my ford rear pinion and my dana 44 front pinion seals are both leaking. so, with out thinking i rip out the front one and about to make a simple swap until i remember the CRUSH SLEEVE.

I've been told that this is a neccessity to change because it applies the torque specs to the bearings. i can easily order one for the rear ford axel, but the dana 44 i cant seem to find any local shops to have this sleeve. any idea on how to look it up correctly? and if this actually needs changed?

 

Doesn't the D44 use a shim pack instead of a crush sleeve?
Either way, as long as you don't overtighten the pinion nut on reinstallation you shouldn't need to replace the crush sleeve.
DON'T use an impact wrench to tighten the pinion nut, plus if you reuse the old nut coat the flange side and the threads with non hardening sealer (I use Permatex #2).
Also coat the splines of the pinion and yoke with sealer too.

 

maybe thats why i can't find a crush sleeve for that dana 44. ok, so if i just put the new seal on and tighten up the pinion nut, i should be good? is there a torque for the front pinion that you might happen to know off hand?

 

You should be good, I'll look and see if I can come up with a torque spec. for you.

 

i found the torque specs. thanks for all of your help man. now if i can ask you another question. the rear ford 9 has a crush sleeve. (and that seal is leaking). if i don't replace that crush sleeve (since i dont have a press on hand), am i going to have major problems? i've never heard of replacing these crush sleeves, but im hearing that i can possibly run into burning up some bearings.

 

I've replaced the pinion seal on Ford 9" rears before without problems. You just need to be sure that you don't add additional preload (crush) to the bearings.
The torque spec. for the Ford is 200 ft/lbs. I don't see any problem tightening it to 150 or so. Being a shade tree mechanic when I replace the seal I just tighten it to what I feel is good.
The front Dana 44 DOES have shims so tightening it to the 200-220 ft/lbs spec shouldn't be a problem.
Just incase something goes wrong and you need to replace the sleeve, NAPA has them. My local store keeps them in stock.

 

well i tightened the front up to about 200 and it took about 7/8 inch pounds to turn the front shafts, so i felt good about that. but now the rear, it takes alot more to turn that axle. im hoping if i take the wheels off it helps, if not, i might of just up....thanks for the help man

 

Does anyone know what size shim ford used on the dana m300 that sits behind the race for the pinion bearing? 2018 F550

 

I know too late for the party but I like to put a reference mark on the nut with a paint pen before removing it. That way you know exactly where it was tightened to before. I'll usually go a smidge beyond the reference mark when tightening.