pinion crush washer change giving me trouble

[manyodas88]

changing the pinion seal on my 92 4.0 cherokee. i decided to replace the crush washer as after changing the seal afew years ago the rear end has been alittle noisey i thought maybe i tightened it a little too much. anyway i put the ne washer in noticed that it was a little "thicker than the old one which i figured was normal as it had not been tightened down yet. replaced the seal and put the yoke back on. i cannot seem to get the end play out of it, not wanting to overtighten it i was very cautious but it was obvious that the bearing was not even seated i have trieed with all my might with a 1/2 " breaker bar to get the washer to collapse but i'm afraid i'm going to break the bar i believe i have everthing back together right but it's not right. i put the washer on first then the pinion bearing and the seal. i don't want to remove the seal at all possible thanks............... steve

[JDPascal]

That crush sleeve is difficult to collapse. The minimum torque on the pinion nut is 145 to 175 ftlbs when finally crushed depending on the model of differential.

I made myself a holder for the pinion yoke - a plate drilled to the flange bolt pattern welded to a 4 foot 1 1/2" pipe. I turn the nut with a 3/4 sliding T handle (though a good 1/2" ratchet will do too) and a 3 foot snipe. Even then it is a hard pull. you have to turn the nut about one turn after the thread play is taken up to take the endplay out of the bearing. Keep checking as you go.

After the endplay is gone, turn the nut SLOWLY A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME. The preload is a maximum of 15 to 25 INCH POUNDS of rotating torque. If the wheels and axles are in, I would want to see a little more because of the other rolling resistances. Measure it with a dial torque wrench. or you will have the bearings out and noisy in a short time. A half a flat on the nut is the most I would tighten it after the end play is gone before you check the preload.

I just rebearinged the diff in my cougar because some grease monkey used an impact on the pinion nut when he changed the pinion seal under a used car warrenty. I received no help from the dealer on the $200 it cost for parts either.

JD