Dana 20 Yoke Question

I am in the process of replacing the seal on my Dana 20 front yoke. The nut was definitely on tight...I used a 3/4" drive breaker bar and pushed it with mt foot, while holding onto the yoke wrench.

I have also very recently installed new driveshafts, and know for sure that the front yoke spun freely.

Here's what I did:
-added a speedi-sleeve to the yoke hub, as it had a slight wear groove.

-discarded the old felt "washer" that was in there, as it got destroyed anyway. I didn't replace it.

-cleaned everything well, and installed the new seal. The new seal was a little different than the one that came out. The metal part of the old one was shaped like a "tire"--it had a "back" flange to it. The new one fits great, but doesn't have the back flange.

-lightly tapped the yoke back on, installed a new o-ring under the flat washer, re-used the same nut, and tightened to 240 ft. lbs.

Here's the problem: the yoke has too much resistance...it spins tough. I backed off the nut, which eased it up, but now, the nut can only be torqued to about 40 ft. lbs., otherwise it is too tight.

What happened? Does the yoke preload the bearing? What can be done?

Right now, I have the nut at 40 ft.lbs. with Locktite. I'm not too comfortable with this...

Thanks, in advance, for reading all of this, and your replies.

Rich

 

.......nevermind....

I figured it out

 

Was the yoke dust shield hitting the seal?

 

Well, I installed the seal just below flush (about 1/8"). Because I added a speedi-sleeve to the hub, and didn't cut off the little flange, I think THAT flange was rubbing the seal. So I took it apart very quickly, before all my sealants hardened, and tapped the seal in another 1/8".

Now, it's torqued to 240 ft./lbs, and spins nicely. Hopefully, the seal is not damaged...it looked o.k. ....