Changing pinion yokes/ inch pound needle torque wrench

[Zombie]

I'm about done with my axle swap, but I need to change my pinion yokes.

It's my understanding that the easy and smart way to do this would be to release any tension from the brakes, and measure the exact amoung of force required to make the tires move. Measure the amount of force three times and take an average of the three.
Remove the OEM pinion yoke, and install the aftermarket yoke. Torque the pinion nut to 150 pounds, and measure the force. Continue to torque the pinion nut in 20 pound incriments till you reach the same amount of required force that you started with on the OEM yokes.

(can you tell I searched?)

First off, is this correct?

Second, where can I pick up a needle type inch pound torque wrench?

 

[Todd Adams]

I'm about done with my axle swap, but I need to change my pinion yokes.

It's my understanding that the easy and smart way to do this would be to release any tension from the brakes, and measure the exact amoung of force required to make the tires move. Measure the amount of force three times and take an average of the three.
Remove the OEM pinion yoke, and install the aftermarket yoke. Torque the pinion nut to 150 pounds, and measure the force. Continue to torque the pinion nut in 20 pound incriments till you reach the same amount of required force that you started with on the OEM yokes.

(can you tell I searched?)

First off, is this correct?

Second, where can I pick up a needle type inch pound torque wrench?

What you are describing is the procedure for a crush caller. If all you are doing is replacing the yoke then all you need to do is properly torque it. You never said what differentials you are running. Some use a crush caller and others do not so the final torque would vary.

 

[jevyguy]

And if it does have a crush collar (sleeve) I would reccomend you buy a new one before installing the new yoke

 

[Zombie]

That was pretty dumb not to post the axle info... they are JK Dana 44s, which I beleive have a crush collar.

 

[waynehartwig]

The JK axles use a crush sleeve that is roughly 2-25/32" long.

Inch lb torque wrenches can be had at your local bike store. Get a needle style, and not a clicker.

Make sure you put the pinion nut back on with red loctite!

Best to do is remove everything but the pinion if you can. Those are new axles, so you should have ~20-25 inlb of torque on the pinion nut with no carrier, shafts, etc. in the housing.

Adding 20 foot lbs each time is going to increase the preload rouchly 2 inlbs. The only problem with that is knowing when you have added 20 ftlbs. Crush sleeve will take roughly 300 ftlbs to crush, and chances are most tool boxes don't have a torque wrench that goes past 150 ftlbs. I don't know your tool situation... I'll usually just go back and move the wrench an o'clock number. If you stop at 3 o'clock and you just need a little more, then I'd go to 4o'clock and check it again. Once the bearing seats, the preload increases quickly.

So if you aren't willing to pull the diff out, I'd at least pull the shafts/brakes and measure the pinion preload with just the pinion and carrier in. If you have less than 20 inlbs, when you put the new yoke on, torque it to 25 inlbs. Remember, your checking the pinion preload - not the entire rotating assembly. The carrier alone will influence this number.

Since you aren't going to be replacing the crush sleeve, you will want to tighten it more than it was before, so you are guaranteed that it's seated and crushing. If not, it may come loose later.... If you go too far, you will have to replace the crush sleeve, as you can't uncrush it

You want the measurement to be taken when you are spinning the pinion, not the starting load. You're also looking to see if it rotates smoothly...

 

[Zombie]

Thats the second time you've helped me out in the last five minutes... Thanks.

 

[waynehartwig]

Thats the second time you've helped me out in the last five minutes... Thanks.

:thumbsup:

 

[Zombie]

Next question:
Getting the shafts out of the front is no problem. Getting the shafts out of the rear gets a little more messy... literally.
I'd rather not break the seal on the brand new diff cover if I can avoid it. Is there a way I can compensate for the shafts to stay in there? I can remove the break pads easily, but I'd rather not pull the cover...

 

[waynehartwig]

Next question:
Getting the shafts out of the front is no problem. Getting the shafts out of the rear gets a little more messy... literally.
I'd rather not break the seal on the brand new diff cover if I can avoid it. Is there a way I can compensate for the shafts to stay in there? I can remove the break pads easily, but I'd rather not pull the cover...

Anything beyond just the pinion, and you will be measuring their rotation load as well. So it's really up to you how accurate you want to be....

 

[UNSTUCK]

Next question:
Getting the shafts out of the front is no problem. Getting the shafts out of the rear gets a little more messy... literally.
I'd rather not break the seal on the brand new diff cover if I can avoid it. Is there a way I can compensate for the shafts to stay in there? I can remove the break pads easily, but I'd rather not pull the cover...

Maybe I'm missing something, but you don't need to take the rear cover off to pull the shafts. Unbolt them at the brake backing plate and slide them out after removing the brakes. Then stuff a rag to limit the amount of fluid loss.

 

[waynehartwig]

Maybe I'm missing something, but you don't need to take the rear cover off to pull the shafts. Unbolt them at the brake backing plate and slide them out after removing the brakes. Then stuff a rag to limit the amount of fluid loss.

This is about the only thing I don't know about the JK axles - are they bolt in or c clip... It wouldn't surprise me at all for Jeep to screw up a good D44 even more by adding c clips....

....But he has a point, if it's a bolt in axle, just pull the shafts enough to take away the spline engagement...

 

[I Lean]

They're bolt-in axles, no C-clips.

 

[Zombie]

Hmmm... I was under the impression that they were C clip... In that case, I'll pull the shafts and stop worrying about the stupid cover seal.

 

[78mitsu]

I've never put that much thought into putting in a new yoke. I tend to take the old one out put the new one in and torque it to 200 foot pounds. The change in pinion preload shouldn't be significant if you don't change the depth of the crush sleeve(re-crush it).