Pinion seal

[cokefirst]

I have a 57 Skyliner,  The pinion seal leaked and I wanted to fix it.  I purchased a no brand name seal from C & G Ford parts and installed it in my rear end.  I went from a small leak to a flood.  It threw out over a quart of grease in 100 miles and left a large puddle on the garage floor.  After reading and researching there was some talk about the speedi sleeves and the Timken brand pinion seal.  I bought a speedi sleeve on ebay but it came a little bent and did not have the installation tool.  I used a 3/4" drive socket of the appropriate size and installed the sleeve on the pinion yoke.  A Youtube video suggested putting a coating of JB Weld on the pinion in the area of the groove before putting on the sleeve.  SKF did not suggest this, so I did not do it.  The yoke had what i thought was a very slight groove, and I did not think it was enough to cause a leak.  WRONG.  After putting on the sleeve and the new Timken seal, it is dry as a bone.  Moral of the story, spend a little more for quality name brand parts and you may not have to do the job twice!

[hiball3985]

I agree 100%. I hunted down some Timkin wheel bearings for my F100 truck and guess where they are made now?

[cokefirst]

Just a guess, but I bet the Bearings were made in Mexico?  Where something is made is not as important as the quality of the item.  For the extra $3-4 bucks the Timken seal cost me, the obvious quality difference was worth the extra money.  I guess we have to get used to global economies. 

[hiball3985]

The boxes said China. I guess I'm too old school and this global thing just doesn't set well with me..
Hopefully they are made and held to Timkin standards.