Diff crush sleeve

20007.3stroker · Jun 27, 2011

How do you get the crush sleeve to crush? Had to put internals in my rearend and for the life of me I can not get it to crush to save my life.:shrug:

91turbogsx · Jun 27, 2011

You don't physically crush it completely. It just "crushes" just enough to create a preload on the bearings. Just tighten the pinion nut until you achieve the desired rotational torque value. I'm just lost on how your trying to "crush" it.

20007.3stroker · Jun 27, 2011

I know it doesnt crush completely, just enough to give bearing preload. I had to get to a new one. Once I try tightening to get preload the bearing behind the seal isnt sitting in its race all the way.

kampy · Jun 27, 2011

Good luck, it takes 5-700 lbs of torque to get them to start collapsing. I normally use a 3/4" rachet with a 6 ft cheater pipe and a 36" pipe wrench to hold the yoke.

91turbogsx · Jun 27, 2011

kampy said:
Good luck, it takes 5-700 lbs of torque to get them to start collapsing. I normally use a 3/4" rachet with a 6 ft cheater pipe and a 36" pipe wrench to hold the yoke.

I didn't apply anywhere remotely close to that torque value while setting my preload. :shrug:

To the OP: Are you reassembling things in the right order? Don't forget the slinger that is in there. The bearing should sit in the race by itself without any preload. You should also be spinning the yoke as you tighten to make sure the bearings are seated properly as well.

20007.3stroker · Jun 27, 2011

Well if thats the case this could be interesting. LOL I take it you do it on a lift to get a 6ft cheater on there.

91turbogsx · Jun 27, 2011

I used an impact gun and just slowly impacted until I achieved desired spec. A little less physical labor. LOL

20007.3stroker · Jun 27, 2011

91turbogsx said:
I didn't apply anywhere remotely close to that torque value while setting my preload. :shrug:

To the OP: Are you reassembling things in the right order? Don't forget the slinger that is in there. The bearing should sit in the race by itself without any preload. You should also be spinning the yoke as you tighten to make sure the bearings are seated properly as well.

Putting it back together the same way it came apart. Checked that with some parts breakdowns just to be sure. Tried my impact to try get it going, but mine sucks. Only good for small things. LOL

kampy · Jun 27, 2011

No lift, thats why the ratchet, I use 6' because I'm lazy, it can be done without too much difficulty with 3'. You can always use your old crush sleeve as long as the preload isn't too tight, keep it under 20 in lbs on old bearings, a little red locktite on the threads and call it fixed.

KPSquared · Jun 28, 2011

You shouldn't be able to crush a crush sleeve with an impact gun. Get some good leverage on there (the 6' snipe isn't a bad plan...) and start cranking. Keep a super close eye on your pinion rotational torque numbers... you can go to far really easy, then you have to get another crush sleeve.

Once it starts to go, you don't have far to get the numbers right.

91turbogsx · Jun 28, 2011

KPSquared said:
You shouldn't be able to crush a crush sleeve with an impact gun. Get some good leverage on there (the 6' snipe isn't a bad plan...) and start cranking. Keep a super close eye on your pinion rotational torque numbers... you can go to far really easy, then you have to get another crush sleeve.

Once it starts to go, you don't have far to get the numbers right.

Well then I did the impossible. And it's been under my truck being beaten for a while now. To be honest I went past spec with it and had to replace the crush sleeve. All with an impact. :shrug: <-- that's a shrug. Can't see the arms. LOL

Charles · Jun 28, 2011

91turbogsx said:
Well then I did the impossible. And it's been under my truck being beaten for a while now. To be honest I went past spec with it and had to replace the crush sleeve. All with an impact. :shrug: <-- that's a shrug. Can't see the arms. LOL

I don't know what you're doing.... but it ISN'T how crush sleeves work on the rest of planet earth...

What the guy is describing is EXACTLY how they act for everyone else. A new crush sleeve is VERY hard to get to start down. Once it starts, then it is as you describe. Now if you reuse one.... obviously you don't have this issue, and in a pinch, that can be done, although often times this just leads to the crush sleeve "floating" around and not doing a damn thing because the new bearings seat in the races and acheive pre-load before the sleeve does anything. Leaving the pre-load to fall off within a relatively short number of miles.

For the rest of the world.... the pipe wrench and 3/4 drive are the ticket. I usually take a pipe wrench with a pipe over the handle and run it down so the pipe digs into the ground under the pinion, then hold on to the leafspring or frame with my arms and use BOTH legs to legpress a 3/4" breaker bar until the crush sleeve starts down. Then I continue with one leg a little at a time, checking back and forth until the preload is acheived.

This whole nonsense like crush sleeves are easy to crush is just ridiculous. And using an impact? Equally ridiculous.

To the OP. No you're not crazy. And it sounds like you're right on track.

Charles · Jun 28, 2011

91turbogsx said:
Well then I did the impossible. And it's been under my truck being beaten for a while now. To be honest I went past spec with it and had to replace the crush sleeve. All with an impact. :shrug: <-- that's a shrug. Can't see the arms. LOL

How are you checking pre-load?

KPSquared · Jun 28, 2011

And what impact gun do you have?!! I've used a 1" that MAY have done the job but it would have blown past the proper pre-load so fast I would have had to start over anyway.

20007.3stroker · Jun 28, 2011

Charles said:
I don't know what you're doing.... but it ISN'T how crush sleeves work on the rest of planet earth...

What the guy is describing is EXACTLY how they act for everyone else. A new crush sleeve is VERY hard to get to start down. Once it starts, then it is as you describe. Now if you reuse one.... obviously you don't have this issue, and in a pinch, that can be done, although often times this just leads to the crush sleeve "floating" around and not doing a damn thing because the new bearings seat in the races and acheive pre-load before the sleeve does anything. Leaving the pre-load to fall off within a relatively short number of miles.

For the rest of the world.... the pipe wrench and 3/4 drive are the ticket. I usually take a pipe wrench with a pipe over the handle and run it down so the pipe digs into the ground under the pinion, then hold on to the leafspring or frame with my arms and use BOTH legs to legpress a 3/4" breaker bar until the crush sleeve starts down. Then I continue with one leg a little at a time, checking back and forth until the preload is acheived.

This whole nonsense like crush sleeves are easy to crush is just ridiculous. And using an impact? Equally ridiculous.

To the OP. No you're not crazy. And it sounds like you're right on track.

Thats nice to know Im not crazy. Guess I need to just keep working at it. Thanks all!!!

91turbogsx · Jun 28, 2011

Charles said:
How are you checking pre-load?

With a Snap-On dial type torque wrench. :Edit I remember checking with a beam style torque wrench as well to see if they showed the same result. I accidentally tightened it the first time and made it so I could barely turn the pinion. That's with a new crush sleeve. So how could I go way past spec without crushing the sleeve?

Charles · Jun 28, 2011

91turbogsx said:
With a Snap-On dial type torque wrench. :Edit I remember checking with a beam style torque wrench as well to see if they showed the same result. I accidentally tightened it the first time and made it so I could barely turn the pinion. That's with a new crush sleeve. So how could I go way past spec without crushing the sleeve?

The first time did you reuse the old crush sleeve? If so, then you very likely might not have had to crush it. And even so, one that's already crushed down is much easier to crush farther.

If you crushed a brand new one with an impact..... I just don't know what to say about that. You must live on a different planet than myself, the OP and the one other guy that all report exactly the same information as everyone else outside of interland.

Whenever I crush one, it's not even close to anything an impact would do. It's like... bend the breaker bar a little with both legs and hope it comes back straight when you let off kind of stuff.

It makes me wonder if you may have never actually tightened up against maybe an old crush sleeve the first time and just sank the bearings right into the races never touching it, and then maybe on the second go-round got a crush sleeve for the wrong application, or bearing for the wrong application and again never made contact with the crush sleeve. There are different yokes for the 10.25 and the 10.5 axles. The pinions are different lengths as well. If for instance you put the longer 10.25 R&P set in a later housing with the late model yoke, and a master install or separate components for that later housing it's entirely possible that you might tighten the pinion bearings up to spec without ever touching the crush sleeve. In that case you were just bumping the impact against the mechanical lock built in to the pinion nut...

In that case the bearings would pre-load against their races and come up with the correct reading, but after a couple months of driving the pre-load would be gone without the crush sleeve backing them up. It wouldn't really make noise or come apart, it would just have noticeable backlash letting off and getting back on the power.

sgleshot · Jun 28, 2011

91turbogsx said:
I used an impact gun and just slowly impacted until I achieved desired spec. A little less physical labor. LOL

I cheat like this too, couple good bumps with my titanium IR and then back to the breaker bar to fine tune.

sgleshot · Jun 28, 2011

91turbogsx said:
With a Snap-On dial type torque wrench. :Edit I remember checking with a beam style torque wrench as well to see if they showed the same result. I accidentally tightened it the first time and made it so I could barely turn the pinion. That's with a new crush sleeve. So how could I go way past spec without crushing the sleeve?

just remember its not the torque required to get the pinion spinning but the amount while its rolling.