locking pinion nut question answered

[merrill]

hello
A while back i R/R the rear axle on my 66 to replace the axle bearings, seals, hanger bushing, pinion seal etc..
luckily i completed the job just as the summer hit full swing in texas & the car has not been driven since i got it back together.

lately, i have been contemplating disconnecting the drive shaft to double check the pinion nut is truly locked.

when re installing the pinion nut I did purchase a new lock ring (photo) and install it and swage it on the old nut.

However i when i went to force the lock ring into the cutout on the drive shaft receiver the ring split similar to the photo of the old nut. 

when locking the pinion nut i did force the lock ring tabs out as much as i could to lock it in place.   (wish i had a photo to verify my work)

any thoughts would be appreciated...

Matt

[Shvegel]

Although I fully understand your concern Here is what I think.  The flange is splined so there is no rotational force on it.  The nut is tightened against the bearings and crush sleeve with a large force so really the only way it could back off is if one of the bearings broke or there was enough force applied to crush the sleeve further.  If you got it staked at all I don't think it is going anywhere and if it does the axle will be junk before it moves.

[merrill]

Shvegel
hi
thanks for the reply.  your logic is solid.

I let my doubt get the best of me so i spent about an hour today removing the drive shaft to inspect the pinion nut.
while the staking is not pretty the nut is not going anywhere.  (photo)



thanks again - Matt

[Benz Dr.]

It broke because you hit it in the middle first all in one go.

Start by bending the lock ring out as much as you can with a flat screw driver. After you have the bend started take a medium sized punch and move the metal of the lock ring onto each side of the notch on the flange. Once you have it tight against the flange slowly stretch the metal into the notch. Done right, it won't break and it will lay flat against the bottom of the notch.

I had a flange come loose and fall off on a 190SL . It didn't damage the rear axle and all I had to do was put it back on and install another nut.

[clunker]

Tagging along on this topic: I need to remove the pinion nut off the front of 3.27 diff to change the seal, but the nut is on very tight and will not shift. I have drifted in the locking ring tab so that that is released, and am using a four prong socket. I had expected this would be on not so tight, but this is solid. Am I missing something (like another another lock tab)? the thread is clean and not corroded - any ideas? Thanks.

[mbzse]

.../...I need to remove the pinion nut off the front of 3.27 diff to change the seal, but the nut is on very tight and will not shift.../...

Yes, this crown nut is on tight, and you need to hold the pinion axle while you apply torque with long leverage in order to loosen (or tighten) the nut.

See for instance these threads:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=14417.msg110821#msg110821
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=10151.msg67200#msg67200

[clunker]

Thanks Hans. A breaker bar did the trick. Seemed prudent to check first before I used the brute force approach. (Always seems however hard you search the forums one misses the key post!) -- Charles

[merrill]

Dan
thank you sir,   after the fact i thought about the process you described.   lesson learned....

Clunker
not sure if you have drum brakes or not. 
I used the adjusters on my drum brakes on both sides to "lock" the axles in place so the pinion would not turn.
it too quite a lot of effort to loosen the pinion nut on my axle.   
glad to hear you got the nut off.

matt