pinion bearing replacement

[frank long island]

finally got my 55 merc on the road after 5 yrs only to find out it has a bad pinion bearing i have a 96 explorer rear how difficult of a job is it to change i have heard nightmares about it with crush rings and so on any advice will be helpful hope to do it saturday thanks

 

[Retro Jim]

Just don't use a impact gun to draw the nut down till it stops ! Use a torque wrench to do the final few turns . That shouldn't be all that bad to do . Just take your time and don't over torque the nut . Also remember to replace the seal while you are there and check the pinion to see if there isn't worn down and leaking .

Jim

 

[Ole Don]

I have the same rear end in mine. I took a piece of 1/4 x 2 about a foot long and drilled it to bolt on the flange. I then welded it to a piece of 1/4 x 3 angle about five feet long. That will hold the flange while you take your 3/4 drive socket and long bar to tighten the nut. You can feel when the nut hits the crush sleeve, then take it a bit more. Pray that it hasnt taken out the ring gear while it was loose.