Rear Axle: Pinion seal, '56 Flight Hawk

[K Russell]

I need to change the pinion seal on my Flight Hawk and looking in my repro shop manual I see mention of specialty tools, J-2046, J-2035, that, of course, don't exist any more. Do I really need these or are there substitutions out there? I see a lot of posts about changing pinion seals and it seems there are numerous differences between models. Is the companion flange pressed on or just a slip fit? Special tool needed to get the old seal out? Am I likely to find the new seal looking a lot different from the old? Does the old dust shield still exist or is it a part of the modern pinion seal? At my age I hate to have to crawl under the old buggy more times than necessary so want to have everything right in my head before I start. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

[E. Davis]

Try the advanced search button on the upper right of the page. Lots of info there. Just enter pinion seal for the subject.

[SN-60]

The old seal pries right out with a long screwdriver, punch, etc. The new seals are one piece and install easily!

[JoeHall]

There is probably a brand x seal that will fit, but I do not recall. A search of the archives here may help, but our vendors also have them. I'd buy two, one to screw up, and one to install.

The higher you can safely raise the car the better, but get all wheels at least 6" off the ground if possible. Use ramps, and/or jack stands to hold it up. Now might be a good time to replace u'joints, and/or tranny rear seal too, if needed. But if not, just swing the drive shaft out of the way and rest it on something about a foot high, i.e. a jack stand. At that point, I have always been able to use a giant pair of channel-lock pliers, or large crescent wrench to hold one ear of the yoke, while loosening the large, retainer nut with a breaker bar and socket. But be careful where you grab the yoke, so as not to warp it.

After the nut is off, use a brass drift to gently tap the yoke off. Drain the oil first, or there will be a pint or so on the ground when you remove the yoke. Clean everything up, and use 240 grit emery cloth, held in your hand while rotating the yoke, in order to scuff the yoke shaft surface a bit. (If you opt to change the rear tranny seal too, do this also for the front yoke.) Then reassemble, and tighten the nut as much as you can, which is probably gonna be a little less than the specified torque. I do not recall that spec, but it is high; don't worry you can only get 100 ft lbs or so, just use some blue Lock-Tite and it ain't going anywhere. Refill with oil, and ease on down the road

[K Russell]

Thanks for a very clear explanation and for the extra advice about the tranny seal also.

[sweetolbob]

Let me add that you can mark the position of the nut on the pinion and return the nut to that position after the seal is replaced if you don't have a torque wrench. I usually hold the yoke with a larger pipe wrench that jams against the underside. It's a small difference but the backlash was setup that way and any breaker bar will move easier with a longer pipe according to Archimedes.

Bob

[SN-60]

[QUOTE=sweetolbob; and any breaker bar will move easier with a longer pipe according to Archimedes.

Bob[/QUOTE]


Who was She?

[altair]

Make sure the hand brake is on tight and the wheels blocked when tightening the yoke. There are some very simple inexpensive seal pulling tools available, they are a simple 90 hook with a tab to hit with a hammer. They come in sets of two one large and one small, I pulled mine out with this tool it was simple. There are removable and replacement tools for the seals but.... I turned a wood drift on my lathe size for size and tapped the seal in square. Buy two seals because there is always that probability.