JeepJeepster
Full Access Member
This really isn't meant to be a How-To, just more of 'I did something.'
Front pinion seal has been weeping on my 04 for around 10 years now. While I was under the Jeep working I thought that it may have been covered under the power train warranty but I guess I missed that chance. Lately its started leaving small puddles so it was time to do something about it.
It seems that anything gear related is voodoo which made me very apprehensive going into this. About a year ago my parents 06 WK started leaving puddles and I wasnt about to touch it. With the quadra drive I knew if I screwed something up I knew it would be $$ to have it rebuilt/replaced so I let the dealer replace it. They didnt use a new pinion nut and it does whine a bit. They only charged $150 so Im not sure if they even took the brakes off to get a proper pre-load measurement. This really didnt make me feel like the dealer did anything special. With my KJ I figured worst case scenario I would have to get a front diff from a junkyard.... Plus Ive really wanted to give this a shot.
I followed the FSM to a T and everything seems to have worked great. Ive yet to drive it as I found a torn caliper slider boot and I had to order the boot. I removed the calipers/rotors and I also placed jack stands under the lower A-arms to try and have the least rotating resistance possible. I counted the number of turns that it took to remove the old pinion nut but when tightening it up I was over around ~1/4-1/2 turn to get the same torque. Before removing the pinion I was getting 12.5 in-lb of torque. An 18" pipe wrench worked well to hold the companion flange and it was all I had to get it off with a 2.5' breaker bar. I really wanted to count the turns but an impact would most likely zip it right off.
A seal puller worked ok for removing the seal but I did gouge the inside of the housing. When trying to place the puller near the edge of the old seal it was pulling through the seal, so I had to put the seal puller behind the very outside edge of the seal, right against the diff. The seal was firmly in place. The gouges were behind the mating surface of the seal in an area that doesnt appear to matter. I did wrap a thick paper towel around the pinion to protect the splines.
A new mopar pinion nut, mopar seal, and the miller 8681 seal installer were purchased. The seal installed worked fantastic but you could use a pipe or something the same O/D as the seal. I messed up the front crank seal not long ago and ended up buying the miller installer for it also. The FSM talks of a companion flange puller, a special seal puller, a handle for the seal installer, and a companion flange installer, but I only needed the seal installer. I was able to remove the companion flange with a pry bar by rotating it, prying, rotating it, prying, etc.
When tightening the nut, I was able to easily reach the 12.5 turns that it took to get it off with a 1/2 ratchet. After that it became very tight and I had to use the pipe wrench and the breaker bar to tighten it on up. I would tighten the nut what I felt like was 1/64 of a turn then check the torque with my in-lb torque wrench. After doing this a minimum of 300 times, the torque wrench showed 12.5 in-lb...
Hopefully imgur works ok, this is my first time using it after photobucket went downhill.
My helper:
Front pinion seal has been weeping on my 04 for around 10 years now. While I was under the Jeep working I thought that it may have been covered under the power train warranty but I guess I missed that chance. Lately its started leaving small puddles so it was time to do something about it.
It seems that anything gear related is voodoo which made me very apprehensive going into this. About a year ago my parents 06 WK started leaving puddles and I wasnt about to touch it. With the quadra drive I knew if I screwed something up I knew it would be $$ to have it rebuilt/replaced so I let the dealer replace it. They didnt use a new pinion nut and it does whine a bit. They only charged $150 so Im not sure if they even took the brakes off to get a proper pre-load measurement. This really didnt make me feel like the dealer did anything special. With my KJ I figured worst case scenario I would have to get a front diff from a junkyard.... Plus Ive really wanted to give this a shot.
I followed the FSM to a T and everything seems to have worked great. Ive yet to drive it as I found a torn caliper slider boot and I had to order the boot. I removed the calipers/rotors and I also placed jack stands under the lower A-arms to try and have the least rotating resistance possible. I counted the number of turns that it took to remove the old pinion nut but when tightening it up I was over around ~1/4-1/2 turn to get the same torque. Before removing the pinion I was getting 12.5 in-lb of torque. An 18" pipe wrench worked well to hold the companion flange and it was all I had to get it off with a 2.5' breaker bar. I really wanted to count the turns but an impact would most likely zip it right off.
A seal puller worked ok for removing the seal but I did gouge the inside of the housing. When trying to place the puller near the edge of the old seal it was pulling through the seal, so I had to put the seal puller behind the very outside edge of the seal, right against the diff. The seal was firmly in place. The gouges were behind the mating surface of the seal in an area that doesnt appear to matter. I did wrap a thick paper towel around the pinion to protect the splines.
A new mopar pinion nut, mopar seal, and the miller 8681 seal installer were purchased. The seal installed worked fantastic but you could use a pipe or something the same O/D as the seal. I messed up the front crank seal not long ago and ended up buying the miller installer for it also. The FSM talks of a companion flange puller, a special seal puller, a handle for the seal installer, and a companion flange installer, but I only needed the seal installer. I was able to remove the companion flange with a pry bar by rotating it, prying, rotating it, prying, etc.
When tightening the nut, I was able to easily reach the 12.5 turns that it took to get it off with a 1/2 ratchet. After that it became very tight and I had to use the pipe wrench and the breaker bar to tighten it on up. I would tighten the nut what I felt like was 1/64 of a turn then check the torque with my in-lb torque wrench. After doing this a minimum of 300 times, the torque wrench showed 12.5 in-lb...
Hopefully imgur works ok, this is my first time using it after photobucket went downhill.
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My helper:
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