I looked up in the Bentley Manual the torque specs for the three drive
flanges on the differential last night. For all three, it lists 90-120 lb.
ft. Now, the pinion flange is a castellated nut with a locking wire. I
noticed the following when I removed the pinion flange (to change the
seal): I was expecting to have to really put some "umph" into undoing the
pinion flange nut. But, once I removed the locking wire, I discovered that
the nut was not even finger-tight. It was tightened about like you would
tighten the nut on a front hub... (you torque those to like 5 lbs. or
something and then back them off one flat... very loose) At any rate, I
was able to spin the nut off the pinion shaft with my fingers.
Which way is correct? And what are the consequences of NOT torqueing the
nut to the spec and then driving on it that way? Although I've had the
differential out of the car a couple of times in the past, I've never in 13
years of ownership messed with the pinion flange. So, this has been like
this for quite some time.
Any comments?
Pete Chadwell
1973 TR6
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