Stuck pinion shaft: Fun with a sledge hammer
04-10-2008, 11:28 AM
#1
Stuck pinion shaft: Fun with a sledge hammer OK, so I am a do-it-yourself if you want it done right type of guy. So, I bought a set of 4.10's (10 tooth pinion) for my stock 98 trans am. This car has 40K miles on it, and nothing is broken. So I get the axles out, and remove the diff, next thing is to "tap" the pinion out.
YEAH RIGHT.
The pinion shaft was rusted solid to the smaller of the two bearings, making it nearly impossible to remove. I was seriously ready to remove the entire rear end from the car. But I got lucky, and after heating the bearing with a bernzomatic torch for about 60 seconds, and POUNDING THE **** out of the pinion shaft with a sledge hammer, it finally came out.
All I can say is HOLY **** was that thing stuck. I completely destroyed the pinion nut and the end of the shaft beating on that thing. But I did win in the end.
To make things even more fun, I still had to beat the bearing races out of the housing.
I eventually won the battle and got my new races and my new pinion shaft installed, but GOD DAMN I have never fought a rear-end like that before!
So if your pinion shaft is stuck, stop hitting it like a girl and get after it!
Now I just hope the pinion depth is correct on the new shaft.....
YEAH RIGHT.
The pinion shaft was rusted solid to the smaller of the two bearings, making it nearly impossible to remove. I was seriously ready to remove the entire rear end from the car. But I got lucky, and after heating the bearing with a bernzomatic torch for about 60 seconds, and POUNDING THE **** out of the pinion shaft with a sledge hammer, it finally came out.
All I can say is HOLY **** was that thing stuck. I completely destroyed the pinion nut and the end of the shaft beating on that thing. But I did win in the end.
To make things even more fun, I still had to beat the bearing races out of the housing.
I eventually won the battle and got my new races and my new pinion shaft installed, but GOD DAMN I have never fought a rear-end like that before!
So if your pinion shaft is stuck, stop hitting it like a girl and get after it!
Now I just hope the pinion depth is correct on the new shaft.....
. 
04-10-2008, 03:31 PM
#4
Jeff,
Thanks for the tip. Yeah there are probably guys on this board that dont realize that the pinion and ring gear are a matched set!
The whole point of removing the stock pinion was to replace it with the new pinion from the 4.10 gearset. So yes, I also replaced the ring gear with the new one. I'm going to finish installing the diff tonight (hopefully). With any amount of luck I will get it setup right without taking it back apart 10 times.
Thanks for the tip. Yeah there are probably guys on this board that dont realize that the pinion and ring gear are a matched set!
The whole point of removing the stock pinion was to replace it with the new pinion from the 4.10 gearset. So yes, I also replaced the ring gear with the new one. I'm going to finish installing the diff tonight (hopefully). With any amount of luck I will get it setup right without taking it back apart 10 times.
04-15-2008, 10:17 PM
#5
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Jeff,
Thanks for the tip. Yeah there are probably guys on this board that dont realize that the pinion and ring gear are a matched set!
The whole point of removing the stock pinion was to replace it with the new pinion from the 4.10 gearset. So yes, I also replaced the ring gear with the new one. I'm going to finish installing the diff tonight (hopefully). With any amount of luck I will get it setup right without taking it back apart 10 times.
Thanks for the tip. Yeah there are probably guys on this board that dont realize that the pinion and ring gear are a matched set!
The whole point of removing the stock pinion was to replace it with the new pinion from the 4.10 gearset. So yes, I also replaced the ring gear with the new one. I'm going to finish installing the diff tonight (hopefully). With any amount of luck I will get it setup right without taking it back apart 10 times.
i'm doing my job on the ground which really sucks but do you know how to cut the old bearings so i can swap pinion shims easy without having to keep pressing the bearing off?
04-15-2008, 10:27 PM
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i'm doing the same thing right now.. and i have a solid crush sleeve. setting up my pinion shims for the preload was a bitch everytime i cranked on the pinion nut and had to remove it i had to beat the **** out of the pinion to get it to come out. almost like it was stuck on the head bearing because the tail bearing was loose.
i'm doing my job on the ground which really sucks but do you know how to cut the old bearings so i can swap pinion shims easy without having to keep pressing the bearing off?
i'm doing my job on the ground which really sucks but do you know how to cut the old bearings so i can swap pinion shims easy without having to keep pressing the bearing off?
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01-04-2022, 01:19 PM
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OK, so I am a do-it-yourself if you want it done right type of guy. So, I bought a set of 4.10's (10 tooth pinion) for my stock 98 trans am. This car has 40K miles on it, and nothing is broken. So I get the axles out, and remove the diff, next thing is to "tap" the pinion out.
YEAH RIGHT.
The pinion shaft was rusted solid to the smaller of the two bearings, making it nearly impossible to remove. I was seriously ready to remove the entire rear end from the car. But I got lucky, and after heating the bearing with a bernzomatic torch for about 60 seconds, and POUNDING THE **** out of the pinion shaft with a sledge hammer, it finally came out.
All I can say is HOLY **** was that thing stuck. I completely destroyed the pinion nut and the end of the shaft beating on that thing. But I did win in the end.
To make things even more fun, I still had to beat the bearing races out of the housing.
I eventually won the battle and got my new races and my new pinion shaft installed, but GOD DAMN I have never fought a rear-end like that before!
So if your pinion shaft is stuck, stop hitting it like a girl and get after it!
Now I just hope the pinion depth is correct on the new shaft.....
YEAH RIGHT.
The pinion shaft was rusted solid to the smaller of the two bearings, making it nearly impossible to remove. I was seriously ready to remove the entire rear end from the car. But I got lucky, and after heating the bearing with a bernzomatic torch for about 60 seconds, and POUNDING THE **** out of the pinion shaft with a sledge hammer, it finally came out.
All I can say is HOLY **** was that thing stuck. I completely destroyed the pinion nut and the end of the shaft beating on that thing. But I did win in the end.
To make things even more fun, I still had to beat the bearing races out of the housing.
I eventually won the battle and got my new races and my new pinion shaft installed, but GOD DAMN I have never fought a rear-end like that before!
So if your pinion shaft is stuck, stop hitting it like a girl and get after it!
Now I just hope the pinion depth is correct on the new shaft.....
01-05-2022, 06:40 AM
#9
14-y/o thread, but nonetheless, you should be able to repair the damaged seal seat, by sanding with a rotary sanding bit if the damage is small (and use some Permatex when the seal is installed just in case), or machining ($$). A better solution if budget allows, is ditch the weak 7.5" 10-bolt and swap in a S60 or 9" with your choice of ratios and never worry about it again.
01-05-2022, 11:15 AM
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14-y/o thread, but nonetheless, you should be able to repair the damaged seal seat, by sanding with a rotary sanding bit if the damage is small (and use some Permatex when the seal is installed just in case), or machining ($$). A better solution if budget allows, is ditch the weak 7.5" 10-bolt and swap in a S60 or 9" with your choice of ratios and never worry about it again.
