Stuck Dana 44 rear pinion seal yoke

[Chippy]

Hi all,

I thought it would be a quick and easy Saturday project to replace the rear pinion seal on my 2005. It’s a non rubi dana 44. I removed the driveshaft straps and popped the driveshaft out of the rear yoke easily. Pinion nut came right off with an impact.

However the yoke will not budge. Am I missing something? Every single YouTube video I watch of this project they just easily slide the yoke right out of the diff. So frustrating. There is a washer inside the yoke, but that shouldn’t hold it on right?

I’ve tried pulling super hard and tapping it with a rubber mallet from the back. Don’t wanna damage anything either

Anything I’m missing or any ideas?

Pic of where I am stuck:

 

[Ashim]

I'd spray some penetrating oil on the pinion shaft where it meets the yoke and use a 2 jaw puller.

 

[Chippy]

I'd spray some penetrating oil on the pinion shaft where it meets the yoke and use a 2 jaw puller.

Do I need a 2 jaw specifically? Do you think one of these would work?

 

[Rickyd]

Use a puller. Easy on any hammering

 

[Rickyd]

Do I need a 2 jaw specifically? Do you think one of these would work?

View attachment 646969

Don't,those bolts are tiny

 

[Ashim]

Do I need a 2 jaw specifically? Do you think one of these would work?

View attachment 646969

Need something that will grab the backside edge of the yoke. Borrow a puller from the auto parts store. They usually have free tool loaner programs.

 

[Chippy]

Got it, do you guys think a 3 jaw one would work? That’s all the local parts store has today.

 

[tnjeepguy]

Or brass drift, hit on both sides; should come loose.

3 jaw not work, have to grab the lip behind bolt holes.

 

[machoheadgames]

Is it regeared? Usually stock yokes slide off the stock pinions pretty easily, but I haven’t worked much on D44s. Maybe that’s just a Dana 30/35 thing.

I’d maybe try a brass punch on the pinion just to start separating the two and then see if you can get the yoke the rest of the way off by hand or with a dead blow or something after that. Don’t hammer too much because the pinion will slam into the carrier and also jam don into the ring gear teeth, so I’d only do that gently just to break the connection initially.

 

[Chippy]

Is it regeared? Usually stock yokes slide off the stock pinions pretty easily, but I haven’t worked much on D44s. Maybe that’s just a Dana 30/35 thing.

I’d maybe try a brass punch on the pinion just to start separating the two and then see if you can get the yoke the rest of the way off by hand or with a dead blow or something after that. Don’t hammer too much because the pinion will slam into the carrier and also jam don into the ring gear teeth, so I’d only do that gently just to break the connection initially.

where on the pinion do I hit with the punch? Towards the rear of the jeep? Not regeared as far as I know. Bone stock 45k mile TJ.

Also weird most yoke pullers thread in to the bolt holes. I know the bolts are small but I feel like it should work…

 

[Chippy]

UPDATE if anyone sees this in the future. I rented an OEM Tools 2/3 jaw puller from Autozone. Part number 57078. Pulled it right off.

Thank you all for saving my Sunday. I was about to throw in the towel and try again tomorrow

 

[machoheadgames]

where on the pinion do I hit with the punch? Towards the rear of the jeep? Not regeared as far as I know. Bone stock 45k mile TJ.

Also weird most yoke pullers thread in to the bolt holes. I know the bolts are small but I feel like it should work…

Yeah towards the rear, “into” the axle….but only barely. But no need now since the puller worked.

I imagine for the puller you used your own 1/4-28 bolts and added some washers or something?

 

[Chippy]

No it was one of the two jaw ones. It went behind the bolt holes.

New problem now though. I’ve been hammering away at this seal and using a seal puller and it won’t budge… it’s just getting deformed. Any tips? Worried someone used RTV around it and it’s going to be stuck real good to the differential

 

[topfuel83]

Take a flat blade screwdriver and carefully hammer the edges of the seal toward the pinion shaft, collapsing the seal collar. Eventually it will come out.

 

[Chippy]

Take a flat blade screwdriver and carefully hammer the edges of the seal toward the pinion shaft, collapsing the seal collar. Eventually it will come out.

That’s what I was doing. Took me maybe 45 minutes just to get that little section because there is no leverage to swing a hammer.

Wondering if I should use an air hammer/chisel and just go at it…

 

[Chippy]

Bumping this thread to hopefully get a question answered about the pinion nut.

I have a Dana 44 non rubicon - and I marked the pinion nut with a paint pen so I could put it at the exact same position. I tightened it but I think I have one full rotation too far. Does it matter? People say D44s have shims instead of crush sleeves and to just torque it down. The nut isn’t crazy tight, but I noticed the back wheels trying to turn when I’m tightening.

 

[machoheadgames]

Bumping this thread to hopefully get a question answered about the pinion nut.

I have a Dana 44 non rubicon - and I marked the pinion nut with a paint pen so I could put it at the exact same position. I tightened it but I think I have one full rotation too far. Does it matter? People say D44s have shims instead of crush sleeves and to just torque it down. The nut isn’t crazy tight, but I noticed the back wheels trying to turn when I’m tightening.

Put on the parking brake if it isn’t on already, and you shovel be torquing it to around 200 ft lbs with a new nut.

Ideally you don’t torque it using the gears to hold things and instead use a yoke holder. But doing this on the ground makes all the options suck because you can’t hardly swing a wrench at all to begin with.

 

[Chippy]

Put on the parking brake if it isn’t on already, and you shovel be torquing it to around 200 ft lbs with a new nut.

Ideally you don’t torque it using the gears to hold things and instead use a yoke holder. But doing this on the ground makes all the options suck because you can’t hardly swing a wrench at all to begin with.

Yeah it’s on. I have a new nut so I guess I’ll use that and try to torque to 200. I just thought I had to mark it but I guess that’s only if I had a crush sleeve

 

[machoheadgames]

Yeah it’s on. I have a new nut so I guess I’ll use that and try to torque to 200. I just thought I had to mark it but I guess that’s only if I had a crush sleeve

Really marking an old nut is not the best way to go on a crush sleeve either. It’s better to measure the rotational resistance and then just go til you have a bit more than you had previously upon reinstall. But to accurately measure that the axle needs to be apart. For shims you just torque it. Once all the slop is out the shims are immediately being tightened against so really the 200 part is just to keep the nut from coming off. Whether you did 150 ft lbs or 300 ft lbs, the pinion will run the same. But I’d go to 200.

 

[Chippy]

Really marking an old nut is not the best way to go on a crush sleeve either. It’s better to measure the rotational resistance and then just go til you have a bit more than you had previously upon reinstall. But to accurately measure that the axle needs to be apart. For shims you just torque it. Once all the slop is out the shims are immediately being tightened against so really the 200 part is just to keep the nut from coming off. Whether you did 150 ft lbs or 300 ft lbs, the pinion will run the same. But I’d go to 200.

Thanks! Honestly don’t think I can get it to 200 with the jeep on the ground. I got it to 150 with my torque wrench and that was all I could do. Stuck a long breaker bar on there and could barely turn it any more. Hopefully it’s good enough