So after only 247,000 miles , my rear differential pinion seal blew and started to leak .
I watched a few YouTube videos on how to disassemble and reassemble. All the videos showed marking the nut and reassembling in the same position
While taking it apart I realized that the pinion yoke already had about 1/8 of an inch of play. I assume this is the light grinding sound I've started to hear from the rear

Does how tight I make this boat depict the load on the bearing and if so does anyone have a link on how to reassemble without making marks?

 

I wouldn't even think about replacing the seal without replacing the bearings in the diff. If you have an 1/8" play and grinding sounds you have a problem and you should address it before it becomes a much larger problem. That being said you now have no reason to know how to simply reassemble after replacing the seal because honestly if you don't replace the bearings you may as well just put it on till you think its tight then keep your butt clinched even tighter while you wait for it to implode on itself lol!

If you really want to just replace the seal then yes it absolutely makes a difference on bearing load. Tightening the pinion nut is how you set the preload and needs to be done properly or your just going to ruin everything in your diff and possibly more depending on how it decides to come apart WHEN it DOES come apart.

 

Ok its not exactly a grinding. More like a light hum on deceleration and honestly it sounds more forward than the rear diff.
Either way , if i disassemble to unit or not how do i set preload on the rear differential?