Hello i have a question about my 1977 f250's front axle. I have a dana 44 and it is leaking oil from the rear of the pumpkin where the drive shaft connects. I'm pretty sure it's the pinion seal. My question is when i have the seal out how do i replace the outer pinion bearing as well. I figured i might as well replace that to while im in there. Also do i have to remove the whole axle for this job ? I have the parts pinion seal, outer bearing, pinion nut, washer and crush sleeve. I've never done this before so any info would be awesome i don't want to do something wrong and shred my gears! Thanks the new guy

 

never actually done it, but it should be pretty strait forward. if you can get the pinion out, you should be able to get the outer bearing out. the only note for reassembly is to make 100% positive that your gear lashing is right. too much=premature wear. too little=rattly gears/premature wear.

 

You do not have to pull the whole axle out of the truck to do this job. However, you will need some specialty tools like a torque wrench and a dial indicator. There are several resources on the web that explain the procedure in detail.

 

you will also need a special housing spread tool to get the carrier in and out of the housing

 

Can I do this job from the rear of the houseing by dropping the drive shaft and going in, or do i have to go through the front? Any ideas on where to look on the net for the info can't seem to find it. Found some on replacing the seal but not the bearing.

 

This is easy, even I did it - except the torquing, which is not easy if the truck isn't jacked.

1- Mark your drive shaft and the yokes on both the pumpkin and t-case sides so that you can reinstall it in the same way.

2- Remove the drive shaft. You'll now have access to the pinion nut on the D44.

3- Remove the nut, I locked the hubs, but that might not be the best idea - still a lot of play and therefore some potential stress particularly during the re-torque later on

4- Slide the yoke off the pinion (out of the pumpkin), now you're looking at the pinion seal (you'll want something to catch the oil as it starts to leak out once you pull the yoke.

4- Pop the pinion seal out with either a seal puller or screw driver. Lots of oil comes out here.

5- Lubricate new seal rubber with oil that leaked out, add some sealant to outside ring of the new seal (not the rubber!) and install new seal. Helps to have some thing like a tube of comparable size to mallet in the new seal. I used something like a 2 7/16ths or so socket (same socket for the rear wheel nuts on a D60 btw)

6- Slide yoke back in, torque pinion nut to 200 - 220 ft lbs (good luck with that!) according to spec.

7- Reattach drive shaft according to your markings.

8- Refill D44 with oil - fresh oil would probably be wise.

I'm very much a novice, so I'd suggest confirming the above steps before you do it.

 

jdv19....?
what is actually the problem?...a leaky seal? why not just replace the seal and see if that corrects the leak? If it is just the seal and the bearings are good don't tear into it and make work for yourself, 1st index the pinion and yoke, check your torque when you take off the yoke, want tu see if it was correct in the first place and once the yoke is removed check for wear on the yoke... if it is seen, they make seal savers...a thin sleeve that goes over the yoke to eliminate the groove and you can also tightenen up the seal by screwing the spring in a little bit, the seal is relatively cheap and you will cut out alot of unneceassary work if this was the only issue and if you discover more you had to take it apart this far anyhow, I found over the years that it was just old age making it leak ...then just reverse the order in re- assembly

the other responders to your posts also gave some good advice/direction if you need to go that far

 

Like side above, if it's just the seal this is an easy job. Just mark everything and put it back the same way. The pinion nut torque is 175-225 ft-lbs. I wouldn't worry about the bearings as this would require disassembling the differential since the pinion gear has to be removed access the rear pinion bearing. If you need to replace the bearings because of noise or another issue, a differential rebuild would be in order.

 

agree with info above.. also pick up some flexible sealant to put around the splines when you put the yoke back on. I did this job on my chevy and it's pretty straight forward.

 

I've had success just wedging a rag between ring and pinion teeth during torque pull-down. But that assumes you've got the cover off and can access the gears. Also had success with a block of wood wedged between the carrier and the housing. Key point is, hold it still with something softer than the surrounding or related metal parts.

 

Sometimes also called speedy sleeves if that helps. I sure wouldn't mess with bearings either if the only problem is an oil leak. Bearing replacement is a completely different project, not a "while I'm in there" type of a deal.

 

That sounds good. I won't change the bearings then i f i dont have to, obviously a new guy so i thought i could just knock it all out at the same time. Thanks for all the replies i'm going to try it....hopefully i dont ruin anything. As soon as i figure out how to show some pics of my truck ill post them. It needs some minor work and there are some things i want to change but it's awsome!

 

Wouldn't you have to remove the carrier to get the pinion bearing preload correct?

 

I'd make sure you have the right seals cause there is no crush sleeve in a 44, so whoever sold you those parts doesn't know the difference. Also make sure your vent tube isn't plugged up, that will cause leaks in a axle.

 

Sorry to restart this thread but i need some help. I have the all the parts disassembled to the outer bearing. Funny thing though is the seal looked fine to me? Behind the seal was a big washer... no shims. Is this right? The kit i got from LMC did not come with this "washer" it came with 4 shims. Should i reassemble using the washer or should i use the 4 shims? Also the pinion nut was not hard to get off at all. When i started, i counted the # of threads i could see and it was at 2. Is this right? It seems to me that if it was torqued to 200+ lbs there would have been more than 2 threads showing and it would have been a little harder to break free. Only took me 7 complete turns to get it off. Last question is how do I know if the outer bearing needs replaceing by looking at it? I'm thinkng the guy that had this truck before me replaced the seal and didn't tighten the nut enough and thats what was causing my leak.