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Differential - Looking for a Warm Fuzzy


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I'll apologize up front for another differential question and long post.  I know there are a lot of posts and I've read a lot of them, which has provided me with the information on how to proceed (I think).  But since this is my first time I've been in a diff, I wanted a warm fuzzy that I'm not about to make a mistake or missing something.

 

My rear diff turns freely, however it was leaking from the front (drive pinon) and around the cap assembly.  The PO also said that the drivers side tire locked up sometimes, and he would have to put it in reverse to get it unlocked.  So I've pulled the shafts and the diff. to make sure something wasn't broke. Before I pulled the shaft I gave it a spin with the brake off and it felt o.k.  Once the shafts were out, both shaft bearings didn't have much grease and felt like their was dirt/grime inside (rough spinning).

 

My plan is to clean the entire gear set and case with Zep de-greaser and water without removing the gear set from the case.  Once it's clean, I'll look for any cracks or abnormal wear patterns.  I'll then coat the entire gear set in WD-40.  Then remove/replace the drive pinion, yoke, and bearing oil seal. Re-attach the case to the axle using a new gasket and RTV.  Before putting the shafts back in, I plan on replacing the inner oil seal (inside the axle).  Since the bearings felt rough, I figured they also need to be replaced or can I just clean them and re-pack?  If I replace, then I need to replace the outer seals and then confirm end play & shim. Once it's back together, lubricate and start working on the brakes.

 

I'm hoping someone can tell me I'm on the right track or fill in anything I'm missing.


Thanks,

Bill

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What diff do you have? I didn’t crack open my 1954 diff but I’ve built some newer ones. Sometimes the torque on the front pinion will involve setting a crush sleeve that determines the lash of the ring gear or said another way the engagement/depth of the pinion- you might need to mark your nut with paint or a scratch/punch to be able to put it where it was with the new seal- or maybe measure the lash of the ring and decide if it is in spec in the first place? 

 

those smartener than I will hopefully chime in but what axle are you working on?

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8 hours ago, Radarsonwheels said:

What diff do you have? I didn’t crack open my 1954 diff but I’ve built some newer ones. Sometimes the torque on the front pinion will involve setting a crush sleeve that determines the lash of the ring gear or said another way the engagement/depth of the pinion- you might need to mark your nut with paint or a scratch/punch to be able to put it where it was with the new seal- or maybe measure the lash of the ring and decide if it is in spec in the first place? 

 

those smartener than I will hopefully chime in but what axle are you working on?

The diff is the original semi-floating, geared at 4.1. Looking at the manual, I don't think the yoke nut sets the pinion depth. There are shims that go between the pinoin bearing and a spacer to set depth.  However, thanks for the comment, it made me re-read a few more posts on this forum and it looks like the nut tension is required for preloading the tension on the bearings. So I need to mark the location so I can get the correct tension on the yoke. I learn a little more everytime I re-read the manual and the posts here. 

 

Edited by Bdblazer1978
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Sounds like you’re all over it Bill.

 

One question though: seeing as you have the diff centre out, have you considered searching for a car diff centre to better the original ratio for modern road travel? A 3.73 or a 3.54 makes for better road speeds at lower engine revs.

 

i have changed over from 4.1 to 3.54 diffs in both my 52 and 53 trucks and couldn’t be happier with the results.

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22 hours ago, Desotodav said:

Sounds like you’re all over it Bill.

 

One question though: seeing as you have the diff centre out, have you considered searching for a car diff centre to better the original ratio for modern road travel? A 3.73 or a 3.54 makes for better road speeds at lower engine revs.

 

i have changed over from 4.1 to 3.54 diffs in both my 52 and 53 trucks and couldn’t be happier with the results.

Glad to read this. i pulled my diff out, installed a diplomat rear, and it has 2.73. Makes it difficult to move.so i found a killer deal on 3.55 gears. Im sure it will be right what i want. 

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On 4/23/2020 at 7:53 PM, Desotodav said:

Sounds like you’re all over it Bill.

 

One question though: seeing as you have the diff centre out, have you considered searching for a car diff centre to better the original ratio for modern road travel? A 3.73 or a 3.54 makes for better road speeds at lower engine revs.

 

i have changed over from 4.1 to 3.54 diffs in both my 52 and 53 trucks and couldn’t be happier with the results.

Thanks for the info, never gave it much thought.  The previous owner said he was able to get it up to about 50 mph. As of now the wife said that was ok for cruising. 

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So I may have hit a snag.  Once I was able to get a good look at the gears I noticed about 8 teeth that had rusted. I'm soaking it in evapo rust to see if it cleans up.  Then I plan on measuring the width of the gears and using some marking compound to see how everything is lining up. Everything spins freely and I dont feel any drag when those gears engage. Hopefully everything will be ok. 

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10 hours ago, Bdblazer1978 said:

So I may have hit a snag.  Once I was able to get a good look at the gears I noticed about 8 teeth that had rusted. I'm soaking it in evapo rust to see if it cleans up.  Then I plan on measuring the width of the gears and using some marking compound to see how everything is lining up. Everything spins freely and I dont feel any drag when those gears engage. Hopefully everything will be ok. 

 

Evaporust should take care of that.  Worst case there may be some light pitting left, and maybe some noise but maybe not as the rust appears to be only on part of the tooth surface.    I'd just clean up and install. And would avoid bead blasting unless it is to be taken completely apart to clean.  Blasting media gets into every crevice, bearing and other hiding spots. 

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I had one sit a long time like that and rusted the top 1/2 of the ring gear.

It made a wow wow wow noise .

It was not real loud but enough that I had to replace it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I replaced the pinion seal and now it's more difficult to spin?  Could I have over tightened the yoke nut?  I marked the nut, shaft, and yoke before disassembling and lined everything back up when I reinstalled. Looking at the manual its mentions 15-25 in pounds of drag, but that's for shims, which I didn't touch. I dont want to re-install if something isnt right. 

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There is no crush sleeve on the pinion...shims as you know.

The nut being torqued to the spec...180lbs...cannot remember should not make it tighter to turn than before and you set it to where it was before and it turned ok then....so what's up with the new pinion seal....lubed? Correct size to the yoke?

 

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When I was rebuilding I followed the advice in the thread below and used the same parts to include the sleeve, my yoke had some minor pitting. The seal is dry right now so that could be part of the problem. The other thing is I may just be over analyzing this. My only reference for difficulty turning is what it felt like before disassembling. Currently I can turn it using a couple fingers and minor pressure, I'm just not sure how easy it should rotate. 

  

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