Dana 25 Pinion Won't Come Out

Any idea why I can get the pinion gear out of a Dana 25? Am I missing something? It's the only thing left in the housing, with it's bearings. Been pounding at it from both ends with a 3 lb hammer and a block of wood to try to loosen it up so it will drop out the front but it won't budge.

 

It could be the crush sleeve is kinda swedged to the shaft. I had a real tough one also. It had real rough machining on the shaft that had lots of "grip". Once I got it moving a little, it came off.
-Donny

 

I don't know that the Dana 25 has a crush sleeve. I believe the preload is set with shims similar to the rear 41s and 44s . I've had some pretty stuck pinions but they always came free in the end. My SOP is to soak the bearing sleeves on both ends with broil for a couple of days, then put the cover back on with some rags inside to pad the gear when it breaks loose, then I turn it pinion up on the horses and using an oak block on splines I hit with a good thunk or two with the five pound sledge. I think if you use a softwood block not enough of the shock is transmitted

 

I never had a stuck one but I would flip it over so open end sets flat on a flat steel table or tree stump.
Find a very short heavy wall pipe that just fits over the pinion shaft threads. Then BFH till it moves otherwise it will likely require a torch on the outermost bearing.
Don’t worry bout the inside bearing. It’s not the problem.

 

That’s what I was thinking oldtime, it’s likely the outer bearing. Perhaps the race was a little chewy when it went on. If so it’ll be a bear to get off.

what happened to the axle to require a rebuild? I wonder if the housing was ran dry and the bearing partially brazed itself on.

 

Not a rebuild. Just stripping for parts. 4.27 gears that hopefully someone would want. Kept the knuckles and HD cover too. The rest is going to scrap.

I'll keep pounding away. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. So much grease in there I can't see a thing. Ring gear gear came out as normal with slight prying. Never had a pinion gear that wouldn't move.

Thanks gentlemen.

 

BD1 might know something I don't, but I think the spell checker changed "Kroil" to "Broil" in his post.

Kroil oil is the best penetrating oil I have ever used, but it is hard to find in a store. You can order it on-line.

 

Good catch Oldpappy. I don't really put many parts in the broiler . I've used Kroil for many things over the years, generally with better results than anything else I've tried.

 

a 3 lb hammer is pretty small, just sayin

 

They wrote songs about a 9 lb hammer being too big, but it all depends.

 

I smacked my thumb with a 3# sledge. Popped like a grape. My boss saw it, turned green, went in and got my paycheck and sent me home.

 

A 3lb hammer is big enough to do some serious damage.

I would apply some heat, let it cool to where it is still warm and apply a good penetrating oil such as Kroil. Let that sit a while then as was mentioned above put a piece of pipe over the stub and apply the hammer. They can be stubborn, but once you get it to move even a little bit repeat the process and it should come on out.

 

I don’t bee we lived oil will do you any good.
After all it’s been setting in oil for years,
If the hammer won’t do it, then you will need to heat or cut into the preload bearing cone.

 

Any chance of getting it up into a press?

 

In an ideal world they do sit in oil, but sometimes they sit for years with water in the pumpkin.

I pulled the axles on a CJ2A rear axle last year, noticed right away the outer seals were completely gone. A bunch of gritty muddy brown oil came out. I drained a lot more of that gunk out of the pumpkin, and when I opened the cover the bottom of the ring gear was very rusty. I didn't bother pulling it the rest of the way apart, but I suspect water could have also gotten to the pinion bearing. Had one with water in it sat pinion down in a junk yard it certainly would have gotten to the pinion.