D80 Pinion Seal

Caver Dave

Caver Dave

Just holdin' it down here in BFV
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Hooterville (24171)
Took my truck ('04 F-350 C&C dually) to Mayberry over the weekend. Kept smelling something "odd" and came out of last stop to find puddle under the D80 pinion (and everything near "rust proofed" for the winter šŸ™„ )
Started with the easy shat... found the vent hose "dirt doober-ed", so blew the hose & little plastic fitting out and inserted screwdriver into the nipple on the axle tube to confirm it's open.
Topped off the gearoil (90-140), wasted a can of brake cleaner (minor effect) and lit out to drop Jeep off to have the TH-400 rebuilt...
Could smell it still (takes like years to go away), so on a couple stops, confirmed it's still leaking... actually had a small stream running at one point. šŸ¤¬
Given it's 20 years old, guessing that pressure pushing the gearoil out may have damaged the seal, so will replace it... checking the yoke surface and bearing slop.

However, was told by a bud (has done many) that anything short a 1" impact ain't going touch the pinion nut (like 450#/ft)...

Soliciting ideas to get the pig loose *if* my 1/2" IR really won't break it loose it...
Potentially?:
- Could block/chain the rear wheels and use a LONG cheater on a breaker bar, but 6pt socket and tight space may not allow?
- Maybe breaker bar against the frame and use the front axle to drag it forward... if the rear tires will hold in the gravels?
 
Just did this on my 99 F350 D80 a couple months ago. My 1/2" Milwaukee M18 Fuel Impact handled it. Had to let it eat for a minute, but she broke loose.
 
Caver Dave said:
Took my truck ('04 F-350 C&C dually) to Mayberry over the weekend. Kept smelling something "odd" and came out of last stop to find puddle under the D80 pinion (and everything near "rust proofed" for the winter šŸ™„ )
Started with the easy shat... found the vent hose "dirt doober-ed", so blew the hose & little plastic fitting out and inserted screwdriver into the nipple on the axle tube to confirm it's open.
Topped off the gearoil (90-140), wasted a can of brake cleaner (minor effect) and lit out to drop Jeep off to have the TH-400 rebuilt...
Could smell it still (takes like years to go away), so on a couple stops, confirmed it's still leaking... actually had a small stream running at one point. šŸ¤¬
Given it's 20 years old, guessing that pressure pushing the gearoil out may have damaged the seal, so will replace it... checking the yoke surface and bearing slop.

However, was told by a bud (has done many) that anything short a 1" impact ain't going touch the pinion nut (like 450#/ft)...

Soliciting ideas to get the pig loose *if* my 1/2" IR really won't break it loose it...
Potentially?:
- Could block/chain the rear wheels and use a LONG cheater on a breaker bar, but 6pt socket and tight space may not allow?
- Maybe breaker bar against the frame and use the front axle to drag it forward... if the rear tires will hold in the gravels?
Click to expand...
The D80 uses preload shims, so unless you go full bore Hulk smash and ring off the threads, you're not gonna hurt anything.
I suggest getting the best quality seal you can. Definitely OEM type instead of Yukon.
Install a new nut, a dab of red loctite, run it in with the impact and then crank the *$@^ out of it with a cheater pipe.
My 3/4" IR has done dozens over the years w/o a hiccup.
Feel free to PM me if you need to. :beer:
 
To piggyback, the rear pinion seal in the wifeā€™s ā€˜12 ram 2500 is leaking just enough to speckle the bumper and tailgate. Am I able to zip the nut off replace seal and run it back down with loctite or do I need to be worried about crush sleeve, etc.?
 
FWIW, laying on my back under the truck I couldnā€™t get a lot of leverage on a cheater bar. So I red loctited the nut and ran it back down with the M18. I gave it a few more uggas than normalā€¦just to make sure it was fully torqued

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I'd start taking a look at the bearings...

If it's leaking, high chance they are starting to go bad.
 
Jody Treadway said:
I suggest getting the best quality seal you can. Definitely OEM type instead of Yukon.
Click to expand...
I'd rather cut off body parts than deal with the local stealership and read Yukon seals were questionable...
Would NAPA be a decent source?
Bebop said:
I'd start taking a look at the bearings..
If it's leaking, high chance they are starting to go bad.
Click to expand...
Ain't ruling it out, BUT with a tick over 130K, it's still a baby! šŸ¤£
 
skyhighZJ said:
To piggyback, the rear pinion seal in the wifeā€™s ā€˜12 ram 2500 is leaking just enough to speckle the bumper and tailgate. Am I able to zip the nut off replace seal and run it back down with loctite or do I need to be worried about crush sleeve, etc.?
Click to expand...
Yours has a crush sleeve. But it's a tough one and will be really difficult to over tighten.
Before you remove the nut, stake it with a chisel relative to the pinion shaft so you know where it was. Swap the seal, reinstall yoke and nut (add a little loctite) and line up the chisel marks. Now go a hair past and button her up.
 
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Caver Dave said:
I'd rather cut off body parts than deal with the local stealership and read Yukon seals were questionable...
Would NAPA be a decent source?

Ain't ruling it out, BUT with a tick over 130K, it's still a baby! šŸ¤£
Click to expand...
Yep. Look for a National brand seal.
Rock Auto is a great resource for the National seal number for them to cross reference.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Yours has a crush sleeve. But it's a tough one and will be really difficult to over tighten.
Before you remove the nut, stake it with a chisel relative to the pinion shaft so you know where it was. Swap the seal, reinstall yoke and nut (add a little loctite) and line up the chisel marks. Now go a hair past and button her up.
Click to expand...
Thanks good sir!
 
Oā€™Reilly has the spicer onesā€¦ maybe not in the sticks lol šŸ˜†
 

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skyhighZJ said:
@Caver Dave i got a national from Oreallys
Click to expand...
From what I can find, the 2001.5-2010 used a different seal than older or newer... as @Noel says, they only appear to have Spicer in that flavor
Noel said:
Oā€™Reilly has the spicer onesā€¦ maybe not in the sticks lol šŸ˜†
Click to expand...
Bro, we've got AA or Napa next ville over... the closest O'Reilly is 45 mins east/west or an hour north... the biggest downside to fine country living! šŸ¤ 
 
Caver Dave said:
Looking at some sources, they say the D80 used the same seal from 2001.5-2016, so maybe we need the same seal... what number did you get NATIONAL 710577?
Click to expand...
It wouldnā€™t be the same. Wifeā€™s truck has an AAM 11.5 after dodge/Ram/daimler Chrysler/ FIAT WTFever they were parted ways with Dana/ spicer for their axles.

However my ā€˜98 Ram 2500 has a D80 rear but it doesnā€™t leak a drop lol
 
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