ford 8.8 pinion stuck

[johnny]

In the process of disassebly, I happily noticed that after removing the companion flange, and the carrier, the pinion was in no mood to come out! I was under the impression it might fall out with nut removed. Since then I have shattered 2 2x4 blocks with a large hammer trying to beat it out, to no avail! Am I missing something here? Thanks for your expertise. Johnny

[accu tech]

As you have found out, the outer pinion bearing can be from almost slipping off on its own, all the way to virtually being welded to the pinion shaft. It can take a lot of persuasion to get that pinion out. Once you have tried all the steps you can to getting it out without damage by hand, you may need to revert to either removing the axle housing and trying to have it removed by a press, or more commonly getting a larger metal faced hammer and hitting harder (sorry if that doesn't sound too technical, but it is true.) Both of these methods will most likely damage the pinion and/or the bearing assembly, but there really isn't a better way that we can recommend. We don't like heating the outer bearing assembly to expand it because it will transfer a lot of heat into the housing itself, but we've seen it done by a few installers.

I myself am a bigger hammer fan. At some point either the pinion is going to move, or the bearing assembly will break. Either way the pinion will come out eventually.

Hopefully you have the new gearset and bearings to install if you need to go the more brutal way.

-Tech