Pinion Nut Slightly Over Torqued

SACressionnie

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Bailey, NC
So, I'm rebuilding my Dana 35 rear end and I just installed new pinion bearings. Put the pinion nut on and started tightening to set the crush sleeve. I got super close to the low end of the spec (15 in. Lbs) on the rotational force and decided to go another bump or two (not with impact). Now I'm at 44 in. Lbs. to rotate the pinion. How big of a deal is overtorquing this by 9 in. lbs? The high end of the spec is 35 in. Lbs. Appreciate any advice. Thinking about replacing the sleeve and nut before I complete the build.
 
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I would run it. That’s just my opinion, others may see it differently.

That's what my buddy said. It's also very cold outside. I'm wondering if that is making it more difficult to turn. 9 in lbs isn't much. I lubed the bearings with gear oil before installing. Also, I greased the pinion seal.
 
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That's what my buddy said. It's also very cold outside. I'm wondering if that is making it more difficult to turn. 9 in lbs isn't much. I lubed the bearings with gear oil before installing. Also, I greased the pinion seal.

The way i see it this stuff is to be perfect. By running it out of spec, i would expect premature failure. 44in pounds is tight and id think that bearing wont last. Ik from doing it, it is time consuming and easy to say thats good enough but thats not how gears work. They must be perfect to get life out of them. Thats my .02 cents.
 
I got super close to the low end of the spec (15 in. Lbs) on the rotational force and decided to go another bump or two.

This statement about "bumps" makes me think you're trying to set the preload with an impact wrench? Stop doing that. Use a more controlled method. I used a big pipe wrench on the pinion and a big breaker bar to set the yoke nut. I cooked a pinion bearing in VERY short order from being over on preload (once...I only made that mistake once). That is something you want in spec.
 
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This statement about "bumps" makes me think you're trying to set the preload with an impact wrench? Stop doing that. Use a more controlled method. I used a big pipe wrench on the pinion and a big breaker bar to set the yoke nut. I cooked a pinion bearing in VERY short order from being over on preload (once...I only made that mistake once). That is something you want in spec.

No, I used a wrench with breaker. Bumps was the best way to describe the action.
 
That's what my buddy said. It's also very cold outside. I'm wondering if that is making it more difficult to turn. 9 in lbs isn't much. I lubed the bearings with gear oil before installing. Also, I greased the pinion seal.

9 in. lbs isn't much unless it's out of spec, which in this case it is. When using new bearings, the target to shoot for is 16-20 in/lbs. I know the FSM shows 20-35 but if you go to the high end of that spec those bearings will be toast in short order. 44 in/lbs. is just not acceptable in my book. 9 in/lbs may not be much on another fastener, but when it is used to set preload, that's an entirely different story.
 
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9 in. lbs isn't much unless it's out of spec, which in this case it is. When using new bearings, the target to shoot for is 16-20 in/lbs. I know the FSM shows 20-35 but if you go to the high end of that spec those bearings will be toast in short order. 44 in/lbs. is just not acceptable in my book. 9 in/lbs may not be much on another fastener, but when it is used to set preload, that's an entirely different story.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Already ordered new nut, sleeve, and seal.
 
So, I'm rebuilding my Dana 35 rear end and I just installed new pinion bearings. Put the pinion nut on and started tightening to set the crush sleeve. I got super close to the low end of the spec (15 in. Lbs) on the rotational force and decided to go another bump or two (not with impact). Now I'm at 44 in. Lbs. to rotate the pinion. How big of a deal is overtorquing this by 9 in. lbs? The high end of the spec is 35 in. Lbs. Appreciate any advice. Thinking about replacing the sleeve and nut before I complete the build.

44 in lbs is too high. When you are tightening the pinion nut the torque reading is for the bearing preload which is critical. I shoot for 25in lbs on most of the pinions I set up. You could try to rotate it with a impact or air ratchet a bit and recheck. I believe you will be replacing the crush sleeve and nut to get it within specs.
 
44 in lbs is too high. When you are tightening the pinion nut the torque reading is for the bearing preload which is critical. I shoot for 25in lbs on most of the pinions I set up. You could try to rotate it with a impact or air ratchet a bit and recheck. I believe you will be replacing the crush sleeve and nut to get it within specs.

Yeah, ordered new nut and sleeve. Installing tomorrow.