55 ford Ranch Wagon Pinion Seal

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poolplayer1

Senior Member
The pinion seal on this wagon is leaking pretty bad so I decided to replace it tomorrow. Question is? Do i need any special tools to do the job? Do I need a puller of some kind to remove the old seal or can I just drive it out with a flat blade screwdriver? Also,after I put in the new seal,does the big nut that holds the yoke assembly have to be torque to a specific lbs or inches of torque>
Just want to be sure I have everything I need cause I don't want to be crawling in and out from under the car every 5 or 10 minutes. Thanks for your help.
 
This is all explained well in the '56 Ford car shop manual, and probably as well in the '55. You need a puller for the U-joint flange (after nut and washer is removed). You do need an oil seal remover to get the pinion seal out. I suggest reading the whole thing to see how to get your nut screwed back on at the right spot.
 
Ok,
Thanks for your reply. I don't have the manual but I think a friend of mine might have it.If he does,I will read the installation instructions of the seal. I think the tightness of the nut is important to setting the pre-load back to where it was.
 
I had a pro do mine. He scribed a mark across the pinion nut and housing before disassembly and then tightened the nut just a hair past the mark on the housing to reestablish the pre-load. Torque is pretty high on these, up to 200 to 220 foot pounds depending on what axle you have.
 
Thanks Dobie. I have a good dewalt 700 lb impact wrench that I am going to use to remove the pinion nut. Hopefully I can complete the job today.
 
The axle should be a Dana 44 with the 19 spline axles. Ford used these through 1956 with the wagon and delivery models. The pinion preload is adjusted with shims when new so a person isn't going to get any more preload than what the shim stack allows. The pinion companion flange nut torque is listed at 120 to 140 Ft/Lbs. I pull them to low side then adjust for cotter pin if applicable. It should have no shake in the bearings at all. It may not have worlds of preload left but the bearings are old so you don't want too much anyway. If it has slack, it will have to be de-shimmed a bit to get at least some preload. It may not be a bad idea to pull the back cover and inspect the gears, bearings, etc. just to make sure it will go a while longer.
 
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Thanks rotorwrench for your good advice. Well,I removed the flange and seal yesterday and started to put in the new seal and guess what,wrong seal.Its too big for this housing.
I went back to the store and showed them the difference and they can plainly see the different in diameter.The one they ordered is 3.25" outside diameter and mine is just under 3". I gave them the oem part # which is 8M-4676.They said that according to their system,that is the right part which its not. I went to Napa and they had one in stock ( going by the part # I gave them and it is too big in diameter too.
We tried going by model and year and they show the part as being the correct one for that year. So,how can I identify for sure what model year this housing is? The only parts I can find on this unit is AF40250, Ratio is 3.30. Also,there is a casting # of 46 on the housing. I measured the inside and outside of the seal and they are:
ID- 1 5/8"
OD= 3"
Does anyone here have any suggestions for me on this problem? I called cgfordparts in CA and they show 8M-4676 being the oem part #.The sales person measured the seal and its 3.25". back about 30 years ago we did get a different differential for this wagon from a junk yard and i thought it was from a 56 or 57 ford but not sure. Its been too long and heck,I can't even remember from a few days ago. Ha Ha.
Hope someone here has some tips or suggestions. I have this wagon apart and would like to get it back together ASAP. Thanks again.
 
"Also,there is a casting # of 46 on the housing." Are you sure it says "46"? I googled for a Dana 46 axle and nothing useful comes up. There is a Dana 45 that Ford used on wagons and Mercs in the fifties. I have one. You might try a search for a '55 Merc pinion seal and see what that yields. The 45 is basically a beefed up 44 and some 44 parts will interchange.
 
Thanks to all of you for your help.I will call C&G ford parts and see what they say. I am going to check around the differential in the morning and see if there are any more numbers that maybe will help identify the rear. I checked to see if the seal might be from a 1957 or 58 car and the seal they come up with for that year is over 4" in diameter which is too big for this housing. I will keep searching and see what I come up.In the mean time,if any of you have any more idea's,please let me know.
I am going to double check the casting where it shows the number 46 to make sure its not a 45 instead.
 
Welcome to the world of Dana/Spicer 44 rear axles. The seals changed several times from the earlier Dana 41 up into the late 50s. All the modern ones use the late type seal. I found out the differences like everyone else did. I researched them and found suppliers for the type you likely have but it's been a long time since I did that research They can be converted but it is more complicated due to the other parts involved that have to be changed as well. I'll see if I can come up with a source but it may take a while.

Dana 45 was a Mercury thing for a few years since it was a bit heavier duty. No Dana 46 that I've ever heard of. Dana 53 was Lincoln for a long time but they aren't common. Bearing parts interchange between these models to some extent but it also takes research to find what will work with what.

In 1957 the 9-inch came out and replaced all the Ford and Mercury axles. Pickups kept the Dana 44 for many more years.
 
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Look at the old seal closely for a part number. It may be on the lip of the seal itself. Or measure the inner diameter of the housing, the outer diameter of the flange, and thickness of the seal. Any decent parts house can find a seal number from those dimensions.
Most likely your junkyard rear end is from a different model. Most yards back then used Hollander Interchange Manuals which covered not only direct interchanges, but also how to adapt different years and different makes with minor changes (such as "use different u-joint" or "change yoke", etc. So going by original application may not work.
 
There were two seals in the era that I'm most familiar with. The 8A-4676 is likely the one you need but the confusion always comes in with the 8M-4676-A seal. The 8A-4676 is has a 3-inch OD with a 1 39/64" ID. The 8M-4647-A seal has a 3 11/64" OD and a 1 9/16" ID and they look different too. Crossing the seal over to another part number always gets messed up by the aftermarket seal manufacturers.

The 1949/59 Ford parts CD I have lists something else for Sedan Delivery and Wagon in the 1949 to 56. It has part number B6A-4676-A which is 3 5/32" OD X 1 9/16" ID. All of this stuff makes it very confusing.

The other thing that confuses the matter is the possibility that the car doesn't have the original axle assembly. Anything is possible after all these years.

A Dana 44 has a "44" raised casting number under the right side rear housing bulls eye where the transition to the axle tube starts. It also has a removable cover on the back. The Ford units all have a removable 3rd member whether its the early type or the later 9-inch and they remove from the front with no removable cover on the back.
 
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Thanks to everyone for your help. I finally found the correct seal and installed it yesterday.
main thing to do was to make a mark on the pinion shaft,the nut,and for safety mark the flange too. I used a punch to make the markings.
That way when I put it back together,it would be at the same preload position as before. I did have to use a puller to pull the flange out but on the seal,I just used a flat blade screwdriver and worked around it to pull it out. It is recommended that the seal be soaked in oil for 30 minutes before installation,which I did. I also used silicone adhesive on the outside of the seal to prevent leaks. I took it for a drive this morning early and when I came back and parked it in the garage, no leaks at all. Hope it stays like that.
For all of you that have eighter a 55 or 56 wagon, the seal I used was a part # SKF-16422 sold at Napa.
 
A lot of the old seals were leather so that may be why they wanted the oil soak. The old CR seals were made by Chicago Rawhide but others used leather as well. A modern rubber seal won't need to be soaked but it certainly won't hurt it.
 
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