NP231 front seal replacement

No pictures sorry, but I'm going to share my notes which may make the job easier. There are plenty of pictures of the various steps online.

'89 XJ w/ peugeot manual

No lift, 29" tires

Here are my notes:

Did not need to jack it up, did all work laying under.

ATF will pour out when you remove the yoke.

Yoke nut came off easily with 1/2" impact wrench.

Ujoint strap bolts came out easy, but a ratchet may not fit. I used a non-ratcheting "socket handle" that has a small diameter head, along with a U-joint that let me rapidly turn the bolt. Otherwise you have to go slow with finger tips.

Ujoint strap bolt torque is apparently 168 INCH lbs.

Used 1/4" harbor freight torque wrench, which actually fits on small U joint bolts.

Use 1/2" 150FT lb harbor freight torque wrench (set to 110ft lbs) for yoke nut. Was easily able to tighten yoke nut, wrench is long but there was plenty of room.

Removed stock tfer case skid plate to give more access to area. Not sure if it was 100% required. Not the crossmember....the stock tfer case skid plate which is pretty rare.

Once u joint straps are removed, drive shaft easily plops down and to the side, out of the way.

Used large PVC pipe fitting and small sledge hammer to get new seal started in, then small block of wood and sledge hammer to tap it in. Once you think its all the way in, TAP MORE until its totally flush, using the small piece of wood. You might not be able to do those last tips hitting the entire circumference simultaneously.

Lube new seal inside and out with ATF (same fluid you will fill tfer case with)

New seal looks like it seals on different part of the yoke shaft than old seal, which is good, because a shallow groove had been worn in the shaft from the old seal.

Seal part number was 710046 at autozone, $7.

You may consider getting a new bearing snap ring which goes behind the seal and appears to lock the bearing in place. Mine didnt look healthy..I should have replaced it but had no choice but to just put the new seal in and leave the old snap ring. I am not sure where to get the snap ring or whats involved in removing/installing it.

I bought a 1 1/8" socket for the yoke nut, autozone $7

I used a horrible freight seal puller to get the seal out. First try broke the seal puller hook. Luckily it has two hooks. Other one worked. You get what you pay for!

Remember to fill the fluid up!

Brush and scrub everything in the yoke area before you take it apart. There is an open ball bearing right behind the seal and you dont want to get dirt in it.