How To Replace A Yoke Seal

How To Replace A Yoke Seal Diff Housing Cut Away

To give you a better idea of what parts are involved in a yoke seal replacement and how they interact with each other, here is a cutaway photo of a differential. As you can see, the crush sleeve (yellow), sits on the pinion and spaces the head and tail bearings. If your differential uses a solid spacer, it would replace the crush sleeve in this picture.

To give you a better idea of what parts are involved in a yoke seal replacement and how th

If you are like us, you probably hate seeing leaks under your rig or the smell of gear oil hanging heavy in the garage air. Many times a situation like this can be traced back to a leaky yoke seal, which is a fairly common problem. We wanted to show you what exactly goes into a yoke seal replacement, so we contacted Tom Wood’s Custom Drive Shafts in Ogden, Utah (www.4xshaft.com) for some pointers and headed down to Off Road Evolution in Fullerton, California, (www.offroadevolution.com) to show you what it takes to swap one out.

Replacing the yoke seal will require removing the pinion nut, which releases tension on the crush sleeve. This is important to know because the crush sleeve sets the preload between the pinion’s head and tail bearings. With not enough preload, the pinion will thrust sideways under load and destroy the ring-and-pinion gear and with too much preload the bearings can burn up and seize. Setting the crush sleeve is simply compressing it lengthwise, until it is the length required to properly preload the pinion head and tail bearings.

How To Replace A Yoke Seal Puller On Flange

We began our yoke seal replacement after finding an old Dana 35 housing at Off Road Evolution. First, the pinion nut is removed and then the flange is taken off using a puller.

We began our yoke seal replacement after finding an old Dana 35 housing at Off Road Evolut

As an alternative to the crush sleeve, some differentials can use a solid spacer. This solid piece of machined steel is a bit shorter than a crush sleeve’s crushed length and is used in conjunction with shims. Shims bring the spacer to the correct length, allowing it to set proper bearing preload, just as a crush sleeve would. Solid spacers have several benefits over crush sleeves, such as having the ability to be reused. Also, with a solid spacer, once it is set up, it is set up for life and you won’t have to worry about over tightening the pinion nut when replacing a seal or yoke. Lastly, the solid spacer is not vulnerable to rock hits against the yoke the way a crush sleeve could be.

Because solid spacers are direct replacements for crush sleeves, you can easily set up your pinion with the right parts. Companies, such as Dynatrac (www.dynatrac.com), carry solid spacers in stock for anyone wanting to make the conversion. Read on to learn more about yoke seals, crush sleeves, and solid spacers.

Next, with the help of a hammer and chisel, the bad seal was removed. A seal puller simplifies this task.
Next, with the help of a hammer and chisel, the bad seal was removed. A seal puller simpli
We then removed the tail bearings, granting us access to the crush sleeve. The unique shape of the crush sleeve allows it to shorten to the appropriate length when properly torqued.
We then removed the tail bearings, granting us access to the crush sleeve. The unique shap
When replacing a yoke seal or flange, the correct procedure is to always replace the crush sleeve with a new one. If that isn’t possible, the sleeve can be expanded slightly by placing it over a piece of pipe and hammering the bulge, although this method is not recommended and should only be used in a bind.
When replacing a yoke seal or flange, the correct procedure is to always replace the crush

With a new crush sleeve in place, the pinion tail bearing is reinstalled.
Here, the new seal is being tapped into the housing evenly.
Before replacing the yoke or flange, always check the seal surface for wear. If you see any type of wear marks, the part should be replaced, as it will not seal properly and is likely to leak again.
Before replacing the yoke or flange, always check the seal surface for wear. If you see an

Also, clean the threads of any oil and use red Loctite on the pinion nut. This is especially important if you are reusing the crush sleeve, as the crush sleeve usually takes in excess of 200 lb-ft of torque on the nut to compress. If you don’t come close to reaching this torque on the nut, you will not crush the sleeve far enough, leading to potential failure of your ring-and-pinion. Over tightening comes with its own problems, such as premature bearing wear or failure. With Loctite, you are ensured that the nut will hold the preload and won’t walk off the threads on a marginal install where the sleeve wasn’t crushed enough.
Also, clean the threads of any oil and use red Loctite on the pinion nut. This is especial
Because of how much torque it takes to crush a new crush sleeve, special tools may be required.
Because of how much torque it takes to crush a new crush sleeve, special tools may be requ
For comparison, here is a photo of the solid spacer setup that goes in to every Dynatrac axle. The machined spacer is sitting on the pinion in the background, as well as in the center foreground. On the left is a typical shim and on the right is a crush sleeve. The benefits of a spacer are that once the pinion is setup with the proper spacer, it is set for life, making the replacement of a yoke or yoke seal in the future a lot easier, as you simply torque the pinion nut to spec.
For comparison, here is a photo of the solid spacer setup that goes in to every Dynatrac a