Yukon gear pinion nut

JudeinPa

Member
Had my gears replaced (4:56) about a year ago by a 4x4 shop. I had purchased a set of Adams drive shafts and ran into a problem with the rear pinion nut.
after I removed the stock driveshaft and started to remove the rear pinion nut I noticed it was badly deformed. It appeared to have been put in with the wrong size socket. It also had small shaving of threads around the nut /shaft and the nut had small dings in it.
I tried a 11/4” socket and it fit over the top of the nut but I had to tap it so it could bottom out to remove it.
After removing it and installing the new yoke the nut went on about half way and then got hard to turn. I removed the nut and it looked like the threads were stripped and that is why it would not fully seat. The threads on the pinion shaft looked good except new where the threads start and the nut threads were bad about half way into the nut and I would say that is why it didn’t seat any further. I used a small gunsmith file to take a few small burrs off the beginning of the shaft.
Does anyone know the thread pitch of a replacement Yukon gear Dana 44 shaft from one of their ring and pinion sets?
 
I'm not sure on the size, but any decent gear & driveline shop probably has them in stock. Most pinion nuts are stover lock nuts and are easily ruined running them off & on with no lubricant.

I looked on Summit & they show 2 different size/pitch pinion nuts for a dana 44 for a JK, 7/8 20 and 3/4 16.

Take an open end wrench and slip it over the threads of the pinion shaft to measure it, it should be either 7/8" or 3/4" get a nut with one of the pitches listed above.

https://www.summitracing.com/search...ntial Pinion Nuts&kr=Differential Pinion Nuts
 
I measured the shaft and in is 7/8”. The Yukon ring an pinion gear set is the YKG012 4:56.
It seems odd that it lists the rear pinion nut (doesn’t have the thread specs) listed as 1 5/16” and mine was 1 1/4”. I ended up ordering a 7/8 x 14 1 1/4”. Another oddity with this kit was the front pinion nut was listed in the kit as 1 1/8” dis. nut and mine was 28mm.
I wish I had taken a picture of the nut before I removed it as it had dings in it like the installer hit it with a hammer and chisel and it had the appearance of a rounded lug nut that you see when someone uses the wrong socket size. Not going to badmouth the installer but I also had a few other issues with the re gearing such as the rear diff only had about half the fluid in it and the front diff was overfilled and the pinion seal had a leak in it.
hope the threads match the shaft when it arrives. Yukon has so many replacement nuts but can’t tell what is for a stock spicer gear set or theirs.
 
1-1/8" is 23 thousandths smaller than 28 mm, soooooo if they used the wrong wrench they could have boogered it up.
 
Socket slipped off the pinion nut when I regeared my JL, 3/4 inch drive ratchet with an ice cold piece of pipe slipped over it for some serious leverage. I'm a rather large guy & it took everything I had to crush the pinion sleeve without overdoing it.

I can see how easy it would be to destroy a pinion nut setting up new gears.
 
Socket slipped off the pinion nut when I regeared my JL, 3/4 inch drive ratchet with an ice cold piece of pipe slipped over it for some serious leverage. I'm a rather large guy & it took everything I had to crush the pinion sleeve without overdoing it.

I can see how easy it would be to destroy a pinion nut setting up new gears.
I contacted Yukon and they said it was a 7/8 x 14. Also gave me the part number of the correct pinion nut. They told me it is the same nut used in a stock set of Jeep Wrangler JK as well.
I appreciate the help here! Hopefully I will get everything back together in a day or 2.
 

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