F150 - Rear Pinion Bearing From Hell - Part I
video description
I do believe the dealership at the point where you tried heat would have just told the customer his case was junk and had to be replaced! I love the fact that you don't give up until whatever you try works or it doesn't!
You certainly impress me with your torch skills and again your willingness to try to fix things before you rush to the junk yard!
Just curious all that silver poop in the bottom of the case could it have destroyed axle bearings.
If this was a Florida car every pry bar owned would be in the floor broken and this video would have never made it to the tube!
Date: 2023-04-18
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Comments and reviews: 14
autos
I don't have a torch. yet
I did have to repair a 3/4 ton F250 rear axle. Instead of fighting it under the van. I pulled the whole unit out. The local shop down my street screwed up the repairs. My brother in law said to fix it. Plus he wanted the original gear 3. 73 reinstalled. He got all the parts and the job took me about a week. In between work and the van. I did have to buy a bigger 3/4 torque wrench tho. My tools collection grew that day.
Got his van back on the road. After about 600 miles. He brought it back for fluid change and a recheck. All was good. Then a month later. A rattle from the front timing chain area. He bought more parts. Took the front off. So I could access the timing chain area better. Good thing I did. Rad was plugged with debris. Mud covered all of the fins as the AC condenser too.
Another week of cleaning. Found the timing chain worn out as the rest of the whole assembly. Again another tool got in my collection. Making my task easier. I thank many mechanics like Dr. O who I follow to see how to do a job. If he can do it. I sure can do it.
Every spring people bring their vehicle to me. Some I can fix. Others I can't because the special tools are needed.
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I don't have a torch. yet
I did have to repair a 3/4 ton F250 rear axle. Instead of fighting it under the van. I pulled the whole unit out. The local shop down my street screwed up the repairs. My brother in law said to fix it. Plus he wanted the original gear 3. 73 reinstalled. He got all the parts and the job took me about a week. In between work and the van. I did have to buy a bigger 3/4 torque wrench tho. My tools collection grew that day.
Got his van back on the road. After about 600 miles. He brought it back for fluid change and a recheck. All was good. Then a month later. A rattle from the front timing chain area. He bought more parts. Took the front off. So I could access the timing chain area better. Good thing I did. Rad was plugged with debris. Mud covered all of the fins as the AC condenser too.
Another week of cleaning. Found the timing chain worn out as the rest of the whole assembly. Again another tool got in my collection. Making my task easier. I thank many mechanics like Dr. O who I follow to see how to do a job. If he can do it. I sure can do it.
Every spring people bring their vehicle to me. Some I can fix. Others I can't because the special tools are needed.
reply
Bill
I feel for you Eric, I really do. The worst stuck shaft and bearing I ever had was on an inert gas fan on a tanker. It needed to be stripped down for an insurance survey. It took me 3 days to get it apart, didn't help that the assembly weighed about 200kg. Ended up building a press with a 50 ton cylinder on it constructed from some 25mm plate and 150mm universal beam; which bent. Had to put another strongback on it made from more 25mm plate and then used a bottle of acetylene and O2 to get it hot enough. Three 12 hour days for the surveyor to turn up glance at it, say Yeah that's OK, turn round to go to the Chief Engineers cabin on the piss. 40 years on it still hurts.
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I feel for you Eric, I really do. The worst stuck shaft and bearing I ever had was on an inert gas fan on a tanker. It needed to be stripped down for an insurance survey. It took me 3 days to get it apart, didn't help that the assembly weighed about 200kg. Ended up building a press with a 50 ton cylinder on it constructed from some 25mm plate and 150mm universal beam; which bent. Had to put another strongback on it made from more 25mm plate and then used a bottle of acetylene and O2 to get it hot enough. Three 12 hour days for the surveyor to turn up glance at it, say Yeah that's OK, turn round to go to the Chief Engineers cabin on the piss. 40 years on it still hurts.
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Brian
Here in Canada charge 100 to 150 in shop time so that 4 hours to get the pinion out cost customer 400 to 600 and job not completed yet so probably 8 hours in shop time 800 to 1, 200 and that is not including parts. in my city there is no more mom and pop small auto repair shops anymore nobody doesn't want to work on a 10 to 15 year old truck if they do charge a ridiculous amount of money like on my 20yr Chevy Venture I get estimate to the back brakes going to be 200 to do an hour worth of work so I went the neighborhood mechanic he did the job in half hour for 80.
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Here in Canada charge 100 to 150 in shop time so that 4 hours to get the pinion out cost customer 400 to 600 and job not completed yet so probably 8 hours in shop time 800 to 1, 200 and that is not including parts. in my city there is no more mom and pop small auto repair shops anymore nobody doesn't want to work on a 10 to 15 year old truck if they do charge a ridiculous amount of money like on my 20yr Chevy Venture I get estimate to the back brakes going to be 200 to do an hour worth of work so I went the neighborhood mechanic he did the job in half hour for 80.
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James
Didn t the bearing seize to the pinion because of getting hot and then cooling off? Here is an experiment: heat up a nut to bright red, douse it. Then see if you can easily run a bolt in it without chasing the threads. My point: Would it have separated easier if you heated the pinion with a rosebud (trying not to heat the bearing too much) and then douse it? By heating AND cooling the bearing, wouldn t that make it worse?
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Didn t the bearing seize to the pinion because of getting hot and then cooling off? Here is an experiment: heat up a nut to bright red, douse it. Then see if you can easily run a bolt in it without chasing the threads. My point: Would it have separated easier if you heated the pinion with a rosebud (trying not to heat the bearing too much) and then douse it? By heating AND cooling the bearing, wouldn t that make it worse?
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David
Wow! You're definitely riding on the struggle bus.
Not a clue. Would a plasma cutter have worked? I get it. You are not one that needs one of those all the time. No doubt they are pricey. I was curious if such a tool would work? Like I stated. I don't have a clue about those things. Will that's not true. I watch other folks cut different things with them. That's the extent of my knowledge.
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Wow! You're definitely riding on the struggle bus.
Not a clue. Would a plasma cutter have worked? I get it. You are not one that needs one of those all the time. No doubt they are pricey. I was curious if such a tool would work? Like I stated. I don't have a clue about those things. Will that's not true. I watch other folks cut different things with them. That's the extent of my knowledge.
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Allister
Hi Eric, I had a marine gearbox coupling where the drive coupling had spun on the shaft shearing the key and it had welded itself to the shaft. We had to put it in the lathe and machine it off. We had a press, no good. That had spun and welded itself to the shaft. It is only a few spots but it is enough. You did a great job getting that out so well done. Expert torch action.
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Hi Eric, I had a marine gearbox coupling where the drive coupling had spun on the shaft shearing the key and it had welded itself to the shaft. We had to put it in the lathe and machine it off. We had a press, no good. That had spun and welded itself to the shaft. It is only a few spots but it is enough. You did a great job getting that out so well done. Expert torch action.
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John
Personally, I would have never used the torch. I would have dropped the third member and put it in a press. I do not believe that there is any way that the race bore is still perfectly round after all that heat in one area. While a new race would still go in it would take some of the out of round form and cause early wear on the bearing. Just my opinion.
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Personally, I would have never used the torch. I would have dropped the third member and put it in a press. I do not believe that there is any way that the race bore is still perfectly round after all that heat in one area. While a new race would still go in it would take some of the out of round form and cause early wear on the bearing. Just my opinion.
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spelunkerd
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. It's like a pressed-on wheel bearing, so why wouldn't the overheated bearing weld itself to the pinion? The main difference is the lack of a flange to allow the use of a press to grenade the bearing cage. Outstanding video, I love watching you brainstorm the difficult situations.
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I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. It's like a pressed-on wheel bearing, so why wouldn't the overheated bearing weld itself to the pinion? The main difference is the lack of a flange to allow the use of a press to grenade the bearing cage. Outstanding video, I love watching you brainstorm the difficult situations.
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Jeff
Well, wasn't that a beyotch. From the perspective of a layman without a cutting torch or specialty tools, the only thing in that situation I could think to try would be to whip out the carbide bits and try to turn the bearing race into swiss cheese. Dealership mechanic: Pinion bearing's burned out? Order a new rear end.
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Well, wasn't that a beyotch. From the perspective of a layman without a cutting torch or specialty tools, the only thing in that situation I could think to try would be to whip out the carbide bits and try to turn the bearing race into swiss cheese. Dealership mechanic: Pinion bearing's burned out? Order a new rear end.
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Paul
Not specific to that ford diff, but where I work making industrial axles our specs are 17 to 22 inch pounds of drag without the oil seal installed, that alone can add 5 to 10 inch pounds of drag, our backlash is 12 to 17 thou, but when I rebuilt my Mazda differential the backlash was 3 to 7 thou but similar drag.
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Not specific to that ford diff, but where I work making industrial axles our specs are 17 to 22 inch pounds of drag without the oil seal installed, that alone can add 5 to 10 inch pounds of drag, our backlash is 12 to 17 thou, but when I rebuilt my Mazda differential the backlash was 3 to 7 thou but similar drag.
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Rick
Reminds me of a pilot bearing I couldn't get out, tried every trick on the internet, all the so called easy ways to get out a pilot bearing, ended up using a hammer and a small chisel and it came out.
In pieces, it was fused in, sometimes the so called easy tricks aren't worth the time it takes to find them.
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Reminds me of a pilot bearing I couldn't get out, tried every trick on the internet, all the so called easy ways to get out a pilot bearing, ended up using a hammer and a small chisel and it came out.
In pieces, it was fused in, sometimes the so called easy tricks aren't worth the time it takes to find them.
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Robert
This was a good one. Real world crap. I kind of thought a torch would be needed but, you have to be real good with the torch. Too bad there wasn t a way to show the molting metal. Great camera angles. Thank you so much Eric. I wonder how the inner bearing of that pinion is going to be to come off.
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This was a good one. Real world crap. I kind of thought a torch would be needed but, you have to be real good with the torch. Too bad there wasn t a way to show the molting metal. Great camera angles. Thank you so much Eric. I wonder how the inner bearing of that pinion is going to be to come off.
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Steve's
I'm doing a rear wheel bearing on 99 E36 bmw axle stuck, heat, heat cold quench, hub grappler nothing worked, pulled knuckle trailing arm assembly axle put in my 20 ton press heat 40, 000 pounds of pressure won't budge the knuckle snapped tho, so now waiting on a used knuckle assembly from ebay
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I'm doing a rear wheel bearing on 99 E36 bmw axle stuck, heat, heat cold quench, hub grappler nothing worked, pulled knuckle trailing arm assembly axle put in my 20 ton press heat 40, 000 pounds of pressure won't budge the knuckle snapped tho, so now waiting on a used knuckle assembly from ebay
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Steve
Where do we go from here?
1. The other shop.
2. Wilberts junk yard for a scrap diff.
3. Get religion bad and join the priesthood.
Great example of the perseverance needed to do a 5 minute job in the wonderful world of automotives.
Looking forward to part 2.
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Where do we go from here?
1. The other shop.
2. Wilberts junk yard for a scrap diff.
3. Get religion bad and join the priesthood.
Great example of the perseverance needed to do a 5 minute job in the wonderful world of automotives.
Looking forward to part 2.
reply
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