Just replaced the pinion seal on my 82. It'd been leaking ever since I replaced the fluid and filled it up. I guess once the fluid got above the level of the old seal, it started leaking again. So I got a new seal and replaced it just like explained on this forum. Marked everything, counted the turns as I took the nut off, etc. As I was marking the nut, I noticed that the washer behind it spun freely, meaning that there wasn't any torque on the bearing. It wasn't sloppy, but it wasn't a super tight fit. It did not take a lot of torque to remove the nut.

When I installed the nut, I went a little further than the mark I'd made on the pinion gear shaft, maybe 1/4 inch. It's nice and snug and the washer doesn't spin, but I sure didn't put 120 lbs of torque on that nut. I put loctite on the nut. I saw no evidence of loctite when I took it off so wondering if the nut had backed off causing the leak (or at least partially causing it). The seal was pretty old looking and brittle, so I think the seal was at least part of the culprit.

Was that nut too loose and was it right to tighten the nut more than where it was when I took it off? Thanks

yes and yes I would say-seems to be fairly common for that nut to loosen up

I'm trying to do the same, replace the pinion seal. I was able to remove the nut but the yoke won't slide off. Did your yoke just slide off after you removed the nut or did you have to pry it off?

The yoke usually requires some enticement to come off. Usually acoupla bonks from behind with a long drift of some sort and a BFH will make up its mind for it.