I need to replace the pinion seal on my 2001 F-350. Looks to be pretty straight forward. Take the drive shaft loose, take the pinion nut off and remove the U-joint flange and replace the seal. Is the nut torqued to a spec or does it control the bearing preload via a crush cleeve? Hate to find out the hard way that it controls a crush sleeve, been there before.
Thanks again

 

The 10.25 axle uses a crush sleeve, it can be replaced with a solid spacer kit. Essentially the same axle except the '99+ use a 10.5" ring gear and have a thicker pinion support area and use a different bearing because of this. Everything I have read on these axles would lead me to believe the 10.5 still uses the crush sleeve.

Try to call one of the drivetrain places, Randy's or Reider Racing are pretty knowledgeable folks, they should be able to give you a solid answer.

 

My 2000 has a crush sleeve. I had the pinion seal replaced under warranty at around 15 K and again at 40 K. Seemed odd to have 2 go out, but dealer saw no signs of abnormal wear. They think I just got 2 bad seals. After the second replacement the speed sensor went out within a couple of weeks. Coincidence? Either way it's all replaced and seems OK now. No leaks, noises or crazy electrical problems. I let the dealer do the pinion seal after I read through the Ford manual on the replacement procedure. Let them take the chance on getting the torque back right.