Pinion seal replacement
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2009
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From: St. Petersburg, FL
Pinion seal replacement
Hey everybody. How hard is it to change the pinion seal on a Sterling 10.25" full floater? I just found out yesterday (when getting new tires installed) that I have a leaking wheel seal on the driver side of the rear axle. It actually looked like some kind of exotic chocolate dessert when I took the drum off but it smelled like death. 
lol. I know that the pinion seal has been weeping for a while and I figured that while i'm in there to do the wheel seal and brakes, I might as well fix the pinion seal. Is this something that I can do myself or do I need to take it somewhere? Thanks in advance.
lol. I know that the pinion seal has been weeping for a while and I figured that while i'm in there to do the wheel seal and brakes, I might as well fix the pinion seal. Is this something that I can do myself or do I need to take it somewhere? Thanks in advance.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2009
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From: St. Petersburg, FL
Bump bump. No one has done this? I did some searching on the fourm but didn't find anything detailed with specs and what else I should look for while i'm doing the pinion seal job. I ordered a seal already from Rockauto also but i'm not sure if I needed anything else. I tried to look for a crush sleeve but the only one they had listed was for a 8.8.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Kentucky
You will need to take a good look at the pinion bearings on that Sterling. They are not known to leak at the pinion seal. Worn pinion bearings will allow the pinion to walk around which in turn causes leaking. If the bearings look good then toss in a new crush sleeve and seal. Re-torque the pinion nut to achieve the proper preload, 20-35 inch/lbs. I hope you have a large breaker bar or impact wrench. Getting that crush sleeve to start collapsing takes a lot of muscle or air.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 23,667
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From: Easton,Ks
You did not say what year the axle is so I will guess a 1995.
As far as I know the 10.25 is just like the 8.8 only has a larger ring gear.
Yes it has a crush sleeve (called a Collapsible Spacer #4662).
When I do my rear ends I always get the kit with all the bearings, races, and seals. But the wheel seal and bearing are not in the kit. I buy it from O'Reilly auto parts.
If you need any instructions from the Shop manual just email me and I will email them to you.
As far as I know the 10.25 is just like the 8.8 only has a larger ring gear.
Yes it has a crush sleeve (called a Collapsible Spacer #4662).
When I do my rear ends I always get the kit with all the bearings, races, and seals. But the wheel seal and bearing are not in the kit. I buy it from O'Reilly auto parts.
If you need any instructions from the Shop manual just email me and I will email them to you.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2009
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From: St. Petersburg, FL
Thanks for the info guys. Whenever I buy parts for the axle I ask for a 1990 F250 HD. I know that it does have the 4.10 ratio front and rear because the last time I had the cover off, it was stamped into the ring gear. I'm going ot assume that the front is the same ratio because it doesn't bind up in 4 wheel drive. The only reason I look for 90' parts is that in a previous post, I found out that the PO welded 87-91 frame horns on the front for the axle conversion, so i'm assuming that the axles are the same. I'm going to try to clean up the area where I think it's leaking from the pinion seal and see if it seeps any more. I know that I had a leak from the transmission about a year ago (that's repaired) and it might be residue from that. Either way, i'm going to do the outer axle seals and brakes first before I attempt to mess with the pinion seal.
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Joined: Apr 2010
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You will need a dial or beam type inch pound torque wrench to check the pre load.
It should take 20-35 inch pounds to turn the pinion with new bearings, a little less, about 10 in. pounds if you reuse the bearings. If you have to change the bearings you will need a bearing puller. Randys ring and pinion sells one that works really well, I also highly recommend the differentials manual from Randys ring and pinion.
Go slow as you're tightening the pinion nut. [about 1/8th turn at a time when it is almost tight] It is easy to go too far and crush the sleeve too much then you will have to take it all apart and get a new sleeve.
It should take 20-35 inch pounds to turn the pinion with new bearings, a little less, about 10 in. pounds if you reuse the bearings. If you have to change the bearings you will need a bearing puller. Randys ring and pinion sells one that works really well, I also highly recommend the differentials manual from Randys ring and pinion.
Go slow as you're tightening the pinion nut. [about 1/8th turn at a time when it is almost tight] It is easy to go too far and crush the sleeve too much then you will have to take it all apart and get a new sleeve.
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2010
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You will need a dial or beam type inch pound torque wrench to check the pre load.
It should take 20-35 inch pounds to turn the pinion with new bearings, a little less, about 10 in. pounds if you reuse the bearings. If you have to change the bearings you will need a bearing puller. Randys ring and pinion sells one that works really well, I also highly recommend the differentials manual from Randys ring and pinion.
Go slow as you're tightening the pinion nut. [about 1/8th turn at a time when it is almost tight] It is easy to go too far and crush the sleeve too much then you will have to take it all apart and get a new sleeve.
It should take 20-35 inch pounds to turn the pinion with new bearings, a little less, about 10 in. pounds if you reuse the bearings. If you have to change the bearings you will need a bearing puller. Randys ring and pinion sells one that works really well, I also highly recommend the differentials manual from Randys ring and pinion.
Go slow as you're tightening the pinion nut. [about 1/8th turn at a time when it is almost tight] It is easy to go too far and crush the sleeve too much then you will have to take it all apart and get a new sleeve.
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