The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun Pinion nut socket?

I need to replace the seal behind the pinion on my 1ton. I'm sure the nut is a 1-5/8 inch nut but my socket will not go inside the yoke. I have searched every parts house around to find a thinner socket with no luck! Any help would be appreciated!

I had to take a brand new socket to the grinder and shave some off until it fit. Didnt take too much. John

Yes, I ground one down years ago.
George

Thanks guys! I measured the inside of the yoke and it's 2.19 and the socket is 2.20. to the lathe I go!

for .005 a side, I would just burr the yoke. Then the socket won't rust.

Sockets are pretty hard material. I would just chuck it up in a lathe and use a 90* hand grinder to get the .010 off while it is spinning.
Then wipe the lathe back down.

Don

Mine is not purdy. I just held it up to a bench grinder & turned it slowly by hand.
George

Sockets cut fine on a lathe. You don't need a carbide tool, HSS will do the job. We have sockets for removing body trim nuts that have the bevel turned off since the trim nuts are so thin a standard socket doesn't fit far enough onto the nut. Tools are tough but not hard as they would crack/shatter if too hard.

I turned 2 thousands off the diameter of the socket on the lathe and it fits good. Now if I can get enough leverage to break it loose! Holy crap this nut is tight!!

The torque spec for a 1 ton pinion nut is 160-280 ft-lb. So either break out the impact wrench or put gravity to work and stick a jack under the end of the breaker bar.

Get a piece of water pipe to extend the breaker bar, also helps to tie down the yoke, I use a 48” pipe wrench for that.

Ed

Diesel repair shops have what is called a "torque multiplier" which fits on a breaker bar where the socket goes. A 100#'s on the handle gives 200#'s at the socket or they make them where a 100#'s at the handle gives 400#'s at the socket. A bit pricey for one time use but Home Depot sells them so their tool rental probably rents them.

The shop I ran when in the Army had a torque multiplier for working on tanks. It looked like it took two guys to carry it. One of those probably isn't needed for this project.

Ed hit the nail on the head when he recommended using something to hold on to the yoke. I have used a flat bar drilled for the yoke bolts and with a hole for the socket to clear. That and a cheater on the breaker bar should do the trick.

The flat bar works well. I drilled a piece of leaf spring and use it to react the torque to the ground or to the frame. Also be certain that the cotter pin has been completely removed. They rust over time and it can be hard to get all of the pin out in one piece. You may even be able to get the socket over the nut with remnants of the old cotter pin still in place and not notice it.

I broke out my 3/4" air gun for it's first use and it wasn't up to the job. I went to the local rentall and they said they didn't have a 3/4" air gun. On the way out I thought, I wonder if they have a 3/4" electric. It turns out they did and it worked fine. I eventually got my 3/4" air tool working. It turns out that the oil inside from the factory did not work well after sitting in a cold garage!

The socket in my harbor freight 1 inch set fits without modification. I used a 6 ft cheater and was still a tough job.

An Eaton 15 speed transmission/rear end setup I worked on once had a power divider input flange (pinion) nut that required 1200 ft/lbs of torque! The boss (350 lbs.) and myself (200 lbs) bouncing on the end of a 6 foot cheater bar had a hard time loosening it. We broke two 3/4" drive breaker bars before I finally gave up and split the nut with a hammer and chisel. A new nut, some never-seez, and that same cheater bar with a bit less energetic bouncing got us back on the road after repairing some stripped gears.
Jerry

I have used a bottle jack under a stout 3/4 drive breaker bar and a very large pipe wrench wedged against the floor to hold the yoke. It didn't lift the truck but I could see it un-weight the tires. On big trucks like Jerry worked on sometimes it's just about impossible to get them loose. Fortunately on a truck tractor you can get a good swing with a 3# maul and a big chisel to spread the nut, breaking the rust. Sometimes the fifth wheel is in the way, sigh. Sometimes it takes a torch and a rosebud to heat the nut. But sometimes it's a tanker that had gasoline on last, sigh again. Before you mung up the nut make sure you can get another one. I had to make a castle-nut out of a nylock one time.

A 1" square drive tire impact wrench with a whittled-down socket comes in handy for removing the pinion nut if you're working on those big rig differentials on a regular basis. Just don't use it to tighten the nuts- - - -it can gall expensive pinion bearings.
Jerry

There was a day that I could lift one of those.

"Old age and treachery will beat youth and muscles every time!" A transmission jack and a ratchet strap comes in really handy!
Jerry