Ok.. Thought I had done a good job on the mark and replace method.. Cleaned everything with TLC, torgued back to mark/etc.. First must say that the shaft/spline matting is tight.. Way tight - with RV sealant it was pretty tuff to get on. Hammer and wood block and impact. Drove a few places and everything seemed good to go. Then floored it and guess what - rear end noise during coasting. Looked it up and guess what - front pinion bearing issue/noise!

One question on the approx 450 lb torque and the mark. If you are to push the nut just a little more - how much farther would u go?? 1/8 turn, 1/16 turn, ??.. The only thing I didn't do the the plus+.. I was so rapped up in getting the nut on that I got side tracked. I take it the noise is due to being to loose? Looks like I may try a 1/10 turn..

On doing it the correct way since the rotational torque isn't known - Have to just put it right in the middle of the range. That or the upper range for older bearings.

 

Did you do this to replace a seal or what? I've only done a few rear ends but I think it should be good if you got the nut back to the marks. It won't make much difference going tighter cuz it would only squeeze the shims/spacers more. The only way to really get the brg clearence tighter is to take out/adjust shims. Those brgs are set up by rolling tq. IIRC. the rolling tq for new pinion brgs is about 20 in./lbs. Your getting into precision territory. It's the inner pipion brg that wears the most and simply tightening the brgs by removing shims isn't addressing the reason why they got loose. Doing that doesn't get the pinion depth right again. Besides that, the chances of getting to the shims w/o pulling the carrier and driving the pinion out, are really slim. BTW, beating the yoke on is the same as beating the R&P teeth together. Not saying you did, but there might be tooth damage. I'd pull the cover and inspect. Logic says there's damage cuz what you did shouldn't have changed the set-up. Those parts are HARD and I've beat against them darn hard and gotten away with it. Craig

 

Most times I see turning torque low when replacing these seals. I never go over that by more then 5 inch lbs of turning torque. If you went over 15 inch lbs on old bearings and rotating the pinion yoke feels rough then replace the pinion bearings. You must pull the axles and compressed the calipers to get accurate reading on total turning torque. New crush sleeve recomend, mark adjusters and races with paint marker on carrier bearing so they go back in same location. Check backlash and set back to same spec otherwise will get a gear howl since gears have already been set in wear pattern.

 

I'm not sure if the AAM uses a crush sleeve. I thought rear ends about that size and bigger used shims. My D 80 used shims. If it uses shims, get a shim kit, just in case. You might get lucky and not need it but it's no fun needing it and not having it. I've had to cut shims out of scrap steel siding and welding rod cans but I got the job done! Craig

 

I use a 3/4 drive breaker bar and cheater pipe to start crush sleeve going. Don't use impact gun on the pinion nut.

Install new pinion seal with Installer 8896 (PINION SEAL INSTALLER).
Apply a light coat of teflon sealant to the pinion flange splines.
Lightly tap the pinion flange onto the pinion until a few threads are showing.
Install flange washer and new pinion nut.
Hold pinion flange with Flange Wrench 8979 (FLANGE WRENCH) and tighten pinion nut until pinion end play is taken up.
Rotate pinion several times to seat bearings.
Measure pinion rotating torque with an inch pound torque wrench and compare it to recorded measurement. Tighten pinion nut in small increments, until pinion rotating torque is 0.40-0.57 N·m (3-5 in. lbs.) greater than recorded measurement.
Rotate pinion several times then verify pinion rotating torque again.
Install axle shafts.
Install propeller shaft with reference marks aligned.
Check differential fluid level.