Where to buy a new pinion nut

[archer423]

My pinion seal is leaking on the rear differential on my little ram and I am planning on changing it out. Service manual says to replace the pinion nut but I can't find anyone with a new one. Any advise?

[tortron]

Generally there's a crush tube or washer that gets deformed when you tighten the pinion but and that preloads the pinion. I'm assuming that they are suggesting changing the nut for the same reason.

Heres what I'd do (and have done on vintage cars that you can't get parts for easily)
Mark the nut and shaft and then count the turns when you take it off. After putting the new seal in, count the turns back on and realign the marks. Your preload should be close enough to what it was no not cause any issues

[archer423]

Thanks, I'll try that.