Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

OK, I did not expect this thread to get Hi Jacked, by no else but myself , and end up going off topic, but the info is good.

So, I think I am safe to assume that the cheapest part (Propshaft or UJ's) will be the point of failure if things do get to much for the drive train. I can life with that. The trick now may be to find out how much you can upgrade these parts, but make sure they are still the weakest link. I'll look into that when I get to break it.

Right now, I'm still waiting for someone to put me out of my misery, and tell me I just need to release the pinion nut, replace the seal, and put the nut back. Do I need to torque it, or even replace it.

Somebody.......Anybody

HELLO DAVID .
Your diff pinion seal can just be replaced and the nut retorqued to +- 170nm .
Before stripping , check to see if there is any play in the bearings . If there is play , you may have to "torque untill play is eliminated" .
The sleeve will crush further to accomadate the new preload . Are the lips of the old seal worn away ? (indicating an old seal)
If the lips are not worn , the previous owner may have recently replaced the seal , and it's still leaking because of the play in the bearings .
Enjoy your tinkering , that's how we "know for next time" BRETT .

PS , that diff AND drive shafts is good for up to 400KW ! The latest PATROL running gear in standard form( gearbox , drive shafts , and axles)
are used in racing PATROLS with up to 600KW without any problems !!! If you loaded 3 tonnes onto your SANI and tried to pull two inter links up a hill
you may break something !

Thanks Brett

I'm missing my 32mm socket, so did not get the pinion flange off over the weekend.

Although I know I should probably be checking this with a dial gauge, I wiggled the pinion a bit, and can not feel or hear any play on it.

I suppose I also need to find someone with a torque wrench to help me tighten that nut. I used to have one, but it's now somewhere in SOWETO. How much more than the 170Nm can a person take that nut before you start causing problems.

I just don't want the situation of a FUBAR diff a few km down the road, because of things that I should have replaced or done, that I did not.

HELLO DAVID .
From your discription of lack of play , it seems as if you just have an old tired seal looking for a new home . The seal may still be the original from the factory !
My two SAFARIs both still have original pinion seals at 34 years old ! IT'S A NISSAN QUALITY THING .
On a different note , don't forget to fill the diff with LSD OIL only ! You don't want to destroy the clutch pack linings .
Cheers for now BRETT .

Today the guys at Autozone eventually got back to me on the replacement of the pinion seal...
All of R50 and the order is in, should be here next week Wednesday.

Last week Autozone eventually found my seal that was ordered in June. When the guy brought it into the shop, he could not remember what he quoted me, I acted stoopid and said he better go check his books. That seemed to be too much trouble, and we settled on a price of R24.

It's a Partquip Seal, and me and Partquip have not had a good relationship, so I hope this is going to work.

But I am back to my original question that started this thread, or at least one of them. I know Brett has confirmed here that I can just pull the pinion nut, replace seal and bash it back together to the old mark, but I lent my ears out to some of the Community forum guys, who tell me that there is no way that I am going to get everything back perfectly to line up the crownwheel and pinion again, and will end up with a whining/humming. Some even say that many diff places will not do this job unless they replace the crownwheel and pinion as well .

So here I am, needing some assurance/positive and re-assuring talk, from the guys that know, that I am not going to screw this diff up.

I have the seal, I have a 32 Socket, and can get my hands on a wheel puller, if need be. But the garage stays locked till I know this operation stands a fair chance of being completed with success.

Can someone please just come tell me I am going to be OK .

If you don't remove the diff crown, how can you bugger up alignment?

Just be very sparing with the abovementioned bashing and you should be fine.

Hence my idea to use a puller to release the companion flange that the prop attaches to. I don't want to change the depth position of the pinion shaft at all, if possible.

If I understand it right, once I release the pinion nut, the pinion is lose to fall back into the casing, depending on how much the bearings hold it in place.

This weekend I got to pull the pinion Flange to find this.. I checked it with a straight edge and vernier and don't see that it has got any "smaller", but it is rough and will probably eat up my new seal. I took to it with a bit of fine water paper, but I can't make a mark on it.

What is the chance that someone has something like this laying about, or know where I can pick one up. Can I have this it turned on a lathe, and how much have I got to work with before it no longer seals to the oil seal? Am I going to weaken it too much by turning it down slightly and adding a collar to get it back to the correct diameter for the seal?

Rather weld up up.and re-machine than sleeving, but use guys who do this stuff for a living, as it will have to be re-heat-treated...