Hey all,

1979 F150 with a 9" rear end. I need to replace the pinion seal. I did one on my 2003 F150, and know all about marking the nut, counting number of turns, and returning to original mark and tightening just past the mark so not to mess up the crush sleeve etc.

Is there anything about a Ford 9" that you can't use this same typical process? Just curious since the 9" is a bit different in design than many other typical rear axles.

Thanks!

 

I've never had a problem just tightening the nut back up...just be careful not to overtighten...

 

Hopefully you have better luck than I had. My impact wouldn't budge the pinion nut. 18" long 1/2" breaker bar wouldn't budge it. Put a 4' long cheater pipe on the 1/2" Craftsman breaker bar and it broke the 40+ year old breaker bar passed from my grandfather to my father, then down to me. Had to break down and take it to the local 4x4 shop where their huge 3/4" air impact zipped it right off in 10 seconds. Put a small dent in the lower bedside when the bar broke too.

Pissed I couldn't fix it myself. I mean, I could've spent $2k minimum on a large compressor and an air impact, but that's just not financially possible right now.

Even more pissed I broke a quality tool passed down 3 generations. Ah well.

 

Ideally, you should install a new crush sleeve or at the very minimum ensure you are near the proper rotational torque for the pinion.

I can't count how many wrecked and trashed rear ends I have seen over the years cause someone thought it was a good idea to reuse a crush sleeve and or not set the turning torque of the pinon to the correct spec's

 

FYI 1/2" Craftsman breaker bars are at most good for 100 ft-lbs or so. Most pinion nuts are in the 150+ range. Is this what happened to yours?

You could get a set of 3/4" drive they would be cheaper than the compressor and impact.

 

Well the breaker bar could still be useful. Just keep in under the front seat!

 

I respectfully disagree. I've put this bar through some ridiculous stress. FAR more than 100 ft-lbs. Maybe the new ones. 100 ft-lbs is not that much. I've had that 4' cheater pipe on that thing countless times, the max stress is definitely more than 100.

Eitherway, mine failed similar to your but it snapped the ear off, instead of bending it.