Originally Posted by gsxr

Removal is simple. Installation, not so much. If you over-torque the nut, it will compress the internal crush sleeve which sets pinion bearing preload, and quickly kill the bearing. And no, you cannot just loosen it a little. The only way to fix an over-crushed sleeve is total diff teardown & pinion removal to replace the sleeve - not possible as DIY for most people. The factory procedure uses a very expensive rotational torque measurement tool to properly set torque.

If you go down this road, be very, very careful when torqueing the pinion flange nut.