QK8006 AAM Rear Pinion Seal Kit for GM 10.5" 14 Bolt Full Floating Axles

QK8006 1998-Current GM AAM 10-1/2" 14 Bolt Rear Axle Pinion Seal Kit with Wear Sleeve for 1998-up GM AAM 10.5" 14 Bolt Full-Floating Rear Axles 1998-on Chevy and GMC 2500, 3500 trucks. QK8006 includes the following genuine, original equipment American Axle Manufacturing components: Pinion Seal, Pinion Seal Wear Sleeve, Pinion Nut, Pinion Washer, and Pinion Crush Sleeve.

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Dan the Gear Man® Tech Notes:
Kit Components
Replace Both Seal and Wear Sleeve
Lubed Seal Lip
Check Axle Vent
Replace Crush Sleeve
Crush Sleeve Installation
Pinion Rotating Torque
Matching Parts
Applications

Tech Note 1: Kit Components
QU30114 Pinion Seal
QU11124 Wear Sleeve
QU50719 Crush Sleeve
QU50725 Pinion Nut
QU50743 Pinion Yoke Washer

Tech Note 2: Replace Both Seal and Wear Sleeve
Always replace the pinion seal and wear sleeve at the same time. If you experiencing a pinion seal leak, chances are both the seal and wear sleeve are worn or damaged. The AAM 1050 Rear Axle uses a factory two piece pinion sealing system that includes a replaceable wear sleeve on the pinion flange that generally eliminates the need to ever replace your pinion flange to solve an oil leak. On the AAM 1050, you replace the inexpensive yoke wear sleeve along with your pinion seal.

Tech Note 3: Lubed Seal Lip
The new pinion seal included in QK8006 Kit has a factory lubricated, multi-lip seal lip to provide initial lubrication of the seal. If the lube gets contaminated or is missing, clean the lip apply clean grease before installing the pinion flange on the axle!

Tech Note 4: Check Axle Vent
Many pinion seal leaks are caused by pressure building in the axle due to a clogged axle vent system. Always check and clear the vent system. Other common causes of seal failure are installation errors, incorrect pinion bearing preload (too tight or too loose), not lubricating the seal lip and yoke with clean grease, and object damage such as getting grass wrapped around the Pinion Yoke.

Tech Note 5: Replace Crush Sleeve
Your AAM rear axle uses a collapsible spacer or crush sleeve to set pinion rotating torque. To accurately set pinion rotating preload, you should replace your old crush sleeve with the one provided in QK8006 Kit when you replace the pinion seal.

Tech Note 6: Crush Sleeve Installation
With a new crush sleeve (pinion preload spacer), the initial overall length of the sleeve is greater than the normal separation distance between the outer pinion bearing and pinion shoulder. As you tighten your pinion nut against the yoke, you will push the outer bearing against this Spacer. At that point the nut will seem tight but your pinion will still be loose. You now must increase the torque applied to the nut by a substantial margin to initiate the compression of the spacer. Once it starts to compress, the required torque needed to continue tightening the nut will still be high, but reduced from the amount needed to start compression. As the spacer collapses, your pinion end play will gradually disappear. When all end-play is gone, you have to be very careful as it will only take a small movement of the nut to go from too loose to too tight. If you over tighten the nut, you MUST get a new spacer and start over!!!

Tech Note 7: Pinion Rotating Torque
Pinion Rotating Torque should be measured with a beam or gauge type inch pound torque wrench. To get an accurate torque reading, you should remove the axle shafts as the drag from your wheel bearings and brakes will adversely affect your results. The rotating torque values listed in my GM Shop Manuals are:
Pinion Only Torque to Rotate with NEW Bearings (Diff out of axle): 15-30 lb in (1.7-3.4 Nm)
Pinion Only Torque to Rotate with USED Bearings (Diff out of axle): 10-20 lb in (1.1-2.3 Nm)
Total Torque to Rotate with NEW Bearings (Diff in axle): 30-55 lb in (3.4-6.2 Nm)
Total Torque to Rotate with USED Bearings (Diff in axle): 25-45 lb in (2.8-5.1 Nm)
Rotate the pinion several times to seat the bearings before taking a final reading

Tech Note 8: Matching Parts
QU30108 Axle Shaft Flange Gasket 1998-2010
QU30116 Axle Shaft Flange Gasket 2011-up

Applications:
Chevy and GMC:
C/K Series, Silverado, Sierra all 2500, 3500 with 10-1/2" 14 Bolt Rear Axle: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018