can the rear pinion seal be replaced without removing the pinion…i do have general mechanical skill but have never messed with setting up a differential…thanx and love the show
Yes, but it’s usually not that simple. The seal usually lets go due to the pinion bearing allowing the pinion to wobble enough to wreck the seal. Anyway, give it a try. The nut has to be tightened to like 250+ft/lbs (somewhere between the 70’s and the 80’s, it turned into lb/ft, at least when spoken). You’ll be doing some grunting.
When you take off the pinion nut, you want to return it to the same position without crushing the spacer sleeve any further. Mark the nut in relation with the pinion thread and measure the torque required to loosen the nut. After the companion yoke is off, the seal replaced, the yoke back on, and the nut threaded up, bring the nut torque up close to the back off torque. Work up to it in steps so the reference marks get lined back up again.
I am assuming that this year Tahoe uses a crush sleeve to set the pinion bearing preload so check with the dealer service department or parts store.