i have a 83 F250 4x4, its the light duty model GVWR of 6000 - and a flatbed that puts the scale weight around 56-5800 depending on what scale i cross. it has a semi-floating dana 60 with 3.55 gears right now.
and yesterday i found out i lost a pinion seal.
its not a daily driver, but when i do drive it, i'm usually loaded up quite a bit.

so i'm looking at 2 options: fix my pinion seal, or swap in a full floating rearend.
now if i decide to go ahead and fix the one i've got, how much work is involved in changing out that seal - is it possible to remove the yoke, extract the seal, and drive in the new one, or is it necessary to fully disassemble it? and if disasembly is necessary, how hard is it to set the pinion depth on these?
if i decide to just swap the whole thing out, that seems a little simpler, and puts me into a heavier axle, maybe even with bigger brakes. i measured it last night and found that the springs are 45" apart of center, and the backing plates 55" measured on the inboard side. a dana 70 i have laying around had a larger dimension between springs - but i don't know what it came out of, and it leaves me wondering which one is unusual.

i've swapped axles in other trucks, and i've had rearends apart (except setting ring-pinion setup) - so i'm not a total stranger to the work, but does anyone have any insight that might help my decision here?

 

The hardest part is getting the nut loose that holds the yoke on. This is a piece of cake if you have a good impact wrench though.

Mark the position of the nut, take the nut loose, dig the seal out, and install the new one. Put the nut back on and put it back in the same position it was in. That's it.

Also makes sure the vent hose is clear over on the driver's side where the brake line block is.

Before you did any of this, I would take and stick my finger in the oil, and smell it. If it's stinky gear oil you are probably correct, the seal is leaking. If not, it may be a engine leak or something else up front. Many people have been fooled into thinking the rearend is leaking, when it's actually oil that has blown back from something leaking up front.

 

Im with Franklin2, just stick in a new seal. Cost will be minimal and you should be able to get it done in less then an hour.

 

sounds like a plan. i know i read somewhere about someone having to tear the entire thing apart to get at that seal, but i don't know what model of axle it was on - aparently not a dana 60.
thanks for the help guys

 

I vote swap the axle if you have the means. But not the dana 70, it's probably duals and likely much more work then it's worth with axle perches, u-joint differences, brakes, etc. I'd go grab a 10.25 out of a F250HD or F350 and swap it in, sure it's a a few more bucks, but not really much more work and so much better in the long run.

If you decide to change the seal, to do it right and you should, it takes a little more then franklin2 and garthneddy mentioned. You'll have to remove the yoke, the yoke and the crush sleeve set the pinion bearing pre-load. It will have to be "reset" when putting it back together. IMO the best compromise between doing it perfectly and not putting to much time or money in is to before loosening the yoke pull the axles and using a bar or dial type inch pound torque wrench measure how much torque it takes to turn the pinion. Then swap the seal, and when tightening the yoke, tighten until it takes the same torque to turn the pinion, with axles still out, and assuming that puts enough torque on the nut, it should. Then slide the axles back in button it up and your good to go. You need to do this cause the last thing you want is over tight pinion bearings, they'll burn up. Because you are reusing the crush sleeve it gets real easy to overtighten the bearings if you just tighten the hell out of the pinion nut without considering bearing pre-load.

You mention pinion depth, that will not be effected by the seal replacement, only bearing pre-load. Depth is set with shims on the inside that will not be effected by the removal of the yoke.

Ohh and this would be a good time to consider if you want a different gear ratio while your at it. Swapping axles could get you a better ratio for no extra money or effort then you would already be putting in to fix your problem and get a full floater.

 

opossum, changing the axle ratio may be tempting, but as a 4x4 that means changing both axles, and i don't want to get that far into it right now.
there was an 8800 GVWR F250 at pick n pull with a full floating d60 with 3.54 gears that i was tempted to grab, but the quick-and-easy seal replacement doesn't sound like near as much work.
the heavier axle would be nice, but so would a bigger engine, heavier front end, heavier brakes... well ok, lets just swap it out for a diesel truck but until then, i think i'll just keep it in one piece for now

 

Yeah I know well how that goes, I call it the "might as wells" Your "might as well" I would guess would be getting a better front and rear axle out of a donor truck and swap both in at the same time.

Mine at the moment is my brake booster. I need a new one so I might as well swap in hydroboost, if doing that I might as well swap in a saginaw pump, if doing that I might as well swap to serpentine belt, if doing that I might as well swap in a 3G alternator, etc. So I might as well wait till ready to do it all at once, and thus my brake booster hasn't yet been replaced. No huge worries it works, just hisses so I know it's on it's way out and I got one from a parts truck I just picked up I can swap in if it becomes urgent while I track down my might as well list parts.

 

for this truck, i'll keep it down to just enough. now in my van, thats a different story. twin 3g alternators, huge battery for my inverter system, 1500w inverter, 2 air compressors, either of which can be powered by the inverter or house power, etc. but thats my daily work rig and i need all that. this truck is my occasional use rig for things i can't fit inside the van - firewood, concrete blocks, gravel, etc.
instead of making major upgrades to it, i might as well step up to a diesel truck, or maybe a 460, as that 4.9 just can't keep up with that kind of weight. and by the time i've swapped everything out, it would be easier and cheaper to buy a truck that already fits my needs.
i guess i started on the "might as well" train of thought, then reality hit me. i only use this truck for said things, and i'm in process of finishing up my 20' car trailer designed for 10k, which might make this truck unnecessary altogether. but thats a whole 'nother train of thought

 

I hope you mean 15,000w inverter, 1500 ain't much, I got kinda the same thing going in my truck but a 5000w inverter. However I use that in junction with a small generator and a power converter. This way I don't have to run my engine all the time and can run the 12v stuff on the truck from the generator or wall outlet.

How did you wire the twin alternators, don't you need some way to keep one from dominating over the other?

 

If this is a LIGHT DUTY F250, it has the Ford 8.8" rear axle, not a Dana 60.

8.8's were installed in all 1983/89 F250 Light Duty's.

To verify if your F250 is a Light Duty, post the AXLE code from the Certification Label.

 

ok, axle code is 26. it sure looks like a dana - fill plug on the cover, correct shape, etc.
and as you're at it, i know the list of axle codes has been posted here before, but could you link to it here - i can never find it.
on the door sticker, the RAGW was 3880, GVW 6600, not the 6k i mistakenly posted above.

 

That's why you mark the nut before you loosen it. You can't overtighten it if you put the nut back where it was.

I know my method is a little crude compared to the factory manual, but it works without getting the pre-load too far off from where it was.

 

here's some light reading on the subject https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...le-advice.html feel free to ask questions from there


and franklin, i like the way you think there - just copy what was already there and call it good. i think thats my plan.

 

26 = Ford WDR 8.8" Rear Axle / 3.55-1 / No Limited Slip / 4,500 lb. Rear Axle Capacity.

Sorry, cannot link it here, as my source is the 1980/89 Ford Light Truck Parts Catalog...on microfiche.

This parts catalog is available on a CD from hipoparts.com

Opossum: It doesn't make a dang bit of difference if a Dana 70 has SRW or DRW, as the axle is the same for both.

Take a look-see in this parts catalog, or the 1973/79 or the 1964/72 versions. See if you can find a listing for a Dana 70 with DRW. Lotsa luck.

 

thanks for the info, i think i'll step outside and curse loudly about that fact