VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 40 pinion removal

Looks to me like I could pull the pinion-propeller shaft assembly from the rear end housing without following the procedure in the '40 shop manual. I have the carrier out and the three tapered screws out. Why would prop splines not just disengage up front and everything slide out the back of the differential housing? Looks like tougher sledding to get everything back in place without ruining the bushings and seal up front though. Anyone have any advice here?

When the pinion shaft is removed the drive shaft will come with it because there is a pin (that needs to be replaced) holding the pinion shaft and drive shaft together.If you are lucky it can be installed with the splines at the U joint lining up OR the U joint will need to be split.

The line up of splines behind the u-joint upon reassembly looks like it might take some patience. I'm blessed with lots of patience. I knew I would have to split the pinion and the drive shaft to be able to press on the rear bearing. Could heat and cold be used instead of a press for installing it? Additionally, what about the pin? A grade five or eight bolt peened? Or is it a special size that is required?

I got the assembly out. Turns out the rear bearing is not pressed onto the shaft (O ring retainer in front of the bearing). It does have a lot of clearance with the shaft though. I slid a .030 feeler gauge under the bearing and still could have gone thicker. Isn't it more logical for the bearing to eat the shaft than vice versa? I also noticed some clearance in the spline. Can't really feel any movement or slack in a torqueing movement. Can feel and see some sideways movement when pressure is put on the spline from a right angle. Am I bound for New Ringandpinionlandia? There sure were a lot of metal particles in the oil, some shreds maybe a sixteenth of an inch long. Most just large enough to reflect light. I tested them with a magnet and they are all steel.

It turned out the rear bearing race was worn. That's what gave the space under the race of over .030". I always had the impression that the metal in a bearing race had more hardness than a shaft. But the race is the one that's worn. So much for assumptions. While I'm at it, the front pinion bearing and both carrier bearings are being replaced. I had 90wt140 gear oil in the rear end. Is that the best for the unit here in the south? Thanks, Roger

That is all I used for the last 30 years.......

Turns out aligning and meshing the spline on the front of the propeller shaft was easy with the transmission in gear. Keeping the bearing retainer from sliding backward and behind the three screws used to set it against the front bearing was a problem. Final solution was grease to hold it against the bearing while being slid in place. I can recommend pulling the pinion shaft backward through the housing. Saves time.