I replaced the pinion seal yesterday and its leaking through the outside of the yoke. Took it for a drive and saw oil around the outside of the yoke. Should I replace the yoke too?

 

if its leaking from between the seal and the yoke with a new seal i would

 

That's what I figured.

 

See that dark band on the ground surface? Run your thumbnail over it - I'm willing to bet you can feel it. This is common when grit gets into the seal lip - it abrades a groove in the mating surface. Options:

- Replace the yoke outright. Problem becomes finding a new yoke (spending) or a used yoke (inspect, measure against yoke you're replacing.)

- Have it rewelded & ground smooth. This can probably be done by a shop that does crankshaft work. Typically spendy.

- Install a repair sleeve. You've already done the difficult bit - the yoke is in your hand. Put the yoke in the freezer now, get the seal, put the seal in the oven on ~400*F for a half-hour. Pull the yoke, pull the sleeve, install. (There may or may not be some compound you put on the inside of the sleeve, depends on the kit.) Allow both parts to reach room temperature.

I've done the repair sleeve more often than I'd care to admit to - it actually works rather well, when done properly. Good news is that the process is simple - so it's easy to do properly - and it costs far less than a new yoke or having your yoke welded & ground. Check a "mom-and-pop" parts house. They may not have it on the shelf, but they'll probably have it for you in a couple of hours from a local warehouse (and mom-and-pops typically have a better LWD network than big chains, with more available and more quickly available to you.)

 

Thanks for the information