Hi there,

I will need to replace the pinion seal in a 93 4Runner that I am buying, and after having read many threads on here regarding pinion seal replacements, I am torn between just replacing the seal (and doing the best I can to re-establish the bearing pre-load without changing the spacer), or actually pulling the pinion bearing out to replace the bearing spacer also, I don't mind doing the extra work if it will be easier for me to establish the correct bearing preload with a new spacer, but I don't want to have to spend $100 for a SST tool to replace a $10 part.

Has anybody successfully removed a pinion bearing (without dissassembling the diff) without using the Toyota SST? Is there enough room in there to allow the use of a small jaw puller that can have the jaws reversed for an inside pull?

 

bump... Somebody must have done this before.

 

Here is how I did mine:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...eal/index.html

 

Another bump. Thanks 4Crawler. I actually have that link bookmarked already from my previous search. Still looking to see if somebody has used a tool other than the SST to remove the pinion bearing in the rear diff.

 

I don't think there's enough room... it's pretty tight in there.

I replaced my pinion seal and didn't bother messing with the bearing, just tried to get the pre-load back to what I needed using an in-lb torque wrench to measure the drag. I haven't had any problems with it afterwards so... I guess it worked ok.

Don't forget, you need a big dang socket to get the pinion nut off.

 

Thanks.