9" Assembly-what to seal?

I know the center section to housing needs some type of RTV. What about the axle retaining plate gasket and the pinion seal. Does the o-ring suffice or do I need something on both sides of the metal shim? And if the rear-end is empty and dry I understand it will need 2-3 qts of 80W-90? Thanks. -Bob

Oh yeah, does the yoke spline need sealer?

The pinion seal needs a nice surface on the yoke and a new lubricated seal to seal. A little RTV on the axle reatining plate won't hurt anything. Any empty 9" will require 3 quarts to fill. The O ring will seal the bearing retainer. I thoroughly clean the splines on the pinion and the yoke and smear some RTV in there as oil will seep through the splines. I also dab a little RTV on the threads of the pinion retaining nut as they will seep there as well.

Originally Posted by F15Falcon

The pinion seal needs a nice surface on the yoke and a new lubricated seal to seal.

Thank you for the info. I'm a little fuzzy on terminology here. The lubricated seal - is that inside the pinion housing that seals the outside surface of the yoke? I have not removed the pinion from its housing and did not plan to.

The mating surface between the pinion housing and center section where the steel shim is - does it need sealer? -Bob

Originally Posted by BBPanel

Thank you for the info. I'm a little fuzzy on terminology here. The lubricated seal - is that inside the pinion housing that seals the outside surface of the yoke? I have not removed the pinion from its housing and did not plan to.

The mating surface between the pinion housing and center section where the steel shim is - does it need sealer? -Bob

Yes, the seal that seals around the yoke is in the pinion housing.

The steel shim part of the pinion housing to center section is is sealed by an O ring. No sealant is needed.

Got it - thanks to both of you. -Bob

dont forget to use new copper washers when putting the pumpkin in I also use a gasket with a little silicone on it for the pumpkin.

It didn't have any washers on it when I took it apart - was going to use standard steel washers - why Copper?

copper is what it is supposed to have it seals the nuts. The correct ones are cheap and availible from Ford.