These things can be SO frustrating! (long)

I've been spending alot of hours working on my Jeep the past few weeks, fixing steering issues, new brake MC, replacing gaskets, new taillights, etc.... Well last night I attempted my pinion seals and wiring up my new taillights and got completely frustrated! I dropped the front driveshaft and had just bought all the tools I needed for the job, except one important one. I need something to hold that yoke still while I bust a gut trying to get that pinion nut off! I tried everything I had at my disposal in the garage. I tried wedging a hammer under there, tried putting a jackstand under it, and all that happened when I tried to break the nut free was lifting the tire off the ground! Is there some special tool I could buy/rent that will hold that yoke still? Another thing that surprised me is now it's not leaking (at the moment) anymore. :? I had sprayed brake cleaner all over the outside to clean up all the crud around the shaft, and sprayed some PB on the nut. Well after I couldn't get it off, I put it all back together and now I don't see a leak. WTH? So after I failed at that, I said well I'll do something easy and wire my new taillights up. I installed them last week but didn't connect the wires yet. Well I got them all hooked up just like the old ones were, and now I don't have brake lights anymore. I had them before swapping the new MC and brakelights. They do come on when the headlights are on, but now my blinkers are screwy too! The right blinker always works, but the left one will only work with the headlights off. When they are on, it won't blink. This is driving me mad. I have a feeling my brake lights aren't coming on because I haven't bled the system enough yet. I don't have as much pedal as I used to, but the Jeep does stop very well. Maybe I need to tighten up my shoes. I know they need adjustment because it pulls to the right when on the brakes. But I have no clue about the blinker issue. Anyone have any ideas? On one positive note, I was able to replace the bulbs in my cluster and my speedo cable, so now I can see the gauge at night and my odometer is at least working again (speedo itself is busted). Well anyway, I just had to vent a little. Things had been going well and now nothing wants to work for me. Another bad thing is my MC is still leaking ever so slightly where the brake light switch bolts up. I got it as tight as I can and have new washers in there, but it still leaks. Should I have put some RTV on there? Anyone have any suggestions for my issues? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks guys.

 

Many times if you have a seal that is starting to leak you can slow it down temporarily by cleaning it with brake clean. A 1/2" drive impact should take the pinion nut right off however
if you have a large pipe wrench just put it on the flange and wedge it against the leaf springs, remember to check the area on the flange where the seal rides for wear.

 

I don't have an impact at my house, just a big half inch breaker bar and 3 ft pipe. Yeah I just read somewhere about the pipe wrench to hold the yoke. I guess I will look for one of those and try again this weekend. Any ideas about my brake light and blinker dilemma?

 

I would be the brake light/blinker issue is a ground. Almost all issues seem to be a ground problem. I'd start with that.

 

Thanks aallison. Yeah I thought about that too last night, but was too tired of fooling with it to check it out. I hope it's something that simple. I don't see how it could change like it has when I haven't messed with any of the wiring and I hooked it back up the same way.

 

I made a tool from a piece of angle with two holes drilled in it to hold the yoke. Worked great. ran a couple bolts through the holes into the yoke and viola!

Bad switch and/or grounding issue? Bad grounds can do crazy things. Good luck!

 

Yup. Bad ground on tail-light assy. thats why the head light issue effects it. Taillight usually grounds thru mounting screws or bolts. Yoke nut. I removed shift tower and locked tranny in two gears with slider and removed nut. Brake fluid flush caused a softening of seal slowing drip. Remember to RTV that area under flat washer before re-assy.

 

i use the pipe wrench. might need a longer 'cheater' pipe to break the yoke loose, as they are torqued to 150ish ftpds.

i ended up heating the nut slightly and spraying some wd40 on the threads to help break it loose as well.

 

The dealership would use a special tool to hold the yoke. It looked like a long wrench with a rectangular hole on the business end, large enough to slip over the yoke. It could also connect through the yoke bolt holes, like a spanner. I expect you could bolt a long bar of steel to the yoke through the bolt holes, if you can leave enough clearance for the pinion nut socket.

<edit> Google is your friend. A search for 'yoke holding tool' came up with this. Same idea as the spanner part of the tool, except the tool was adjustable. http://bernardembden.com/xjs/diff/index.htm

 

Not to throw another monkey wrench in the works, but spray some penetrating oil on the yoke splines, more than likely they're rusty. Mine required a two jaw puller and several days of soaking (oil) to get it off. Then had to replace the yoke due to the tweak I had to put on it to get it off!!!

 

As for the tail light ground issue use a little sand paper to clean off the area before you land the wires I have found that is all that is needed.

 

you might try some teflon tape on your leaky brake light switch. just make sure you leave a couple of threads showing so you don't peel the tape off and allow it to get in the mc or the brake lines.