Hey guys...
Just wondering what skill level I need to fix this leak.

I took it to Aamco and the mechanic said the rear needed to be rebuilt as he felt the bearings are loose.

I too can feel a minimal amount of play at the pinion. It is not the u-joint.

I see the nut on the pinion but don't know what type of force is required to remove it. I have air tools but admit my impact wrench ain't the best.

so, can I replace the crush seal?

Can I rebuild the internals (bearings seals.. etc..)? or is this for the pro's?

 

After a cross country trip towing a 30 ft bumper RV trailer my rear pinion seal was leaking. I also noticed the vent tube was plugged, so the seal may have been leaking because the case could not vent.

I took it to a local shop that I trust because I am not 100% sure on how to change the seal, and if there was more work required then the fellas could knock it out. They are a great shop and charged me $50 to change it, plus parts.

A new fresh vent tube installed, and it has been good ever since.

I know that when you start to get into the gears and what not, you need to know what you are doing and have the proper tools.

 

There should be a little play, how much are you talking about? I wouldn't put much credence in what that AAMCO guy said, not to single him out, I'm not too quick to believe anyone's diagnosis, too many don't know what they are doing.

 

I used this video as a reference when I replaced mine. Gives you the gest of replacing it and good pointers. Overall, the job is not that big of a deal, measure, mark and take your time.

>>>Definitely make sure you block the front wheels!! <<<

Start spraying everything with PB BLASTER now. I drained my diff before doing it and visually inspected everything before starting the seal. Figured there's No point in just replacing the seal if there's a ton of shavings in the diff.

A LubeLocker gasket makes resealing the cover much easier and is re-useable!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/292080220845

LubeLocker Differential Gasket for Ford/Sterling 10.25/50"(LLR-F105)

 

I have same rear end, and it had a leak also. When I pulled the back pan off, it had a ton of shavings and hash marks on the limited slip part. Got a used rear end after a ton of research on rebuild, and it was $400 and half a day to replace. Rides great now with no roughness when I let of the throttle.

 

You can also put the truck in 4WD as an added precaution. Thanks for the tip on that gasket.
How hard would you rate the job swapping the carrier out? I'm debating whether to swap a LS carrier in or swap the whole axle over. I have the donor axle all but on the ground at this point.

BTW I know it's late for you but for future reference and other folks, those hash marks on there seem to be normal for whatever reason.

 

It was pretty easy with some pre-planning such as penetrating oil and a shop to press the bearing. While there I lubed the yoke, as I had the 7.3 stop-and - go clunk that made me cringe. I wish I had replaced the ujoints, but was anxious to finish. It sounded like a new truck, and with the right tools can go pretty fast.
I've seen threads on the carrier bearing, but for $20 at the shop, it was worth not doing to fight off and on, and I didn't have to worry about screwing it up.

 

I like to leave rear end work to the pros.
There should be no up/down or in/out movement. When twisting the drive shaft, there should be a small amount of play know as backlash.
Rebuilding one is very technical. First set pinion depth and preload, then set up the carrier. Often the carrier must be shimmed side to side to get right. Then preload the carrier bearings and the rest is straight forward.

 

I think we're talking about different things. I'm talking about the drive shaft carrier bearing, which was a beer simple straightforward replacement. The only difficult part was pressing it. Rear ends go, I agree, that they need to have the aims of back, and back lash at up using dial indicators etc. I saved my old one to rebuild, as there are many great tutorials, but I needed my trick in commission so opted for a used rear.

 

I have a shop press and a lot of tools but just wondering what special tools are needed for pulling the bearings off installing the new bearing races and pulling off the yoke. This is in reference to rebuilding the internals to the rear.

 

As much as we all don't trust others to work on our trucks, this seems to be one of those that few have tackled and most have relegated to the professionals. Many of the posts have something to the effect of "money well spent" in there somewhere.

There have been some who have taken on this project though. Here is a write-up from Lex2002. Hopefully this answers some of your questions:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ferential.html

 

I was quoted $1,899 to rebuild the rear from AAMCO.

At that price I would rather buy the right tools and do it myself.

 

You could probably buy the right tools, take the time off work to do it yourself and be ahead of the game.

 

I am going to dive into the rear in the near future and am contemplating the pinion bearing/seal while I'm in there. I haven't gotten an estimate at a shop but most of the posts I have read seem to be a few hundred at most for a pinion seal/bearing. The only other things I can think of is carrier bearings and some oil seals for a rebuild unless you need to get a whole new carrier, ring gear, and pinion.

These rear ends are pretty stout and I read more about people changing out the big ticket items (carrier, ring gear) because they WANT to (locker, re-gear), not because they NEED to:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l-rebuild.html

IMHO you should get a second opinion from another shop that does this kind of work. Unless something looks ugly or you have metal shavings in there I would think that it would be less than half that price at a local shop.

I have 305K on my truck and my ring and pinion still look in good condition. The LSD is pretty much done but when I dive in there to install my locker I plan to keep the ring and pinion. My pinion seal isn't leaking so I don't know if I want to tackle the pre-load as well as the backlash.

 

You could also put a cheap used rear end in and rebuild the existing. Like I've said, swapping them out is pretty easy and quick.