Trees Farmer pinion shaft

[Frickman]

I had a small problem with my Tree  Farmer C5D forwarder today. The nut that holds the driveshaft yoke onto the front end's pinion shaft unscrewed and fell off. I hiked out of the woods a mile, twice, for tools, and finally got the whole driveshaft removed so I could come out in two wheel drive. No big deal, noone hurt, just a little setback.

Now here's my question. I'm going to replace any and all seals, and of course replace the nut. How do I set the preload on the pinion shaft and it's bearings? Are there even bearings on it? I didn't get a chance to look at it as it was dark when I finally got the machine out of the woods.

The machine came out of the woods ok in two wheel drive. I don't run through the mud and bad spots, this machine is used as a prehauler on well established and dozed woods roads. I generally don't travel too fast, about two mph loaded and three, maybe four mph empty. I don't want to have to tear the whole front end apart just to set up the pinion so here's my idea. I'll clean everything up good and put it all together. I'll tighten everything up to where it seems good and I'll just run it the way it is. As long as nothing is grinding and no grease is leaking out I don't see where I'd have a problem. So tell me everyone, do you think this will work, and if not, why not?

[mrnero]

Hi Frickman, How do I set the pre load on the pinion shaft and it's bearings?
Usually, the yoke nut that holds the yoke on is tighten/pre loaded via torque wrench, you have to find out what the torque settings are on the yoke nut.
Are there even bearings on it? Should be a bearing behind the yoke. Usually, the nut holds the yoke and the yoke holds the outer bearing and pinion shaft in place.
I would suggest you "do not move" the machine at all, until your put the yoke back on and have the yoke nut tighten to proper torque to prevent further damage to the front final drive.

[Frickman]

Well I tore into the machine today and lo and behold, there's nothing to it. It's just a standard setup like you'd see on any other rear end. That suprised me since I've seen alot of crazy things on this particular machine, things I've never seen done anywhere else. So it's off to NAPA for a seal and a nut and I'm back in business.

[bushmechanic]

What mrnero said about the torque wrench is right but on that as all differentials the pinion bearings can't be too tight or they will expand too quick and burn up.Between the bearings there is a spacer that is there to get the corect preload if your yoke was slack for a while then it may have wore the spacer,thus reducing the space between the bearings and tightening them up when you tighten in the yoke again.I would suggest you keep a close watch the diff to make sure it is not getting too hot when running.You should also check the oil it may be full of cuttings now,if it is take the time to pull the diff out those things can get expensive in a hurry.

[timberjack240]

when i changed the seal in our tj i pulled that shfta out did my thing and slid it back in so the driveshaft lined up  ;D i made sure it didnt move cuase i dont know much about rearends