold the pipe wrench in place with duct tape until you put load on it. It's crude, but it worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwothree Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 How did the rear main seal turn out? Any leaks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 How did the rear main seal turn out? Any leaks? Jury is still out. It was REALLY a pain to get the top seal in due to the lack of clearance between the crank and the block. I had to use 1/2 inch bolts and grind the heads for clearance. Then each one took about 15 minutes to start as there was just no way to get hands on them. Got it eventually. Unfortunately, I put the cap on and the oil pan before i realized i had two of the flywheel bolts out. So the pan and the rear cap had to come off for enough clearance to put the bolts back into the crank. That has caused me to worry whether the seal will now properly seat. I an going to put the pan back on today and fire it up before i put in the clutch and PP (coming back from Tennessee clutch - they are great) . I'll let it run up to operating temp. Turn it off and see what i have. If it leaks, I'll probaly do it all over again. I am hoping for the best. I do appreciate your help on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Try a pipe wrench on the yoke - block up the end of the wrench on wood or a jack stand so it can't move. Then put a long breaker bar on the pinion nut and use the floor jack under the end of the breaker bar. You'll need to position the pipe wrench on the passenger side and the breaker bar on the driver's side, and you may need to hold the pipe wrench in place with duct tape until you put load on it. It's crude, but it worked for me. This might be the way to go. I think the problem with jacking up the breaker bar was probably that the breaks allowed some slippage. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 If it comes to needing a bigger/better compressor, I'll have to wait to get it all back together and run it down somewhere. I'll try some of the other ideas here first while i am on blocks. I'll let you all know when I get this thing. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck51631 Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 I just had my rear pinion seal replaced. I watched the mechanic do it. He tried the air gun and the nut wouldn't budge. He sprayed it with what I assume is BP blaster waited about 10 minutes. Put the socket on the nut took a hammer gave it a few whacks and then with the air gun the nut came off. Getting the old seal out was another problem, it didn't want to come out. He went at it with a screwdriver and hammer and it came out. He put a small amount of lube on the new one and in it went. Thankfully no more leaks. I guess he had the advantage. The car was on a lift. He is a friend of mine and tried to do it in his driveway to no avail. Unfortunately he had to take it to the shop where he works. The work was done there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 One trick for pulling the seal is to drill a small hole through the metal ring of the seal, just outside the rubber lip. Then screw a sheet metal screw into the hole. Now you can grab the screw with a Vice Grip, or similar, to pry against. Or use a nail puller against the screw head. I have some seal pullers that are small slide hammers that you can put a sheet metal screw into the end of. They work great. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Things are looking up. I used the method suggested by William Davey and the nut finally came off. Even after I heard it break loose, it took a couple more tries with the jack to get it loose enough for the impact gun to spin it off. Thanks for the suggestion. The seal is another story. I have a remover that looks a little like a T that you use to get behind the seal and pry it out. It does not want to budge and this seal puller is really not the right kind. The edges of my seal are actually recessed in the housing, I am not sure how I would get it out with a hammer and screwdriver. I think I'll give Merles suggestion a try tomorrow. One question on the new seal. It is a neoprene seal I got from Andy B. It has the rubber seal, then a peice of card board behind it (or toward the front of the car), then a thick peice of felt behind that. I am assuming all I should do is put a little wheel bearing grease on the seal when I install it. I am not sure what the cardboard and felt are really for, but I shouldn't need to soak it in oil like a leather seal, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Roberts Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 I am wondering if what you are calling " card board " isn't actually leather ? I have seen some of these seals that use both rubber and leather . If it is leather you should soak it in oil . I would also use a little grease . Better safe than sorry . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 The original Mopar seals can be a real tough job if they tear apart trying to get them out. The replacement seals come out easy. The double curved T-bar type seal puller might work or it might tear the steel housing apart. There are some threads here of peoples fun removing these seals from both the trans and rear ends! I do them enough so I have the tools for the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 I am wondering if what you are calling " card board " isn't actually leather ? I have seen some of these seals that use both rubber and leather . If it is leather you should soak it in oil . I would also use a little grease . Better safe than sorry . I don't think it is leather. I just looks like its function is to seperate the neoprene seal from the thick felt on the outside (metal side) of the seal. I will look at it again tomorow, but i don't recall ever seeing a seal that used both leather and neoprene. I might try getting the part number and looking it up on line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 I got the seal out today. I used Merles method above. The first two screws I put in eventually broke off, but I could see a little progress. I ended up putting two screws in the seal across from each other and slowly edged in the out. You can see from the pictures. It would have been soooo much easier with a lift! Also, I am beginning to have second thoughts about the new seal, maybe what I think is cardboard is actually leather. Old seal has the same construction. I have included a picture of the new seal. Any thoughts on if it is leather? Should I soak this in oil before installing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Roberts Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 I will stick by my response . You should know that if you don't lubricate it , it will wear out real quick . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 I'd soak that seal in oil for a couple hours anyway. Always when leather. It will fail otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodie49 Posted March 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 I called Bernbaum and they said it didn't need to be soaked, but listening to you guys, I am hard-pressed to see the downside. So, I soaked it for a couple hours before I installed it. Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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