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Hello, I am trying to reinstall the pinion gear back in the rear axle of my 2000 dodge ram 1500 4x4. The problem I am having is that I cannot seat the pinion bearings. I purchased a new master overhaul bearing and seal kit so there are new pinion bearing and races installed along with a new crush sleeve. Any ideas? thanks
Country: United StatesMake: DodgeModel: RAM 1500 4x4Year: 2000
Welcome to Just Answer Dodge my name isXXXXX don't know your automotive experience level, so I may have to ask questions of you before I can help.What troubles are you running into during the installation?
I cannot seat the new pinion bearings. I put the old pinion back together with the original shim and a new bearing pressed on, put it in place and pressed the outer pinion bearing on but it will only tighten so far.
Ok thanks. I am going to assume........correct me if I'm wrong.......that you are doing this in your shop/driveway with the truck on stands.What is needed when tightening these pinion nuts is alot of leverage. The leverage is needed to obtain the correct initial torque and then the further additional torque required to crush the sleeve/spacer.This leverage is obtained by using a long bar...........and/or pipe attached to the bar...........to tighten the nut. When you are working close to the ground, the space you have is limited in regards XXXXX XXXXX long a bar or pipe you can use, so if you can get the truck lifted up substantially higher you will be able to get the added leverage needed for this job.I hope this information is helpful and let me know if you need further assistance with this.
Hello, Good advice but the truck is up on a hoist and that is what I thought might be wrong in that I am not getting the nut tight enough but we had a big bar on it and then I tried my big torque wrench and we are over 250 pounds and still have play. The manual we have said a minimum of 210 on the nut when done.
The 210 spec is just a starting point. By the sounds of it you still haven't tightened it far enough to collapse the new spacer.
Experience: 24 Year Chrysler/Dodge Certified Specialist