Just got M818, bearing and seals questions

[Nicholas]

I just bought an M818 and drove it 200 miles home. On the way home the pinion seals started to leak. Can I remove the bearing retainer put a new seal in and then reinstall with out doing the preload? Or is it possible to remove the seal without taking the bearing retainer off?
The next issue is with the transfercase input bearing. It is very loose, is it possible to pull the bearing out with the transfercase in the truck?

Thanks for all the help.
Nick

 

[augiedoggy]

Hello Nicholas and welcome to Steel Soldiers!

I'm not sure about your pinion seal question, but I can
tell you may need to replace the transfer case.

My M818 had a bad transfer case when I bought it, so I pulled it apart and started pricing parts......

Then I found a used one for $450 and popped it in (figuratively speaking)

Mine had been driven without gear oil and it chewed up the output shaft gears and sprag (they hold surprisingly little fluid).

Best of luck!
Oh, and We Need Pics of your new ride!

 

[midcounty]

Before replacing your pinion seal, you may want to check to see if your vent is plugged. I have had the same issue on one axle after driving it 13 hrs to get it home. Have a new seal for it, but now it doesn't appear to have leaked since the long drive.

 

[Nicholas]

There are leaking pinion seals on each axle, so I think that the seals need to be replaced.

Is it possible to pull the sprag unit with out pulling the transfercase from the truck? Then I can check gears sprag, etc.
Any ideas or suggestions would be great.
Thanks

 

[augiedoggy]

Is it possible to pull the sprag unit with out pulling the transfercase from the truck? Then I can check gears sprag, etc.
Any ideas or suggestions would be great.
Thanks

Hmmm...I believe you can pull the front driveshaft and flange off the transfer; then pull the sprag cover. Not sure what you'd see but, if there's any metal particles in the gear oil..........bad news for big bearings!

The bright side of replacing the whole case is the scrap metal is worth $ 800lbs?!

Also, to add to midcounty's thoughts, the vent valve on each axle is like a little check valve that seems to hold just a little pressure to help keep water out (thats my understanding of it [I may be wrong!]).

Hey and uhhh, you're not a new member; you just don't post much!

Good luck

 

[Nicholas]

Well I drained the transfercase today. Found parts of the bearing cage on the magnetic plug. I reached up and found bigger parts of the cage. Some filings, so my next step is to pull the bearing retainer and sprag. Then I can see just what damage is in there. I am more then likely going to need a replacement, but I am hopeful. I will try to get some pics, but 5 minutes into it I am too dirty to pick up a camera. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

No I don't post very often. Usually I just search and read a lot of posts.

 

[73m819]

If you found a bunch of metal, best bet is to pull it, break it down, and clean it up, other wise there is no way to get the rest of the crap out, so it would be pointless just to pull the sprag unit

 

[Nicholas]

My main reason to pull the sprag is to look at it's condition. If it the sprag clutches are damaged severly or any large pieces of metal are present I know that it(whole transfercase) will need to be replaced. I only have a day or so to work on the truck before we get back into the fields so I just want to take a closer look, and see what damage has been done. Thanks for the help.

 

[Nicholas]

I finally got a chance to pull the transfercase apart. I found some bits of bearing cage still in the case(can sort of see in the pic). My question is the pic of the bearing supposed to have a cage, this is the bearing on the front top of the case. If the Pic doesn't show there is no cage around the balls. The other pics are of the high low range shaft. The bearings seem to turn fine, but there is a strange noise like the rollers are moving after the you stop turning the shaft.