Dana 44 pinion seal from NAPA PN 15788

Replacement pinion nut, sourced from Ace hardware, 3/4 16 thread stover nut.

stover nuts derive their prevailing torque characteristics from controlled distortion of their top threads from their normal helical form to a more elliptical shape.

1/2 inch ratchet wrench to remove u joint retainer bolts.

clamped the end caps on the u-joints so they fall off.

ready to remove the pinion nut. it's 1 1/8 inch. used an impact gun while holding the yoke in place.

After hammering around the edges of the old seal with a screwdriver, I was able to bend it in enough and then used a hook style seal remover, it popped right out.

nut removed but the threads on the pinion shaft were stripped. this is going to be a problem.

this is what the inside of the nut looked like, completely trashed. these should be replaced any time you have to take the yoke off.

my yoke (1330) was rusty and pitted, so it's a good idea to clean up the part that rides on the seal with some find grit sandpaper. I probably should have bought a new yoke, but didn't want to spend the $$.

Applied a really fine coating of RTV to the mounting surface of the seal and tapped it in place with a hammer. be very careful not to deform the seal and keep tapping around the edges until it's firmly seated.

seal in place, next step is to rethread the pinion shaft. I was told this couldn't or rather shouldn't be done, but since the front dana 44 uses shims and doesn't rely on preload I don't think it will be a problem.

To re-cut the threads on the shaft I ordered a 3/4 inch 16 thread carbon steel re-threading die. Cost was $14.45 including shipping. Hell of a lot less than buying a new gear set.

Re-threading process is pretty straightforward. Seat the die on the end of the shaft and find a socket or wrench large enough to turn the die. I have a huge socket set so it made pretty quick work of it. You'll need a large straight wrench or something to hold the yoke in place while re-threading.

Re-threaded with the new pinion nut on. I was able to crank it down even more than what is in the picture and there is almost zero play. You could always use locktite just to be safe(I didnt), but I think it should be fine.