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I need some advice as how to replace the pinion seal on 48-50 Super 8's. Do you have to remove all of the gears and remove the seal from the inside? It appears to me that there is a seal behind a seal. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance. Packardtaximan

mark the drive shaft yoke nut in relation to the threads after the drive shaft is out (very important as it is the preload on the pinion bearings) use punch to mark. remove the nut and you are at the seal- the seal can be removed from the larger metal ring that holds it (i can give you the # 0n the 8th if you need it) old original is 50066, if your auto supply has the old books they can find the new #. you must be very care full when you remove the metal seal holder, if you mess it up, you need a new old stock or one from max merrett. put sealer on the new seal when you press it into the holder (i use a vise) and sealer on the metal when you replace it. replace the nut to the marks plus just a little more stake it in several spots with a center punch or it will come loose. good luck Dell

to change mine i had to drop the driveshaft pull the bolt and that was it. i had my diff out tho already changing the diff gasket and axle seals

Thanks for the replies. Do you need a special tool to remove the seal holder?

packardtaximan,

Dell has given you some good advice. Yes, mark the pinion shaft nut as he recommends. This is so that the nut can go back exactly from where it was removed. You must exactly count the number of turns it takes to remove the nut. Retighten the nut the very same exact number of turns. These steps are vitally important in order to preserve the preload on the pinion gear bearings. Getting the preload too loose or too tight can result in a noisy differential, or worse yet a ruined one. Good luck, and let us know how your job turns out.

(o[]o)

i have a 14 inch long scraper with a 1/4 end that i use to pry from one side to the other, also might try slide hammer. i have never had to much trouble getting one out. dell

Well I finally got the right seal after two re-orders. The front dust cover that the pinion seal sets in is a real bugger to remove. I totally destroyed the first one getting it out and had a 10 round fight with the second. The pinion nut is going to be by-gosh, by-golly as far as number of turns as it was only finger tight when I got it. I had it installed and it was very noisy when you let off the gas to slow down. That is when I found the loose nut and leaking seal. Tomorrow I should finish hooking up the driveshaft and take a test drive. I had to take time to make a couple of the lock tabs for the universal bolts. Thanks to all that have responded to my plea for help. Is this site great or what? Packardtaximan

The test drive went without any problems. What a treat to not hear that annoying whine, however I did hear some rattles that were not detected before. Always something to adjust or fix. You just have to love your Packard.

As everything so far has ckecked out OK, I took the 48 on a 180 mile trip. All went better than I expected. Our gas mileage increased by 2.6 mpg. I did notice a difference on the hills but nothing that required downshifting, but I live on the prairie and hills to me are just speed bumps to some.