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Driveshaft roll pin, use the right tool

10K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  Dert 
#1 ·
Decided I was going to tackle u-joints and dreaded the roll pin with all the stories out there. Picked up THIS air hammer at Harbor Freight on sale for $9.99. Picked up THIS Mayhew 1/4" punch for the air hammer on ebay for $14. Set compressor output at 90 PSI and when I say literally, I mean literally, the roll pin came out in 2 or 3 seconds.

So for anyone dreading having to deal with the roll pin, spend $25 and save yourself the frustration and smashed fingers (missing the manual punch with a 2.5 lb sledge does not feel good). And now you have a tool that no doubt will come in handy at some point.
 
#7 ·
Ah, that makes sense. Personally, I've never seen a 9/32 pneumatic punch but it would be the perfect size. 1/4 is a tad small and 5/16 is a little tight. The only reason I used the 1/4 was because I could put it at a slight angle. The sway bar link is right in the way and a 5/16 would have to be perfectly in line.
 
#8 ·
Remember to roll the driveshaft such that the roll pin is horizontal...and drive it from the Driver side where you have the best view of the end of the pin.

Then...remember to focus your eyes on the end of the punch...not the end of the pin, not the hammer...not all the crud under your machine...but on the head of the punch!

A skill I learned driving 16 penny nails framing houses at the age of 20. Doing so eliminates damaged fingers...

Just sayin'

Then throw the pin in the scrap metal bin and get a 5/16" grade 8 bolt 2" long and a nylok nut...works every time!!

Pirate
 
#9 ·
Joking here, but am I really?

Step 1: Prepare mentally by combining new curse words into useful phrases about the engineer that thought a roll pin was a good idea.
Step 2: Bloody hands, just accept it. Wear eye protection, as the spray lubricant nozzle will not be in the right spot. Pro tip: close mouth while spraying. :)
Step 3: Use new words created in Step 1.
Step 4: Combine steps 1-3 into a maniacal laugh while beating on roll pin and punch.
Step 5: (Optional) After the 'ping' sound of successful pin removal, feel free to do a dance.
Step 6: Replace pin with grade 8 bolt and aircraft style nut.
 
#11 ·
I see your point about that. 50/50 either way. Slipping in a bind, you may have other important issues to deal with.

Possible relief from out of phase drive shaft chatter, I can understand that. Then again it it is not really a greaseable service joint. I would be worried about slip wear on the splines.
 
#13 ·
Coat the splines with a heavier grease when you put it together, that grease will last a long time, and it’s not terribly hard to pull the 4 bolts from the diff and slide it forward to regrease, not a huge addition to yearly maintenance really. I like knowing I don’t have to deal with it anymore and like at least the theory of it protecting the diff a bit

@Lastminute rex about 300 miles now, I got the same recommendation from HD Extreme that @Max H did, which I’m guessing is where you read that recently.

Outside of the possibility of some wear on the splines, I see no downside to not running it, and I’m not very concerned about the splines really even, like I say, just put a little grease on the splines once in a while and it’ll be fine
 
#12 ·
I use a 10mm deep well socket with 12” extension. I put the punch inside the socket and hold on to the extension and hammer away. Keeps my fingers out of the way....
a few days ago I read about leaving the pin out. @RWB713 have you ran without the pin for sometime now? When I was reading about it, it totally made sense to me it was unnecessary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#14 ·
@RWB713
Kindly post a link to the thread about removing it, I would love to read and understand it before passing any judgement.

Little different environment and fortunate to have such a great back yard. Our PM schedules may be way different, 300 miles is an easy two weekends in some circumstances.. Every weekend is fun filled ride.

643491
 
#15 ·
I’m interested in this discussion as well. When I had my Ranger 6x6 I replaced the roll pins with fine thread grade 8 bolts and aircraft missile nuts(these might be what Pirate is referencing). They’re an extremely low profile locking nut. I never had an issue with the bolts but the Ranger made 40 HP, a little different than the 110 HP of my XP.

One thing is for sure, every time I knock that roll pin out I cringe for the pinion bearing.
 
#16 ·
It wasn’t so much of a discussion really, just Max saying what Brandon @ HD Extreme told him, which is the same thing he told me


I’d still remove it even if a weekend is 300 miles, I‘ve put 2900 miles on in a year and a half, only greased the splines on the rear shaft twice, those splines seem to be holding up just fine, can’t imagine the front would be much different.
 
#18 ·
Decided I was going to tackle u-joints and dreaded the roll pin with all the stories out there. Picked up THIS air hammer at Harbor Freight on sale for $9.99. Picked up THIS Mayhew 1/4" punch for the air hammer on ebay for $14. Set compressor output at 90 PSI and when I say literally, I mean literally, the roll pin came out in 2 or 3 seconds.

So for anyone dreading having to deal with the roll pin, spend $25 and save yourself the frustration and smashed fingers (missing the manual punch with a 2.5 lb sledge does not feel good). And now you have a tool that no doubt will come in handy at some point.
Thanks for sharing. Last year when I had to change the carrier bearing I didn't think the roll pin would ever come out.
 
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