real time install on oil leak fixes and front diff carrier bearing install

[VikingTrad3r]

hi guys.

2006 yukon denali xl family mover. wife and kids are away for a 3 day weekend so this is my chance to do the front carrier bearings on the diff and fix the oil leaks.

i got the bearing package and am only a 21mm wrench away from dropping it. The hanger bolts i couldn't access with my sockets i need a wrench to hold the one side.


OIL LEAK COMPONENT

here is a link to my leak pictures:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=C1B01246FB62246B!517&authkey=!ACUAVf5GdwIYSzo&ithint=folder,


First thing I did was degrease the engine. then drive it for 2 days. now I went through the trouble of getting the uv tracer die into the crank case, and bought the cfl coil black light from the local hardware store, and it did absolutely nothing for me. maybe it needs longer than 2 days to work. Anyhow, after cleaning the engine it was pretty clear that the pan is leaking, and the block thingy that the oil cooler lines run into is leaking. Maybe the oil pressure sensor is leaking, not sure, so I bought a new one with the socket to swap it anyway. And .....Yes, I know, i have a high probability of the rear main PLATE leaking. The rear main is not leaking, the flywheel dry as a bone through the inspection cover. But I have read that even if your flywheel is dry, its still possible the plate that installs around the rear main might be leaking. I don't know the name for it but if you google it there are many forum posts about it. If it turns out that is also leaking, I have to drop the tranny which will be a seperate job than this weekends. I know for sure that my oil pan gasket is leaking, so I thought I would do that anyway (with the oil pressure sensor). I also got new valve cover gaskets, but they actually do not appear to be leaking as I thought they were.


Some guides I have been using to prep myself for the OIL LEAK component are:

^^^ that video shows how much easier this will be with the front diff removed. i have to do the carrier bearing anyway, so i thought i'd do them both at once.





8.25 IFS FRONT DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER BEARING REPLACEMENT COMPONENT:


link to my front diff video question for you guys: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=C1B01246FB62246B!515&authkey=!ALBARsfcZ2tIvQY&ithint=video,mov


I was planning on just splitting the diff, replaceing the carriers, and putting it back in. But what about this video?? I have all the bearings so if this output shaft bearing is shot i can replace that too.


Some guides I have been using to prep myself for the IFS 8.25 CARRIER BEARING replacement are:

General Tips
Some tips I have learned so far, I'll add to them as I go:
1. if, like me, you are looking for a way to get the flanges un-bolted, after you have taken the wheels off, but the front axles just spin on you, check this out:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VCXSokDgPo

he uses it for the axle nut but works for the flange bolts as well!

2. Make sure you have a 21mm wrench, you will need it for removing the front diff, another 21mm socket on the other side. Even better, get a wratcheting one.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

having a hard time pulling the upper most mounting bolt which holds the diff to the frame. i have it loosened and im trying to pull the bolt out of the bracket so i can lower the diff. problem is when i back the bolt out of the bracket, it bumps into the oil cooling lines and it will not come all the way out. i am afraid of just pushing on the oil lines to move them out of the way.

there seems to be bracket which holds the oil cooler lines to the oil pan on the driver side. if i can get to it, which is a 13mm bolt, i could loosen that and the lines should move the few mm so i can get that bolt out. problem is i can't get to the 13mm bolt! anybody have this?

edit: in the end, i just bend the lines. hope i didn't create a problem i guess ill find out soon!

 

[VikingTrad3r]

edit. most everything you need to know in terms of torque specs is here:
http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145052



next day: had to get a long (make sure you get a long one) seperator fork, sometimes called a pickle fork, to seperate the pitman arm and the idler arm from the drag link. these need to be seperated so the diff can "fall forward" out of the truck. you can't get it out of the truck with the drag link still attached to the pitman and idler arm.

Diff is out and draining while I am currently doing the oil pan and oil cooler gaskets. Hopefully i have enough time to split the diff. I will update pics later on tonight.

edit: got the pan out. all cleaned up and trying to figure out where to put the rtv people talk about. there was none on my pan that i took off.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

i mentioned above that when i looked through the inspection cover at the flywheel, it was dry. you can only see the rear surface of the flywheel so if it is leaking from above i suppose the flywheel could be wet with oil on the front side, which you can see after taking off the oil pan. it was dry, no oil stain at all, so im going to proceed with the oil pan and oil cooler gasket install im pretty sure it will seal it up.

 

[southboundchicken]

Man thanks for the info and keep it coming im sucking this up like a dry sponge..... Lol, im going to be doing mine soon so i'll take all the info i can get. Thanks and good luck with the repairs

 

[VikingTrad3r]

day 3. i think i have about 12 hours into this so far. first time for both of these items. wife comes home in a few hours haha.

anyway, got the diff split last night. going to go try my puller tool to get the carriers off.

btw, turns out it was my passenger side carrier not my driver side carrier bearing that was screwed.

a based on the amount of backlash that was in my pinion when i removed the diff, i think i need the carrier tighteners tightend by a notch. just a bit too much backlash. i don't have a measuring dial and i will decide later if i go get one or not.

another weird thing, i did not have any of the red stuff between the case halves!! it made for getting it apart easy!!

 

[VikingTrad3r]

Man thanks for the info and keep it coming im sucking this up like a dry sponge..... Lol, im going to be doing mine soon so i'll take all the info i can get. Thanks and good luck with the repairs

i know the feeling. i have been youtubing videos and reading threads for months while in bed before falling asleep.

its actually that hard at all.


YOU HAVE TO USE THE PICKLE FORK to get the diff out. it won't come out without it.

the picklefork, and a 21mm wrench, are (so far) the only tools I didn't have to make this happen.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

well, got the carrier bearings pulled and re-installed onto the differential gear itself and was really easy.

then i went to remove the seal from the driver side of the case half.....my locking tab is gone.

meaning at some point it broke off, got eaten, and was spat out. i bet this is the reason why the previous owner decided to sell it. too bad, its a pretty easy fix.

i now have to sort out preload because mine has had no preload on the driver side and its why the bearings blew and why the groaning noise.

after doing all my research on this issue, IT ACTUALY COMES DOWN TO THE LOCK TABS. and i was not surprised at all to see that one was missing. the reason why the bearings go so quick, is these lock tabs come off, and then the bearing preload comes undone, so its sloppy and eventually vibration and whatnot tears up the bearing.

more later as i replace the bearing races on the case halves, and figure out backlash. i guess im going to be buying a dial to measure backlash! im sure its one of those things that seems intimidating and then when you actually do it its like.....ohhhh...that was easy.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

forget what i said in the previous post about removing the bearing races! turns out they just sit or "float" as bronco carl says at the very end of part 1 of his video. because i am not doing my pinion, its fine, i am just going to put a new lock tab and then figure out how far in to screw in the locking preload parts then lock in by bending down the tab. (NOTE ON THE LOCK TABS, THEY DO NOT COME WITH THE BEARING KITS!!! I BOUGHT MINE AT A LOCAL DEALER FOR 1.50 EACH. CAREFUL HERE AS YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED ONE OR TWO.)

edit: i can't find the tool to screw in the preload on these side carrier bearings. doh. looks like i can't complete this job until i get it.

i might just use a screw driver and turn them that way. only problem is i have read like 100ft lbs and no way can i get to that without the tool.

 

[VikingTrad3r]

holy crap. i think i got it.

for the life of me i just couldn't get anything to work when setting up backlash. just really sloppy in the case.
turns out, i never put the bearing race in for one side LOLOLOL. that seriously messed with me.

anyway, all good now, have my backlash set to .007 which is within spec at .006 to .010

now to button up the case.