replacing pinion bearing on rear diff

[chuggaman]

hi

i took off my rear prop today to get the ujs changed.to my horror the flange had a lot of play.i tried to tighten the pinion nit but it was already set at 130nm.so i proceeded to strip down and remove the flange,outer seal and bearing.the bearing is knackered.

i took out the halfshafts so i could try to gauge whether or not the bearing on the other side is ok.it does feel ok

if i buy a new bearing and a new shim (the same thickness as the one ive taken out)and refit all is there chance that all will be ok?

or should i take the diff completly out and have both inner and outer bearings changed by a professional?

mike

[rollazuki]

The diff assembly has to be removed, then the bearings preloaded with the correct size shims, wouldnt advise just chucking in a new bearing and hoping.
Its pretty easy tho, you need some string and a spring balance if I remember.
If you have pulled the 1/2 shafts, youre halfway there to removing the diff and doing the full job on it.

[muddyweb]

If you are putting new pinion bearings in there, you will need a few shims and plenty of patience.  You really need to set the pinion height which needs a bit of careful measuring.

Once that is done, you can set about putting the diff centre back in, and you need to measure the backlash on that (preferably with a guage) in order to get it set up right.

Have a search on the forum... someone posted a link to a reasonably simple step by step guide to diffs... but I can't remember where  :?

[chuggaman]

thanks all

i think i might have a go at doing it myself

mike

[Range Rover Blues]

Is this in your locking diff? otherwise I'd say bin it and get a good secondhand one.  As it is I'm going to suggest getting a good second hand one and rebuilding the locker into that.  Setting the pinion is the head scarmbler with a diff, the crownwheel is a breeze in comparison.