DRIVE PINION OIL SEAL, EATON H052 (Part 4 of 6)
*3. Pry old seal from bore, using care so as not to damage the machined surface of retainer.
I was a little unsure of myself on this at first because GM used the word "pry". I tried prying it out from the rear but that dint git it. I found if I drove a punch against the forward metal surface of the seal, it drove out easily and I didn’t touch the machined surfaces at all.
The rubber on the old seal was hard and brittle as expected. It had a GM part number on the metal ring so it could be the original 42-years-old-or-so seal.
*4. Thoroughly clean all foreign matter from seal contact area in retainer.
More cleaning wash wash wash. I like to use odorless mineral spirits in combination with a spray bottle, lots of different kinds of brushes, various sizes of pans, and lots of good quality paper towels. Cleaning car crud is always messy but I manage to keep my work areas ungreasy this way. I keep the sensitive-to-dirt parts protected as well as I can.
*5. Pack the cavity between the seal lips with a high-melting point bearing lubricant, position seal on installer Tool J-22231 so that seal shoulders against installer drive surface.
The new seal is a National 411330N. I didn’t pack the cavity so I hope GM will forgive me. There isn’t much room to get in to pack on this seal design. I’m not sure why GM wants you to do this, maybe as a method of priming the seal until the oil fully circulates. The grease eventually dissolves anyway. Instead, I thoroughly wetted the seal with gear oil (and the yoke surface, too in No. 8, below).
I made a tool to press in the seal from a piece of ¾" plywood instead of searching for years to find and paying a fortune for an original Tool J-22231. I cut it to a diameter of 3.8 inches.