toll used to hold pinion yolk while torqueing nut ?

anyone have a picture or two of your home made tool used to hold the pinion yolk while you torque the nut to spec ?
i'm changing to a 1350 yolk on an 8 3/4, and want something more accurate to torque the nut other than an impact gun.
a big TIA !

One I first saw as a teenager that I now own in the article at https://www.hamtramck-historical.com/NostalgiaAndOldCars.shtml

A large pipe wrench works to hold the yoke.

Search Ebay or Amazon.

I make those tools as well as a bunch of other tools for working on Mopars.
https://arengineering.com/home-page/tools

I have one that looks like yours in the middle there. Think I bought it off Mancini's (?) website many years ago.

Used one some time back that was basically a big, flat box-end wrench.
Box captured the diff yoke, lever was maybe 30" or so, and contacted the car's floor when tightening the nut.
Idiot-proof by my rating, since I used it successfully on my Dana 60.

I made one that bolts on now, but have always used a large pipe wrench as mentioned above also.

My 35 year old 110 electric Makita is ALL I’ve ever used, never once has a nut backed off (a little red loctite helps too)

Could be. I've been selling parts to Mancini for more than 20 years.

This was a short piece of left-over roll bar tubing with a piece of 1/4" plate, clearanced rectangle around the companion (pinion yoke); works quite well!

that is what I use.
MoparX which third member are you working on?
If it is a "489" case then you need to know how much rotational torque it has both ways now before you loosen the nut up so you can tighten it back up enough to have 1 to 5 inch lbs. MORE rotational torque when your done

Beautiful, except the OP was asking how you hold the yoke when you are torquing the pinion nut. I hope you aren't using that same Makita for that.

working on a 741 case that is still in the car Cab.
i'm not a fan of using a pipe wrench due to the possibility of the teeth marking up the yoke.
i had thought about making a tool like the several that have been shown. i'll probably do just that, although as i get older, i find there is no such thing as a 5 minute [or 5 hour for that matter] job.

Mine is more simple. I’ve got a 3’ piece of heavy 2.5” angle iron with holes drilled to match the cap bolts and a enough clearance torched out of the center to work the nut.

Done many with a 36" pipe wrench, don't ever remember " marking up a yoke". The pipe wrench doesn't have to be "killer tight" on the yoke. I remember doing a few rear end jobs before this, but I've done more of them since I've also gotten my 2 post lift... Thousands of times easier that way.that plus getting my son to come over and "man" the pipe wrench and cheater pipe while I tighten the yoke nut

J-8514-11 Kent Moore. Couple of them on ebay right now. Probably find them at swap meets as well.

Holding tool I made with some metal I had laying around.

I wish that had those skills, but I don't

I've had several different year FSM, some of them call for 120 Ft. lbs. torque on the 8 3/4 pinion nuts and some of them called for 150 Ft. lbs.torque when tightening those nuts. I end up using about a six-foot-long cheater pipe that will slide over my 1/2 drive clicker torque wrenches and then have someone hold the third member still while I torque that nut

I use my hand to hold the yoke, take a hammer and hit a nail hard, the nail drives into the wood, now a slow tap on the nail, no move. The Makita works on same principal as the fast swinging hammer! It’s called FORCE, kinetic energy

Made in the era before a home shop had a good compressor and impact tools.

You still do not understand.

WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT REMOVING THE PINION NUT

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TORQUING THE PINION NUT

Reread Cudanas post. He is obviously talking about tightening the pinion nut. You don't use red locktite to remove the nut.

I had to read this twice at first I thought he drove in nails with his bear hands

But I have done what he's saying not all the time but have done it. Like loose ones in late 90's Rams.

Oh I do understand, torquing the nut has no value other than to assure it doesn’t back off, the very same thing as red loctite does. Then it ONLY comes off when it’s needed. Why is any bolt torqued? To lock it on, the only stretch that the pinion will do is from the front bearing out. 742 and Dana have shims to set preload 489 has a crush sleeve to set preload, it needs 250 ft lbs to crush or get the crush sleeve eliminator to eliminate that cheapo fix from Chrysler. And not a dang one has backed off unless I wanted it to. That Makita has taken off every factory pinion nut I’ve ever used it on (a lot), there are things I’ll torque but a pinion ain’t one of those.

Pinion nut torque can be used as a final adjustment on preload and turning torque. This applies to solid spacers as well as crush sleeves, which should not be used in a performance application.

Even the major rear end parts suppliers have different methods and numbers they recommend. One says 200 on a small pinion and dial in the preload with shims at that number. Another says 140 as a minimum, up to 200 to dial in preload. Tightening the nut will increase preload.

Preload numbers also vary. Intended use will dictate this number. A performance based class will use very low preload numbers, relatively speaking.

This is probably one of the 1st tools I made...was awfully proud of it too, although as you can tell that this welding job of mine leaves a lot to be desired (as far as improvements go LOL).

Still, several yoke installs later, still working great, no deflection in the material so far.

How is the preload affected by torque when the yoke bottoms on the pinion shoulder? Once the yoke bottoms on the pinion shoulder, further tightening won't preload the bearings any more...you can keep tightening the nut until the threads fail and the bearing preload will stay the same.

John and I agree on something finally lol

Not on those pinion shafts with crush sleeves

Cab, what they are saying is with a "shimmed" non-crush sleeve application, once bottomed, tightening the nut more will have no affect on pre load.

However applying more torque to the nut WITH A CRUSH sleeve will add more pre load to the bearings. As the yoke would not be bottomed on pinion and tightening the nut more will add more preload as the sleeve crushes more.
I'm sure you know this but are likely misinterpreting what they are saying .

Until you crush is too much is what I found on the 489 cases, once it is to short your done adjusting them.
You have to replace the crush sleeve or buy a spacer and use shims until you get it correct

Sounded like BS to me too... until I tried it.

Per Mark Williams...

4) Before installing the seal it is a good idea to check the bearing preload, even with a new assembly. Install yoke or coupler
on the pinion, install pinion nut and torque to 140 ft/lbs (if possible it is suggested to use a used pinion nut until final
assembly). Rotate the pinion with an inch/lbs. torque wrench. The rotational drag should be 7-10 in/lbs (if re-assembling a
support with used bearings the rotational drag can be 5-7 in/lbs). If the rotational drag is too low step up the pinion nut
torque in 10 ft/lbs increments and re-check the drag. Once the correct drag is achieved note the pinion nut torque.
Maximum pinion nut torque is 200 ft/lbs. If the amount of drag is too high the preload spacer is too thin and should be
replaced (new spacers will require machining).

TORQUE SPECS:
Pinion Nut 140 ft/lbs unless higher torque required per step #4 above.

so i need to pull the carrier from the car to check preload turning torque just to change the yolk ?
this is a 741 case with no crush sleeve.
i just figured this would be a simple remove nut, remove yolk, replace seal, install new yolk, tighten new nut to specification.
i must be really missing something. plus i just noticed i titled this thread as a "toll" used. maybe i just need to pay the "toll" and get over it.
and yes, i'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer..............

for that job I would use an impact and red lock tight done in 10 minutes.

alrighty then ! thank you !
and don't forget some black rtv in the pinion splines just to insure no seepage past them.

EXACTLY I don’t give a sh!t what MW says, on a shimmed pinion it will not go any tighter. Shims don’t compress! Bearings don’t compress! UNLESS there’s 500 tons on it!

Yep, but he says "Sounded like BS to me too... until I tried it." There must be places where the laws of physics don't apply.

Sorry I didn't read the entire post on before adding my earlier comments Make sure both sets of threads are brake cleaned. Red loctite & torque preferably or impact back together.
I've been known add a bit of RTV to the backside of the washer for a bit of added insurance. ( I hate comebacks)

I'm not talking double digits. More like a couple of inch pounds, for those who are trying to dial it in to a preferred number.

That's okay though. Maybe those were days I did some mushrooms and hallucinated it all.

And messing with ‘rear ends’ maybe ?! Ladies of course lol I always needed a few more ‘inch pounds’!

Not all impact wrenches can hit that 250 ft lbs mark. My home made angle iron tool is about 30 “ long and with a big Matco torque wrench, this old man can still get it done. When that the day comes I can’t, I’ll stop build rear ends. I only weigh 170 lbs so I can’t brace it against the floor.

Don't worry it will be tight enough that it won't come loose.

I have added a shim from a solid spacer kit between the crush sleeve and the outer pinion bearing and reestablished proper rotating torque spec.