Delly
Registered User
After having some rear end noise on my 10.25" rear, I crawled under and found that the pinion nut was loose, and the yoke had some play. I tried to just retighten the nut, but could not get the play out of the yoke.
After disassembling the rear, I found that the sleeve on the yoke was wore, and the outer pinion bearing and race were pitted. I ordered a USA Standard Gear master kit to replace all bearings while I had the differential apart.
I have the new pinion bearing races installed into the differential, and am now attempting to install the pinion and get the correct preload with the new bearings. I am using the pinion shims that came with the kit, and verified that they matched the existing shim thickness that I removed from the pinion, and have a new crush sleeve and pinion nut. Using the Ford manual for reference I should have a minimum torque of 160 ft/lb. The problem is that I go beyond the preload spec of 16 to 29 in/lb way before I even get close to 160 ft/lb.
I continually spin the pinion and tap it to verify that the new bearings are seated, but it does not help. Searching through here, it sounds like 160 ft/lb isn't even enough to crush the crush sleeve.
Could it be that the preload goes beyond spec until the sleeve is crushed, and then comes back down? Or maybe using the old shim height is not correct for my new bearings?
After disassembling the rear, I found that the sleeve on the yoke was wore, and the outer pinion bearing and race were pitted. I ordered a USA Standard Gear master kit to replace all bearings while I had the differential apart.
I have the new pinion bearing races installed into the differential, and am now attempting to install the pinion and get the correct preload with the new bearings. I am using the pinion shims that came with the kit, and verified that they matched the existing shim thickness that I removed from the pinion, and have a new crush sleeve and pinion nut. Using the Ford manual for reference I should have a minimum torque of 160 ft/lb. The problem is that I go beyond the preload spec of 16 to 29 in/lb way before I even get close to 160 ft/lb.
I continually spin the pinion and tap it to verify that the new bearings are seated, but it does not help. Searching through here, it sounds like 160 ft/lb isn't even enough to crush the crush sleeve.
Could it be that the preload goes beyond spec until the sleeve is crushed, and then comes back down? Or maybe using the old shim height is not correct for my new bearings?