After pulling the flange and removing the bearing does the shaft normally have a lot of play (slop) in it. Meaning it easily moves left to right and up and down? Or should this shaft be tight?

 

yeah it does, depending on what you mean by "a lot"

 

With the bearing set there is hardly any left to right but some back and forth. Without the bearing then probably 1/4 to 1/2 inch of play. I shoot a video and see what you think.

 

Here is a video of it. Now this is without the bearing.

 

I would assume that would happen the only thing holding the pinion gear in place is the bearing, the other side of the pinion just rest on the ring gear. is that to much ???

 

There is an inner and outer bearing, but they are tapered bearings, so if you've removed the big nut and the outer bearing, there is nothing to keep the inner bearing tight.

 

I believe what was said ^above^ is correct. The reason you have so much movement is because you removed the bearing. The new bearing should stop all the play once installed.

Are you just installing new bearings and seals Ralph? I need to do this soon also so any advice you have after the job would be appreciated.

 

I was doing the Rotoflex conversion and needed to change the seal anyway. I removed the bearing just to inspect it. Everything seemed fine with it so I reinstalled the bearing.

Toughest part of the hole damn thing is getting the center pin out. I could not get it out for the life of me and wish I would have done what my original plan was. Buy a used front diff and swap them out. It would have been a lot quicker. I used this video as guidance:

However my centering pin would not budge...ended up busting off a bolt. (1st Tip get you an M8 x 1.25 Grade 10 or better bolt, actually get you several of different lengths.

After that fiasco, I decided sense I was not going to keep the flange I would just hack it off. Took my 4" Grinder and about 6 cutoff blades and went to work on it. Finally was able to cut enough away to the bolt holding the flange on. After that, piece of cake to remove. I would highly recommend spending the money and getting one of these to set the seal:

I also replaced the rear Transfer Case seal and flange. Only issue I had with that was one of the bolts that holds the flange to the shaft stripped. Cutoff wheel again.
(2nd Tip get you some extra bolts for this!)

I still have to do the front seal on the Transfer case...but that will occur tomorrow or the weekend.

Best thing I did was to get a 1 Gallon Garden Sprayer at Home Depot for $10. Modified the hose to accept a shutoff valve and added a 1/4" Brake Line with a bend at the end. Put in a valve stem to pressurize it. (30 lbs. Max) So now the easiest way ever to fill the diffs and transfer case. Will be making a second for Tranny fluid. IT is not the fastest to fill but no mess and no pumping or squezing bottles. Instructions here:
Pressure tank oil filler bmw transmission differential

 

Very nice Ralph, thanks.
I have been scared of doing the seal in the diff because of the flange nut and all the horror stories. I'm not sure your experience has built up my confidence any.

I think i'll use this repair as an excuse to buy a new tool. I found this Universal Pulley and Flange holding tool for $78 and it seems like it will be money well spent for this job.
http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1...ding_tool.html

Do you by chance know the replacement bolt size you used so I can pick up extra hardware before tearing it apart?

 

Ashcroft suggests drilling and tapping the hole to 12mm.

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