Pinion seal

[BlwnCamaro]

Completely disagree. Done it the fast way on several of my own vehicles and then driven them for decades afterwards. It's all in how you do it.
Need to point out that Loctite is not a RTV gasket sealer. Use RTV around the outside of the seal to help guard against leaks.

thats cool man fair enough, but think about it, that is the correct way to do it ala proffesionaly rear end servicing manuals, why take a chance when it is way more expensive to replace everything later on cause the pinion bearing preload was out of spec. It says specifically that once the crush collar is tightened and then released that it should be replaced and won't hold tension properly. Peace guys good luck
Jesse

[02z28ls1]

I agree that's what the manual says.
If you don't feel comfortable doing this or anything else mechanical -don't. But I can give you a couple of different examples of things I've repaired on my own personal vehicles (on rear axles among other things)and then driven for years afterwards that should not have worked according to the manual. I will emphasize here again the words-it's all in how you do it. There is a certain mechanical savvy that needs to be present for things like this to work. Some people have that touch and some don't.
Sometimes things occur for reasons not totally clear at the time. A good example has recently been stated here. The use of Loktite as a gasket sealer is a good example of this. Somebody somewhere decided to try it and it worked for them. Does it say anywhere on the instructions for Loktite to use it as a gasket sealer? I can assure you that RTV works also-use a quality type like Ultra Blue, spread it thinly and assemble. No -it doesn't all push out on me, maybe it does on someone else. RTV is made to be squeezed thin and retain sealing qualities. It's all in how you do it.
I'm not interested in arguing about does it work or not-it does work for me and has for a long time. I've been a professional tech for over 20 years.

[98formy]

well both ways are ok as long as you understand what needs to be in spec.I've changed many using both ways and havn't had any more trouble with one or the other.Pulling the carrier out gives the risk you will damage something or cause a leak at an axle seal OR like the pont dealer did to my TA under warranty PUT THE CARRIER SHIMS BACK IN THE WRONG SIDE! which caused the ring gear 0 lash between the ring gear WHICH THEY FKD me on and refused to fix that cost me 900 dollars to fix plus the 500 warranty wouldn't pay.The most important thing is to know what you have before you start taking it apart.If its leaking because the pinion bearing are damaged from sitting(pitting from rust)you better be changing those pinion bearing because replacing the seal is not going to stop the leak.

example:99 ta,leaking pinion seal.Dealer puts 3 new seals in and it still leaks.Dealer says ok the 4th time we taking the carrier and pinion out and replacing the crush collar.Still leaks.Since its under gm warranty i take it to a different dealer.( of course none of these dealer will listen to reason) NUMB NUTS!Second dealer takes the rear apart and found the cause of the pinion seal leak,the pinion bearing had slight pitting from moisture damage from sitting.This is very common,it causes the pinion to runout( high-low pressure on the bearing races)BUT when the second dealer puts the carrier back in the butthead puts the shims in wrong and never checks the bklash.I pick up the car and the rear is screaming whinning etc.They refuse to take it bk apart KEY PONTIAC Bethlehem PA.I end up taking it to a 3rd garage to get the shims installed where they belong.


Moral of this story is:if you care about your rear end,FIX IT YOURSELF.Because if you don't yer gonna get it up your rear end.

GM offers a fix-it seal and new pinion bearing for our cars. I got tired of fixing mine after the third time. You got to tear the everything out to put it in, but it works. It hasn't leaked a drop since installing it. I am not sure what the part number is though, but i know its available. Just my two cents.

[BlwnCamaro]

I agree that's what the manual says.
If you don't feel comfortable doing this or anything else mechanical -don't. But I can give you a couple of different examples of things I've repaired on my own personal vehicles (on rear axles among other things)and then driven for years afterwards that should not have worked according to the manual. I will emphasize here again the words-it's all in how you do it. There is a certain mechanical savvy that needs to be present for things like this to work. Some people have that touch and some don't.
Sometimes things occur for reasons not totally clear at the time. A good example has recently been stated here. The use of Loktite as a gasket sealer is a good example of this. Somebody somewhere decided to try it and it worked for them. Does it say anywhere on the instructions for Loktite to use it as a gasket sealer? I can assure you that RTV works also-use a quality type like Ultra Blue, spread it thinly and assemble. No -it doesn't all push out on me, maybe it does on someone else. RTV is made to be squeezed thin and retain sealing qualities. It's all in how you do it.
I'm not interested in arguing about does it work or not-it does work for me and has for a long time. I've been a professional tech for over 20 years.

thats cool bro no need to get defensive, i build prossional rear ends at my own shop and your right it does take a good touch to do it. The manual will only take you so far, the rest is experience and ability. However the pinion bearing preload is one of the most crucial things to maintaining a healthy diff especially under hard loads. If your just cruisin around thats one thing, but if you drag race like I do that bearing crush load is crucial and can actually be unloaded if you launch hard enough with slicks on the little 10 bolt due partially to housing flex and to much pinion loading thus losing it's tension.
Me personally I just like to do stuff right the first time instead of having to spend more to do it again so thats why I take out the carrier and install a new crush sleeve to the correct specifications when installing a new pinion seal. Peace
Jesse

[02z28ls1]

no prob-just trying to clear up what I meant. As I understand it-you can replace the crush sleeve with a precision machined spacer for better strength under loading like you're doing. You crush one down and measure the length-then make a spacer that thickness. Just an idea.

Sounds like GM redesigned something-that sounds like the best way to do.

[BlwnCamaro]

no prob-just trying to clear up what I meant. As I understand it-you can replace the crush sleeve with a precision machined spacer for better strength under loading like you're doing. You crush one down and measure the length-then make a spacer that thickness. Just an idea.

Sounds like GM redesigned something-that sounds like the best way to do.

Yea I tried the ratech solid shim but for some reason have had better experience with the crush collar, but am also more used to the setup with the crush collar only used the shim once, the setup method is a little different. Good point though
Peace
Jesse